No Kidding? Me Too!
In early February, I had the pleasure to meet Joe Pantoliano, an actor best known for his role as Ralph Cifaretto on the Sopranos. I remember him most as Eddie Moscone, the bail bondsman in the movie Midnight Run starring Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin.
Like me, Joe attended a seminar on “Executives at Risk and Addiction in the Workplace” sponsored by Lee Hecht Harrison featuring Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Founding Chair and President of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. (More on what I learned in another post.)
At the end of the program, Joey Pants (as some call him) announced a new initiative he’s started, No Kidding, MeToo!
The mission posted on his website is, “No Kidding, Me Too! is an organization whose purpose is to remove the stigma attached to brain dis-ease through education and the breaking down of societal barriers. Our goal is to empower those with brain dis-ease to admit their illness, seek treatment, and become even greater members of society.”
When I went to the NKM2 website, I looked at the list of brain dis-eses and noticed one was missing: borderline personality disorder. I’m very familiar with that disorder.
My company’s mission is to help leaders level the playing field of obstacles blocking optimum workplace performance and career advancement.
The mission evolved from my own battle to remove a significant hindrance while working to be a leader: borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is a serioius mental illness that is diagnosed more often than schizophrenia or bipolar (manic-depressive illness) combined.
Recent research shows a prevalence of BPD in nearly six percent of adult Americans—which translates to 18 million who experience poor self-image, impulsivity, rage, bodily self-harm, recurrent suicidal behavior, unstable relationships, and frequent career changes.
Among other approaches to my recovery, I read books about others who suffered and recovered from mental illness. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison writes about her history of manic-depressive illness in An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Mood and Madness. She states, “As the years went by I became more and more determined to pull out some good from all of the pain, to try and put my illness to some use.” The author continues to say that tenure as a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine was, “a symbol of stability I craved and the ultimate recognition I sought for having competed and survived in the normal world.”
One prominent symbol of my stability is my ”recognition” as an Adjunct Instructor teaching, “Employee Development and Training” to Human Resources majors within the Management Department at the Zicklin School of Business. Zicklin, located in Manhattan, is part of Baruch College, the nation’s most ethnically diverse campus.
Another is working with leaders who trust their careers to me. It’s a trust I take very seriously. It’s a trust I’ve earned working to be a leader and gaining workplace intelligence.
I’m making the decision to go public with my disorder to pull out some good from all the pain and put it to some use. There is hope for those who have BPD. There is hope for your talent and leadership effectiveness to emerge from behind the cloud of mental illness. There is hope that your talent that can take you to places—and into leadership positions—you never thought possible. There is hope for you to make valuable contributions to others.
Like Joey Pants, do not let the stigma of a mental illness or a fear of psychotherapy deter you from seeking help. Help is out there.
One way you can find help about BPD is to visit National Education Alliance for Borderline Personliaty Disorder. There you will find information and resources on this serious mental illness.