NAMI Mercer County

Families Meeting the Challenge of Mental Illness

Let's Talk Abt It

Weekly blog series created and posted by Summer 2025 Intern, Angelina Villalva. As part of NAMI Mercer's mission to spread mental health awareness, we want to open the conversation to various disorders and how to address it.

Supporting Schizophrenia

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

This summer I’ll be going into my third year of college, and when I reminisce on what it was like going into my first year, I can still remember how much more stressful it was to be starting out than to be returning. For a lot of incoming college students, their minds are teeming with anxiety for a million things at once. If you list it all out, you have to balance the pressure of taking harder classes, learning how to get to those classes, trying (and slightly failing) at making friends, joining clubs, learning the campus layout, living with a roommate, and maybe figure out who you are and what you’re doing with the rest of your life. All at 18. And a month after high school graduation. 

With all of those things bouncing around, the very last thing that any freshman would ever expect or be prepared for is to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. 

To clarify, I did not get diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, it would come as a surprise to many that schizophrenia has a track record of appearing amongst college students. Does this mean that all college students are prone to developing schizophrenia? No, not at all, in fact schizophrenia affects only 1% of the U.S. population. So, while the numbers might not be super small, they aren’t super large either. Nonetheless, it is still important to be aware of the symptoms and the signs of developing schizophrenia, especially since it arises in college students who may not have experienced or had the space to focus on their mental health. 

Most people are familiar with the basic overview of schizophrenia. We think of characters like Norman Bates and Donnie Darko, deeply disturbed and deeply affected by their deluded perceptions. In the movie Shutter Island, Andrew Laeddis/Teddy Daniels is stuck in a never-ending loop of psychosis, constantly tormented by his own head. While it is true that individuals afflicted with schizophrenia commonly deal with hallucinations and disorganized thinking, it is deeply ignorant to say that they are dangerous or that they are unable to be treated. 

Symptoms of schizophrenia are commonly grouped into 3 kinds: positive, negative, and disorganized. Positive symptoms refer to things that are abnormally present in an individuals life, while negative symptoms refer to things that are abnormally absent. Disorganized symptoms generally reflect behaviors and perceptions that are confused or disordered. 

Positive Symptoms: 

  • Hallucinations (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that are not there) 
  • Delusions (fixed false beliefs that are held despite clear evidence that they are not true) 

Negative Symptoms: 

  • Lack of appropriate affect (unexpressive face, flat affect)
  • Poor motivation
  • Social withdrawal 

Disorganized Symptoms: 

  • Disorganized speech (word salad, loose associations) 
  • Unpredictable or inappropriate emotional response
  • Behaviors that appear bizarre

Schizophrenia tends to run in families, but others are prone to developing schizophrenia if they have one or more of these risk factors: 

  • Life experiences (living in poverty, stress, or danger)
  • Pregnancy and birth issues
  • Taking psychoactive/psychotropic drugs as a teen or young adult

Depending on the symptoms displayed, the severity of treatment may differ between individuals with schizophrenia. Typically, treatments involve a combination of both antipsychotic medication and psychosocial interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy. 

Stigma still persists among individuals afflicted with this disorder. As I stated earlier, schizophrenia is not dangerous. There are treatments available, and just as it is with any mental health disorder, the earlier it is addressed and the more support given, the better people tend to fare. 

As I’ve gone through these 12 weeks of posting, it has become more and more obvious that whether you are afflicted with a mental health disorder or not, whether you know someone who is or not, simply showing up and spreading kindness can go a long way. We don’t always need to understand to show support, and simply being a good listener can take someone from hurting to healing. 

I leave you for the last time with this final quote, a text sent to me today from one of my closest friends.

“We are all living this life together, and I’m so happy that we can be with each other and support each other through the ups and the downs.” 

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Processing PTSD

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

Last Monday, I got into a car accident. I was driving home from my internship at NAMI, when suddenly I found myself sitting in a smoking car, wondering why I decided to get out of bed that day. My car ended up being totaled, and despite my insistence that I was uninjured, my family sent me to the hospital to get checked out. I was very lucky to have no major injury, and to be able to keep going on with my life as usual. 

Occasionally, I find myself thinking back to that moment of the crash. I can see the moment frame by frame– the sound of metal crunching and scraping, the smell of the smoke filling my car, the warm feeling of the airbag as it pressed against my chest. Although brief, that moment still takes up space in my day. I sometimes feel my hands start to sweat and my chest tighten when cars pass me by, and even the thought of driving back home is enough to make me nervous. 

