Your State's Mental Health Report Card

Grading the States 2009: State by State

The following chart may be sorted by each state's overall grade as well as its grade in each of NAMI's 2009 scoring categories (I. Health Promotion and Measurement, II. Financing & Core Treatment/Recovery Services, III. Consumer & Family Empowerment, and IV. Community Integration and Social Inclusion).

The data also may be sorted by the number of individuals with serious mental illness (prevalence) in each state and the 2006 state grade.

Click on a State Name to View Report Card				Click on a Header to Rank
State	2009 Grade	2006 Grade	Category I	Category II	Category III	Category IV	Prevalence*
United States	D	D	D	C	D	D	10,585,435
Alabama	D	D	F	C	D	F	186,541
Alaska	D	D	D	C	F	F	23,650
Arizona	C	D	D	B	B	C	220,909
Arkansas	F	D	F	D	F	F	116,435
California	C	C	B	C	D	B	1,175,006
Colorado	C	N/A	F	B	C	D	157,828
Connecticut	B	B	B	B	A	C	108,730
Delaware	D	C	D	D	F	D	28,652
District of Columbia	C	C	D	B	D	C	22,811
Florida	D	C	F	D	D	C	660,443
Georgia	D	D	D	C	C	C	348,789
Hawaii	C	C	D	B	D	D	32,435
Idaho	D	F	F	D	D	D	54,375
Illinois	D	F	D	C	C	D	420,841
Indiana	D	D	D	D	D	D	226,713
Iowa	D	F	D	D	F	D	104,922
Kansas	D	F	D	C	D	D	95,110
Kentucky	F	F	F	D	D	F	181,441
Louisiana	D	D	D	D	D	D	182,593
Maine	B	B	B	B	B	B	51,248
Maryland	B	C	B	B	B	C	175,173
Massachusetts	B	C	B	B	C	C	210,815
Michigan	D	C	F	B	D	D	348,154
Minnesota	C	C	D	C	C	D	167,810
Missippi	F	D	F	F	C	F	125,269
Missouri	C	C	C	C	D	D	222,596
Montana	D	F	F	C	D	F	38,961
Nebraska	D	D	F	D	F	F	60,744
Nevada	D	D	F	D	D	F	88,540
New Hampshire	C	D	C	C	D	D	42,818
New Jersey	C	C	C	C	B	D	258,617
New Mexico	C	C	C	C	F	D	71,674
New York	B	N/A	C	B	B	C	672,924
North Carolina	D	D	D	C	F	C	334,855
North Dakota	D	F	F	D	D	F	24,131
Ohio	C	B	C	C	C	B	418,207
Oklahoma	B	D	B	C	C	C	147,343
Oregon	C	C	C	B	F	B	137,345
Pennsylvania	C	D	D	C	C	D	448,455
Rhode Island	C	C	D	C	D	D	37,739
South Carolina	D	B	F	C	C	F	170,022
South Dakota	F	F	F	F	F	F	30,351
Tennessee	D	C	D	C	C	D	246,003
Texas	D	C	F	D	F	D	832,795
Utah	D	D	F	C	C	D	82,362
Vermont	C	C	C	C	C	D	22,712
Virginia	C	D	C	C	C	D	261,959
Washington	C	D	D	B	F	D	218,585
West Virginia	F	D	D	F	F	F	81,214
Wisconsin	C	B	D	B	C	D	188,057
Wyoming	F	D	F	D	F	F	19,733

Based on what we know, derived from 30 years of research and work in the field, NAMI understands what a successful mental health system must include. NAMI believes deeply that a transformed mental health system has the following very specific characteristics. It is:

1. Comprehensive
2. Integrated
3. Adequately funded
4. Focused on wellness and recovery
5. Safe and respectful
6. Accessible
7. Culturally competent
8. Consumer-centered and consumer-and family driven
9. Well-staffed and trained
10. Transparent and accountable

I am participating in NAMIWalks MetropolitanHouston on May14th 2011. I have created a team called the BiPolar Bears. Please, if you would like to join my team, go to my TeamPage. Or if you would like to sponsor me in my walk you can go to MyPage and donate. You can also go to the NAMI website and look up a NAMIWalks in your area in which you can participate. 

