NAMI Man: Super Hero w/ Super Human Story of Mental Illness Recovery

NAMI Man: A Super Hero with a Super Human Story of Mental Illness Recovery

by

Nick Emeigh is a super human with a very human story of mental illness and recovery.

Nick’s alter ego is NAMI Man—the world’s only mental health superhero. As NAMI Man, Nick busts stigma wherever he goes, sharing a message of compassion and understanding.

According to Wikipedia, a superhero is “a stock character that possesses superpowers, abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime.”

I can’t think of a better sentence to describe NAMI Man. Or Nick.

To help the world become a better place, Nick is the director of Director of Outreach & Development for NAMI Bucks County, PA, the small but mighty chapter of the national organization called NAMI. NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a US -based advocacy group originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness.

In this filmed portrait, we meet Nick as he and his colleagues ready for the annual NAMI Bucks County Stride for Mental Health—a fundraising and community-building day of action that raises money to support NAMI’s recovery-focused support and education programs (which include the NAMI Online Support Groups,  Peer-to- Peer Education, Family-to-Family Education, Say It Out Loud School Programs, Ending the Silence Presentations, In Our Own Voice Presentations, Veteran’s Programs and the NAMI HelpLine). The day makes all of that good work possible. It’s also an event that creates community, where people feel connected and supported. NAMI Man makes a special appearance and kicks off the festivities.

I was moved watching Nick in action, watching NAMI Man in action, and hearing Nick’s words in action as he shares his own story of hurt, healing and recovery. I’m so pleased to share his story with you.

Beautiful human. Beautiful superhero. Beautiful Nick.

I hope you enjoy.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Gabriel Nathan | EDITOR: Glenn Holsten | DESIGN: Leah Alexandra Goldstein | PUBLISHER: Bud Clayman

See Related Recovery Stories: Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Mental Health Short Films

Glenn is an award-winning director who loves to create compelling documentary story experiences of all lengths for screens of all sizes. He is an avid reader, studied literature in college, and his passion for stories with strong characters and interesting narratives stems from those years. His career as a visual storyteller began at WHYY (the public television station in Philadelphia) where he worked for 15 years before becoming an independent filmmaker. In addition to his PBS documentaries about arts and culture, he has directed films about justice and human rights, and now, mental health. He was emboldened to undertake his current documentary project, Hollywood Beauty Salon, a colorful feature-length documentary about surviving mental illness and finding the courage for recovery, after his transformative experience directing OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie, along with Bud Clayman and Scott Johnston.