These experiences are clearly a direct result of experiencing a traumatic event, but it is not to be confused with having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Commonly when we think of PTSD, we think of veterans, people who have seen and experienced things that the average person cannot understand. However, PTSD can arise from numerous types of traumatic events, including car accidents.

The next question that arises is then, what separates a traumatic event from PTSD? Why is one response to a car accident not considered PTSD, but another might be? The difference in discerning trauma responses, and therefore a separate disorder, from PTSD lies in longevity. 

Typically individuals experiencing PTSD have symptoms that can last for months or years, and greatly impair their ability to function daily. These symptoms can appear within the first 3 months after a traumatic event, but they may not appear until years later. But if these symptoms last more than 1 month and cause major issues in daily life, it may point towards PTSD. 

Symptoms are usually grouped into 4 types: intrusion, avoidance, changes in cognition and mood, and changes in arousal and reactivity. 

Intrusion: 

  • Involuntary thoughts 
  • Repeated memories
  • Distressing dreams
  • Flashbacks

Avoidance: 

  • Avoiding people, places, activities, objects, and situations that might trigger memories
  • Avoiding remembering or thinking about the traumatic event
  • Avoid resist talking about what happened
  • Avoid talking about how they feel 

Changes in Cognition and Mood: 

  • Low mood
  • Inability to feel happiness
  • Lack of interest in activities they used to enjoy
  • May have trouble with memory 
  • Ongoing fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame
  • Detached or estranged from others

Changes in Arousal and Reactivity: 

  • Having angry outbursts
  • Behaving recklessly 
  • Behaving self-destructive way
  • Being overly watchful of their surroundings
  • Being easily startled
  • Having problems concentrating or sleeping

Not everyone who experiences traumatic events develops PTSD. There are several other disorders that may present similar to PTSD, including acute stress, adjustment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, or reactive attachment disorder. In the U.S., about 4% of U.S. adults and 8% of adolescents are diagnosed with PTSD. While the causes of PTSD may vary in each individuals, those with the following risk factors are more likely to develop the disorder: 

  • Prior history of trauma
  • Childhood adversity
  • Member of a marginalized group
  • Immigrant status

Treatments for PTSD will vary depending on the severity of the symptoms. Occasionally, symptoms of PTSD may subside and lessen over time. For individuals with more severe and persistent symptoms of PTSD, treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medications for comorbid disorders like depression may be used in combination. 

Recovering from any traumatic event, whether it results in PTSD or not, requires strong support. If you, or someone you know, is going through struggles related to trauma, it is important to reach out. Rely on the people around you, and share in your struggles together. If you don’t have someone to rely on, find local resources in the community. No one should be alone in their emotions and thoughts, and know that no struggle is too small or too big, you are worth it. 

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Observing OCD

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

Have you ever entered a space and felt something was off? Perhaps it’s a slightly off-centered painting in a living room. Or some books haphazardly placed on a shelf without order. Sometimes it’s not even a space, but a thing, looking in the mirror and seeing that you have one hoodie string that is ever so-slightly longer than the other. 

While small, almost imperceptible to anyone else, to you these details scream out that something is markedly incorrect, and needs to be fixed immediately. To other people, these things may not matter, but for someone who strives for absolute perfection, it is imperative to have things the right way. As my mother liked to tell me growing up, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” 

Some may call it obnoxious, while others may call it obsessive. Most will say it is a clear sign of OCD, a Type A person who needs to have their whole life orderly and refined, all the way down to the laces on their shoes. 

The truth is, OCD is not as simple as needing to organize and keep things clean. It is distressing, and takes control over people’s lives in a way that causes them extreme anxiety and in some cases, physical harm. 

While exaggerated, it is true to some extent that individuals diagnosed with OCD may have issues with cleanliness and organization. However, this is not just due to a simple need to have things perfectionistic, but from feelings and thoughts referred to as obsessions and compulsions (which of course come together to an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). 

Obsessions consist of lasting and unwanted thoughts that keep recurring. These unwanted thoughts are similar to intrusive thoughts, often relating to fears and horrible imaginations that can completely take over your headspace. Some common themes of obsessions include: 

  • Fear of contamination or dirt
  • Having a hard time dealing with uncertainty
  • Needing things to be orderly or balanced
  • aggressive/horrific thoughts about harming yourself/others
  • Unwanted thoughts including aggression, sexual, or religious subjects

These obsessions then lead into compulsions, repetitive behaviors that are meant to reduce anxiety related to the obsessions. Compulsions are sometimes referred to as rituals, as individuals who have these compulsions often partake in them at specific times and must be completed in a specific way. While meant to reduce the anxiety of obsessions, compulsions often result in no pleasure and provide limited relief from the obsessions. Common themes of compulsions may be: 

  • Washing and cleaning
  • Checking
  • Counting
  • Ordering
  • Following strict routine
  • Demanding reassurance

Compared to obsessions, compulsions can result in physical harm. For example, obsessions revolving around cleanliness and contamination of germs can result in having compulsions of hand-washing until skin becomes raw. If an individual with OCD does not complete these compulsions, they will fear something bad may happen to themselves or the people around them (friends/family). 