~I'm not "crazy," I'm just "A Little Bit Special"~

Save The BiPolar Bears!

The Bipolar Bear

BiPolar bears, also known as north-south bears or Nanuq-depressive bears in the Inuit language, are a bear species native to both the Arctic and Antarctic. BiPolar bears migrate between the north and south poles so that they remain in winter conditions year-round. They likewise alternate between “high” states of mania (in the north) and “low” states of depression (in the south). Why these geographically-determined mood swings should be polar in nature has baffled conservationists and animal psychiatrists alike.


It is a common misperception that bipolar bears live only in the north, where they are often observed behaving in a wild, unpredictable manner – climbing icebergs, violently smashing inukshuks, hunting to the point of depleting fish stocks and leaping over igloos. Conversely, they have rarely been sighted in Antarctica, which psychiatrists attribute to depression-induced isolation; though others suggest that the lack of southern sightings is merely due to the fact that few humans live in Antarctica to observe them.

The Manic Pole

Manic bears demanding a ride south for the summer

BiPolar Bears living in the north tend to act in a manner suggesting elation, euphoria, irritation, and/or suspicion. They have substantial energy, can roar non-stop for hours and they develop grandiose ideas, some of which lead to conflicts with other animals. When these feelings occur, an international team of animal psychiatrists come forward and offer them medication, usually under the pretense that it will make them feel even better than they do. Indeed, the bears are satisfied with their "floating" experiences, though observers insist that they never leave the ground.

The Depressive Pole

One severely depressed bear

Psychiatrists in Antarctica describe BiPolar bears as experiencing “sadness, guilt, isolation, loneliness, fatigue, and lack of motivation.” Wildlife biologists describe them as “hibernating.” Nonetheless, therapists have been sent in to see if they could assist the depressed animals, with little success. No cause of the bears’ depression could be discerned; indeed, their more-than-adequate supply of fur and blubber tended to keep them well insulated from any disparaging remarks aimed their way. Furthermore, the bears were not forthcoming about their depression; they kept whatever was inside them well camouflaged.

Possible Explanations

It has been hypothesized that BiPolar bears suffer from seasonal affective disorder, though this theory does not explain why they are depressed during the southern winter but manic in the northern winter. A more popular theory is that their state of mind is diet-related.

Conservation status

The debate as to whether BiPolar bears are endangered tends to be polarized. Conservationists on the one hand demand that they be protected, whereas conservatives on the other, insist that they cannot possibly be endangered because they never existed in the first place.

*j/k*

I am participating in NAMIWalks MetropolitanHouston on May14th 2011. I have created a team called the "BiPolar Bears". Please, if you would like to join my team, go to my TeamPage. Or if you would like to sponsor me in my walk you can go to MyPage and donate. You can also go to the NAMI website and look up a NAMIWalks in your area in which you can participate.

~I'm not "crazy," I'm just "A Little Bit Special"~

"I Should Have Known Better"

Here are some important facts about mental illness and recovery:

• Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Mental illness falls along a continuum of severity. Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion-about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans-who live with a serious mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year
• The U.S. Surgeon General reports that 10 percent of children and adolescents in the United States suffer from serious emotional and mental disorders that cause significant functional impairment in their day-to-day lives at home, in school and with peers.
• The World Health Organization has reported that four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are mental disorders. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children.
• Mental illness usually strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable.
• Without treatment the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering: unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in the United States.
• The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.
• With appropriate effective medication and a wide range of services tailored to their needs, most people who live with serious mental illnesses can significantly reduce the impact of their illness and find a satisfying measure of achievement and independence. A key concept is to develop expertise in developing strategies to manage the illness process.
• Early identification and treatment is of vital importance; By ensuring access to the treatment and recovery supports that are proven effective, recovery is accelerated and the further harm related to the course of illness is minimized.
• Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.

 I am participating in NAMIWalks MetropolitanHouston on May14th 2011. I have created a team called the "BiPolar Bears". Please, if you would like to join my team, go to my TeamPage. Or if you would like to sponsor me in my walk you can go to MyPage and donate. You can also go to the NAMI website and look up a NAMIWalks in your area in which you can participate or sponsor a walker.

