Tom’s Story

It is much harder to disregard an illness that has a face and a name.
That's why I speak.

I am an actor and a former broadcast journalist and college professor who speaks about the often under-reported, untreated and deadly mental health crisis in the United States.

My keynote, "Chewing through the Straps--Living with Mental Illness" is an often humorous look at my own illness, but also a moving narrative of how I found spiritual healing, especially after the suicides of my younger brother and sister. (see my SpeakerMatch profile)

As blogger Therese Borchard so eloquently wrote, "I, Too,  have a Dream--- About Mental Health."

I have Bipolar Disorder, which ran through my family like a Kansas tornado. It left three dead, the suicides of my brother and sister and the early death of our father, because of fear of stigma.

Most doctors agree that genetics is by far the leading cause of bipolar disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a child with one parent diagnosed with bipolar disorder has a 15 to 30% risk of also having bipolar disorder. When both parents have bipolar disorder, the risk increases to 50 to 75% (DBSA).

I've been in recovery since my diagnosis at age 42. I am now 60 and have committed the remainder of my life speakng and writing about mental illness to help people with the disease and their families and friends understand how they can help. It is my "soul calling."

The best way to fight mental illness stigma is to tell our stories:

1. The stories that we share from our life experience speaks to the truth about living with, and recovering from mental illness.

2. Our stories can help break through the stigma about the causes of mental illnesses by breaking down barriers of ignorance, prejudice and unfair discrimination, and promoting education, awareness and action.

3. Our stories can be a powerful advocacy tool that helps create policy and protects against the abuse of rights and mistreatment of consumers.

4. Telling our story, and listening to the stories of others in recovery, can promote our healing and the healing of our peers.