Currently 1-2% of people in the US are affected by OCD. Anyone can be affected, although the average age onset is around 19 years. Causes of OCD can occur due to childhood trauma, genetics (family heredity), brain changes (damage to frontal cortex and subcortical structures) and PANDAS syndrome. 

Treatments for OCD include several types of therapy and medication. The three types of therapy treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

  • CBT → helps to examine and understand thoughts/emotions
  • ERP → helps to expose individuals to feared situations 
  • ACT → helps to learn to accept obsessive thoughts as just thoughts and take power away from them

Current medication for OCD are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). There are several types of SSRIs, and it is important to consult with a doctor to determine which one may be the right treatment for you or someone you know. When taking medication for OCD, it often takes 6-12 weeks to see improvement, so it’s important to allow for time for the medication to work. 

OCD is a lifelong condition. Similar to most other mental health conditions, ensuring that you take care of both your physical health and mental health will allow for the most influential positive change. Participation and support of others in treatment such as friends and family may improve the likelihood of treatment success. 

For anyone who is living with OCD, always remember that your struggles are not small. Your fears are not silly.  It is okay to receive help and support. And you will be able to take back control of your life. QOTD by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” 

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Facts From Fiction

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

When I was in fourth grade, I had a fight with someone in my class. It was pajama day, and I remember that the boy had made a comment about my polar bear shirt. Looking back now, it was barely something to get worked up over, but at the time I was absolutely crushed. Overcome with emotion, there was only one goal in my mind: go back home. So, like any little kid would, I lied. I told my teacher that I was feeling sick and needed to go to the nurse. Granted permission, I went in, feigned a severe stomach ache, and waited for my mom to be called to pick me up and get me out of there. 

I’m sure that many people have been in a similar situation to this, even as adults. Something upsets you, or gets in your way of something in your day, and suddenly you’re faced with two options– you could either power through, or alternatively, find an escape. As a kid, maybe it was to get out of going to school (or in my case, staying in school). As a teenager, maybe it was a missed homework assignment or incomplete project. Now as an adult, I can tell you I’ve seen many cases of classmates who’ve clearly had a busy night, now left to deal with the consequences in the following morning (which also results in a poorly crafted email). 

While most people can relate to experiencing moments of poor decision-making and needing to feign an illness or two, I’m sure most of us would never imagine taking these lies and turning it into reality. For very few, it isn’t enough to only state that they’re ill. These individuals may lie, but also hurt themselves or others to garner special attention for problems that don’t actually exist.  

This is what is known as factitious disorders. There are two types of factitious disorders, factitious disorder imposed on self (formerly known as Munchausen syndrome) and factitious disorder imposed on another (formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy). 

Individuals with factitious disorder purposefully create symptoms of a condition to receive care, lying and faking whatever they need to in order to receive support and care. One of the most famous cases of a factitious disorder is the story of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and her mother, Dee Dee. 

For those unfamiliar, Gypsy-Rose grew up with her Mother, Dee Dee, who made severe false claims about Gypsy-Rose’s health for her whole life. These lies resulted in Gypsy-Rose not just being robbed of a normal life, but any control at all. She was forced to undergo surgical procedures and take medications for illnesses and issues that she didn’t actually have. 

Although never formally diagnosed in her lifetime, researchers have strong reason to suspect that Dee Dee had factitious disorder imposed on another. When compared to typical symptoms of those with factitious disorder, it becomes evident that Dee Dee exhibited numerous of these signs. 

Typical Signs May Include: 

  • Hurt yourself or someone else in order to create symptoms of illness or injury
  • Symptoms that occur only when you’re alone (or with a caregiver) 
  • New or additional symptoms after a healthcare provider tells you there’s nothing wrong
  • Conditions that get worse for no clear reason
  • Visiting hospitals, clinics, and providers’ offices, even in different cities from your residency
  • Inconsistent or missing medical history 
  • Extensive knowledge of medical terminology, illnesses, or hospital procedures
  • Refusing to receive a psychological evaluation
  • Refusing to have a healthcare professional meet or speak with previous providers

Factitious disorders are so dangerous in part because of how, at its core, it is pure deception. Individuals who have this disorder may not even acknowledge or realize that they have this issue, and will not acknowledge their lies despite clear evidence. It is extremely rare that anyone with this disorder properly acknowledges or understands the detriment of this disorder. 