More information on NAMI and NAMIWalks can be found in my upcoming posts.

~I'm not "crazy," I'm just "A Little Bit Special"~ 

"A Day In The Life"

I created the "Bipolar Bears," and this page, in honor of those suffering with Bipolar Disorder. Here is my story:

When I was 15 years old I began struggling with anxiety. At first it was not being able to ride the bus home from school because I was too nervous, then it was not wanting to go to school because I was too afraid to leave the house. By the time I was a senior, I had found a way to control my anxiety, I wouldn't eat. I'm 5'3", and I reached 100lbs, I look back at photos from that time and realize that I looked anorexic, which now I know I was.

I finally saw a doctor when I was 19, although it was my family doctor. She told me that I had generalized anxiety disorder. She prescribed me 2 medications that worked for a total of 5 months. I lied to her and my family and told them that I felt better, all the while starting to feel worse.

I started to become more depressed and withdrawn, and then I met my now husband David. In him I found someone that I could confide in, and to my surprise he didn't judge, or run away.

I continued down this spiral over the next 8 years. I surprised myself by surviving through our wedding on May 28 2005, which to this day I am extremely proud of. Then, things got even worse. In January of 2007, when I was 24, I freaked out...I screamed at my husband over a dang Dr Pepper!!

That was when I realized I needed help. I had finally had enough. I couldn't take it anymore, I didn't WANT to take it anymore. I had to do something, if not for myself, then for my family. So I sucked it up and called a psychiatrist.

When I came out of that first appointment with MY doctor, it felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I finally had a diagnosis, I was suffering from Bipolar Disorder. I had medication to keep me stable, a doctor to talk to, my family to talk to, my friends to talk to, and what seemed like a whole world of people to talk to.

I can happily say, that after 3 years of trial and error, I have finally found a combination of medications that has helped me change from a woman suffering from Bipolar Disorder, to a woman LIVING with Bipolar Disorder.

I suffered with this disease for almost 10 years. NAMI is fighting to change that. With the money that you donate, they can help tons of people like myself get the help they need to learn to LIVE with their disease.

Help the "Mind Of America" by sponsoring me on My NAMIWalks Page and/or join my team the "BiPolar Bears."

~I'm not "crazy," I'm just "A Little Bit Special"~

Hey Y'all!

I've created this blog in order to make you aware of a Grassroots organization that is near and dear to my heart and mind, NAMI.

NAMI stands for, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.

For three decades, NAMI has established itself as the most formidable grassroots mental health advocacy organization in the country. Dedication, steadfast commitment and unceasing belief in NAMI's mission by grassroots advocates have produced profound changes. NAMI's greatest strength is the dedication of their grassroots leaders and members. They are the families, friends and individuals that serve to strengthen communities across the country.

Due in large part to generous individual, corporate, and foundation donations, NAMI is able to build on its success and continue to focus on three cornerstones of activity that offer hope, reform, and health to the American community: Awareness, Education, and Advocacy.

Mental illnesses range from the more well known BiPolar Disorder, to disorders that most people wouldn't normally consider mental illnesses, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders. I myself am a woman living with BiPolar Disorder.

Mental illnesses are MEDICAL conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are MEDICAL conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

Serious mental illnesses include major Depression, Schizophrenia, BiPolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Borderline Personality Disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.


Mental illnesses can affect persons of ANY age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are NOT the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.

In addition to medication treatment, psychosocial treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, peer support groups and other community services can also be components of a treatment plan and that assist with recovery. The availability of transportation, diet, exercise, sleep, friends and meaningful paid or volunteer activities contribute to overall health and wellness, including mental illness recovery.

I am participating in NAMIWalks MetropolitanHouston on May14th 2011. I have created a team called the BiPolar Bears. Please, if you would like to join my team, go to my TeamPage. Or if you would like to sponsor me in my walk you can go to MyPage and donate. You can also go to the NAMI website and look up a NAMIWalks in your area in which you can participate.

More information on NAMI and NAMIWalks can be found in my upcoming posts.

~I'm not "crazy," I'm just "A Little Bit Special"~