Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s the time of year in which we recognize, and honor, those with mental illness by advocating for increased education and research to further awareness, understanding and treatment. As a treatment provider, I have an acute understanding of how difficult it can be to navigate the stigma that perpetuates a cycle of shame and poses an obstacle to seek treatment and reach out to others for support. Often clients experience difficulty in talking about their own stories with their loved ones or have experienced discrimination from someone in their lives. We can all do our part to educate ourselves not only for the love of knowledge, but for the benefit of our family, friends and ourselves. Doing so can help spot early signs of distress, can encourage others to share their own experiences, and potentially change lives.
Often signs and symptoms of mental illness can go unseen, which means countless individuals suffer in silence.
1. In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime.
2. 5 percent of adults (18 or older) experience a mental illness in any one year, equivalent to 43.8 million people.
3. Half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24.
4. In the United States, only 41 percent of the people who had a mental disorder in the past year received professional health care or other services.
(Cited from www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org)
While we have a ways to go to help #decreasethestigma we have made tremendous progress to bring mental illness into the public awareness, to allow for open and non-judgmental discourse and to encourage those who need help to connect to necessary services. Everyone faces challenges that can impact their mental health. Now, more than ever, we are all under increased stress from ongoing uncertainty about COVID-19. On this #givingtuesday, please consider supporting an organization that helps #breakthestigma surrounding mental illness to encourage individuals to step out of the darkness and seek support.
Anxiety & Depression Association of America