Thursday, February 27, 2014

Meet Stacy Pershall, Conference Speaker

Much anticipation is building about our 14th Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 12 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott.  We are pleased to welcome amazing speakers to illustrate our theme: "Young Adults and Mental Illness: Voices for Hope." 

You can view the full agenda here. Over the next few weeks on the NAMI Blog, we will highlight each speaker, beginning with the first speaker of the day Stacy Pershall.

Meet Stacy Pershall, Motivational Speaker and Author

Morning Keynote Address - What I Wish I’d Known in My 20s: A Unique Story of Recovery
When Stacy Pershall was a teenager, she knew she was different, both in how she felt and how she acted on those feelings. But what she didn't realize for many years was that she was struggling with a serious mental illness, borderline personality disorder (BPD), as well as an eating disorder. It was only after she reached a state of complete exhaustion, near suicide, that she submitted to treatment. Stacy's presentation highlights BPD, eating disorders and bullying from a young person's perspective. She shares how BPD looks to others as opposed to how it feels, and the healing effect of unconditional love. She also discusses suicide, body modification, dialectical behavior therapy and reducing stigma, and how young people facing serious mental illness have found innovative, highly personalized recovery methods such as tattooing and body piercing.

For more information or to register for this conference, visit our website.

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