Beth May

Hey, I'm Beth May! I've been doing NAMIwalks since 2017 and I'm back this year with my biggest fundraising goal yet!!! 15k! Maybe that's a little silly but I think we can do it. Let me tell you a little about me and why I care about NAMI...

Already said my name (Beth), and I'm a capricorn whose favorite colors are green and pink. I also have type 1 bipolar disorder. I didn't used to be this open about it (the bipolar OR being a capricorn), but these days I kind of consider myself a mental health advocate, because nobody should live in shame due to an illness. I spent a long time wrestling with that shame, and it's something I still struggle with sometimes. The chaos that this illness can inflict on my life and the way that chaos can affect others is something that terrifies me, but it has shown me that I am resilient, and that human kindness is resilient, even when sanity is not. 

I have many advantages, and it is still hard to be public about this. Imagine how hard it would be to speak openly about mental illness if your work didn’t understand. If nobody in your life could offer help. Forget speaking about mental illness—imagine how hard it would be to just live.

That’s why I support NAMI, because NAMI helps both people like me, and people without the privilege of current or consistent support. NAMI fights for mental health reform at the state and federal level. Their educational and legislative efforts work to provide mentally ill people with treatment and support that they need to live full, fun, and successful lives. Most importantly, NAMI works to combat the often devastating stigma of mental illness in America. 

I'm not naive. There’s a lot going on in our country right now, in our world right now. Sometimes I feel like there’s more marginalization, prejudice, suffering and stigma in America currently than there has ever been. Many calls to “end stigma” seem simple, but they’re complicated by adjacent issues like gun control and the criminalization of addiction. Our criminal justice system and pharmaceutical industries desperately require accountability and restructuring -- a feat that will take time, effort, and money. 

To struggle in your own mind is not a sign of weakness or moral corruption, even if the weight of stigma sometimes makes it feel that way. I definitely get nervous that my career and relationships could suffer due to vocal advocacy or even just the knowledge that I am mentally ill. But I’m not alone in this fight, and other people might not have a platform to make their voices heard. That's why I feel a responsibility to be as loud as I possibly can. 

Every dollar raised through this walk helps NAMI provide more services for people living with mental health challenges. Please contribute as generously as you can, and thank you so much for supporting this very worthy cause.