It is unclear what sparks the beginning of a factitious disorder. However, there are a few risk factors that may play a role in developing this condition: 

  • Abuse
  • Neglect
  • Trauma
  • Frequent illnesses that affected you or a loved one
  • Family dysfunction
  • A lot of time spent in healthcare facilities

Because it is so hard to diagnose and furthermore for individuals to want to receive help, treatment is very unique and changes per case. The main focus of treatment, however, is to decrease harm (whether that be to self or victim). There may be a whole team of healthcare professionals assigned to help manage, in order to be very careful in taking care to not do unnecessary medical testing or treatment. Since factitious disorders are mostly related to psychological factors, it is very common that a psychologist or psychiatrist are assigned to help treat these individuals as well. 

This disorder is an incredibly tricky one. In the case of Gypsy-Rose, her mother appeared to be the perfect caretaker. She loved her, and wanted her to be supported, and yet was the one who was in charge of all of her pain all along. Individuals who inflict this pain onto themselves are also those who crave something missing in their lives, whether that be physical and emotional needs or even something as simple as attention.

Regardless of anything, harming yourself or others is dangerous. It is absolutely important to be aware of these signs, as they can lead to only worse and worse outcomes for the recipient of the unnecessary treatments. Look out for yourself and others, and remember that despite what you’ve gone through, it is never too late to begin anew and seek help. 

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Grappling Gambling

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

What comes to mind when I mention gambling? Is it the slot machines? Perhaps poker or blackjack? Maybe certain locations are pictured, like Atlantic City. Some people may think of mobile betting platforms like FanDuel Sportsbook or DraftKings. For others, gambling might bring to mind gacha games, such as Genshin Impact or PokĂ©mon Trading Card Game Pocket. 

The point is, gambling can take multiple forms and appears more frequently in our lives than we may initially realize. In a traditional sense, gambling can be seen as a rite of passage, with friends and family taking trips to casinos for birthdays, vacations, or other various celebrations. Gambling appears in our sports, with fans oftentimes betting on their favorite teams or creating fantasy leagues to earn money from their favorite players. It also appears in video games, allowing players to spend just a little more money to earn a better item or character. 

This large presence and availability is then in turn why gambling addiction is so hard to recover from. With so much exposure to gambling and having these mechanisms easily available to us both in-person and virtually, it can be quite easy to relapse and fall back into bad habits. 

So what exactly is gambling addiction, and how does it begin? As defined by MayoClinic, gambling addiction is the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the toll it takes on your life. Similarly to drug or alcohol addictions, partaking in gambling stimulates the brain’s reward system. Overtime, overconsumption (and additionally overstimulation of this reward system) can alter how we perceive pleasure from activities, therefore causing a positive feedback loop of needing to do more and more to achieve the same high.  

Compared to casual gamblers who are able to stop when losing or be able to set limits on how much they’re willing to bet, people suffering from compulsive gambling have problems controlling their impulse to gamble, even when there are negative consequences. There are several risk factors that can contribute to individuals developing a gambling disorder, such as trauma, social inequality, low income, unemployment, poverty, and other unaddressed mental health disorders (particularly bipolar disorder or ADHD). 

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), to obtain a diagnosis of gambling disorder, a person must exhibit 4 of the following during the past year: 

  • Reliving past gambling or planning future gambles
  • Need to gamble with increasing amounts to achieve the desired excitement
  • Repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back on, or stop gambling
  • Restlessness or irritability when trying to cut down or stop gambling
  • Gambling when trying to escape from problems or negative mood/stress
  • After losing an item or money by gambling, feeling the need to continue to get even (referred to as “chasing” one’s losses) 
  • Often gambling when feeling distressed
  • Lying to hide the extent of gambling involvement
  • Losing important opportunities such as a job or school achievements or close relationships due to gambling
  • Relying on others to help with money problems caused by gambling

Only 1 in 10 people with gambling disorders seek treatment. Compared to other substance use or addictive disorders, gambling has shown to carry the highest risk of suicide. Roughly 1 in 2 gamblers will think about suicide, while 1 in 5 will attempt. It is imperative for individuals suffering from gambling disorders to receive proper care and support. 

