Travis Miner had his first manic episode his senior year of high school. He remembers his mind racing faster and faster and a surge of grandiose thoughts.

“I had trouble calming down and wound up in the hospital,” says Miner, who was later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a condition that manifests itself in the form of different mood disorder symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions and sometimes depression.

It was the first of two hospitalizations that summer.

“After that manic episode I had to rebuild my life. I didn’t feel like myself and I couldn’t do many of the things I used to.”

But Miner has since learned to manage his diagnosis and is now a presenter for a local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He will be one of thousands expected to participate in this year’s ninth annual NAMI Walk, to be held Saturday, May 18 at Marina Park in Kirkland.

The stigma shrouding mental illness, keeps many in the closet about their diagnosis, says NAMI Washington State Walk Manager, Gazala Uradnik, so an event like this one is twofold: to raise funds for local chapters, and to provoke dialogue about a vastly neglected issue.

“It felt good to be a part of it,” says Miner, who first walked in 2007, back when the event was still being held in Seattle. “To be with other people who might have mental illness…to see that community, it’s empowering. It gives you hope, and it makes you feel accepted.”

Uradnik, who raises money for area non-profits, can remember the first year she participated, walking a course lined with statistics–1 in 4 adults diagnosed nationally, 40 million individuals afflicted by anxiety disorders alone and 1 in 10 children with a serious mental or emotional disorder.

Mental illness has garnered more attention in recent months with a string of headlined tragedies, sometimes baseless allegations by the public and media, and the popularity of such movies as “Silver Linings Playbook.” But Christine Lindquist, chair of this year’s walk and executive director of the greater Seattle chapter of NAMI, says there is still much work to be done. Dialogue often lacks the personal narratives needed to shatter stigma.

“People affected by mental illness are trying to live normal lives, to balance relationships, work and to raise a family,” she says. “And yet we have some really distorted ideas [throughout] the country, about what mental illness is.”

NAMI, which has 23 affiliates throughout the state, offers support groups and classes both for those living with mental illness and their friends and family. Programming also trains police departments, even metro bus drivers to identify symptoms so that they know how to engage with anyone they come in contact with. Mental illness can be debilitating, but as in Miner’s case many individuals learn to manage and thrive with their diagnoses.

“The symptoms I was living with meant that I wasn’t able to go down the path I had planned,” he says. “For a while I was pretty disheartened, but with time I came to accept it.”

Miner will transfer to Bastyr University in the fall, where he hopes to study health psychology, one day applying that education and his own experiences to a career as a counselor. He credits services like NAMI with helping him to rebuild his life after that initial hospitalization and diagnosis.

“The most amazing stories are the stories of recovery,” says Lindquist. “Volunteers are regularly in our office, who have serious and persistent illness. But to see them come every week, and every week they emerge a little more from that cloud of illness, to become more interactive, clearer and to see that personality, is an amazing transformation.”

Last year’s event drew crowds of more than 1,000 and affiliates hope to up their participation this year with a goal of raising $225,000.

“The sheer volume of people helps raise awareness,” says Uradnik. “Having that many people in one place, to see that [mental illness] affects us, and the people we love, it really does help break down stigma.”

If you would like to walk or donate to NAMI, visit their website here.