Depending on how gambling disorder affects the individual will influence what their recovery path will look like. For individuals who suffer from other untreated mental health disorders, medication and therapy may be used to treat those symptoms and diagnoses. In other cases, the main form of treatment may lie in therapy and support groups, with further counseling pertaining to other aspects of the individual’s problems (such as marriage, career, or credit counseling). 

You are more capable than you believe, and you are more loved than you know. Remember to rely on the people around you, and to find the support you deserve. It is hard to begin recovery, but it is harder to have addiction rule your life. As novelist Charlotte BrontĂ« has once said, “I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” 

Resources:

  • NAMI Mercer Helpline Phone Number: 609-799-8994 x17
  • Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or call 988
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-8255
  • National Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700

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Feeding Frenzies

By

Angelina Villalva, NAMI Intern

In a world run on social media, it’s no surprise that we are all familiar with the issue of unattainable expectations. It’s easy to compare our lives to the bright perfect faces we see on our screens, promoting workout routines, diet plans, a lifestyle coaching class, or a simple tip book on how to live our lives just as amazing as them. 

When we constantly are put in a state of comparison between us and the (seemingly) best of the best, it’s easy to fall into a pit of insecurity and obsession with perfectionism. This can result in a multitude of mental health issues, especially eating disorders (ED). If you aren’t already caught up on what an eating disorder is or the types of eating disorders that exist, you can read up all about it in Bella Santulli’s blog post, Dorian Gray’s Mirror. 

Although eating disorders are, unfortunately, very common amongst adolescents and teenagers, something that is less commonly known is the subclass of eating disorders known as feeding disorders (FD). These are generally less talked about and less known, but are relatively common, with 1 in 4 children reported to have an FD and as many as 8 of every 10 disabled children having an FD. 

So to begin, what exactly is the difference between an eating disorder and a feeding disorder? There is a small difference in the association of age between the two, with EDs commonly linked to teens and adults while FDs are linked to infants and children (although both can occur at any age). However, the main difference between an ED and an FD lies in its psychology. 

To elaborate, eating disorders stem from issues of body dysmorphia. Behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse are in place as a coping mechanism gone wrong for the main issue, which lies in perception. Meanwhile, feeding disorders do not have this same issue. Feeding disorders are the direct result of food preferences and/or perceived intolerances of the actual food itself, not the effects on the body or bodily image. 

Feeding disorders are especially dangerous for children and infants. An FD may result in a child completely avoiding entire food groups, textures, or liquids necessary to develop properly which can lead to an increased risk for compromised physical and cognitive development. 

Some common causes of FDs are: 

  • Medical conditions (e.g., food allergies) 
  • Anatomical or structural abnormalities (e.g., cleft palate, gastrointestinal motility disorder, oral motor dysfunction) 
  • Reinforcement of inappropriate behavior
  • Behavior management disorders
  • Delayed exposure to a variety of foods
  • Parent-child conflict

The two most well-known types of feeding disorders are Pica and Rumination Syndrome. 

Pica disorder is when an individual compulsively eats things that aren’t food (or have any nutritional value) on purpose. This may not always be harmful depending on the substance, but can prove to be dangerous should the ingested thing be toxic or cause further health issues (such as teeth damage). Pica often affects young children under 6, pregnant women, or people with mental health conditions such as ASD or schizophrenia. Some common non-food items eaten include: 

  • Chalk
  • Charcoal
  • Clay, dirt, or soil
  • Eggshells
  • Hair, string, thread
  • Ice
  • Paint chips
  • Paper
  • Pebbles
  • Pet food
  • Soap 

Pica in pregnant women will usually go away on its own. Children will also usually grow out of pica, but it may be harder to do so for children with intellectual disabilities. The main form of treatment for those struggling is therapy, with medications typically focused for health related issues that have occurred from pica. 

Rumination syndrome is when an individual repeatedly regurgitates undigested or partially digested food. That regurgitated food is then chewed again and swallowed or spit out. People with rumination syndrome don’t purposely try to regurgitate their food, it happens without any effort and typically occurs at every meal. Rumination syndrome can lead to malnutrition, worn out teeth, bad breath, and social isolation. Similar to pica, rumination syndrome is most commonly treated by therapy. 

People who suffer from feeding disorders commonly experience feelings of shame and embarrassment. This can cause individuals to feel isolated and prevent them from getting the support that they need. Should you or anyone you know have similar signs and symptoms of feeding disorders, remember to treat it with grace. As always, stay kind, and remember you are loved and will be supported! 

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