Mental Health Awareness Month Part 1

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Positively Alyssa

Before I get started and you continue reading, please be advised I am NOT a medical or mental health professional, nor am I giving any advice. I will share the knowledge I gained through hours of careful research because I wanted to share factual information regarding this essential subject.

Since 1949, the United States has acknowledged May as Mental Health Awareness Month. Unfortunately, there is a negative stigma surrounding mental health, and people may feel uncomfortable talking about it for fear of judgment and ridicule. While we should always recognize the courage and resilience of the tens of millions of Americans who are living with at least one mental health condition, we must make an extra effort during May. The mental health professionals who have dedicated their lives to aid in the healing of those struggling with mental health deserve acknowledgment and appreciation for their selfless efforts. Loved ones who remain devoted and supportive, standing with the one dealing with any mental health situation through every step of the journey to overcome the challenging battle should also be embraced with compassion, consideration, and empathy because this can be an emotionally draining and love road to travel.

A mental illness is any condition affecting an individual’s thinking, behavior, or moods and can drastically impact one’s day-to-day living and how they relate to others. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) intentionally uses the terms “mental health conditions” and “mental illness/illnesses” interchangeably because there is not a massive difference between them. An important fact that must be understood and relayed is that mental health conditions are prevalent. We may not hear about them often because many stay silent because they are too scared to be open and talk about their struggles.

There are many known mental health conditions affecting people, and the estimated number of cases is upsetting because too many people are not being properly treated or diagnosed. Sadly, too many people suffer silently and try to weather the storm alone. The NAMI has made public the following statistics, but please keep in mind these numbers could be a little higher or substantially higher.

One in five, 19.86% of adults (nearly 50 million Americans), in the United States experience mental illness yearly.

One in twenty, 4.91%, of adults in the United States experience a serious mental illness yearly.

One in six youths, ages 6-17 in the United States experience a mental health disorder yearly.

50% of all lifelong mental illnesses begin at the age of 14, and 75% by the age of 24.

The second leading cause of death among those between ages 10-14 is suicide.

The staggering numbers I have shared are only estimated and could be much higher due to many undiagnosed and untreated cases because of not seeking the necessary help.

Throughout the rest of this post, I want to share common warning signs of a mental health issue and common symptoms (but some different conditions include other unique symptoms). Before going any further, please understand a mental health condition is not a result of a single event. Research has suggested that multiple bonding causes, genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyles may determine whether an individual develops a mental health condition or not. Those who have a stressful or work life or traumatic events in life can be susceptible to developing a mental health condition. A few takeaways from this so far are if you have a mental health condition, it does not indicate you are broken beyond repair or that you or your family did anything wrong, as there is no one at fault for mental health conditions. Anyone who deals with a mental health condition can live a happy and meaningful life, including but not limited to healthy social, school, and work relationships, which is far more likely to happen with proper treatment.

Mental health professionals are acutely aware of many mental health illnesses and understand each has their own set of unique symptoms. Unfortunately, this can make distinguishing the difference between expected behaviors, behaviors resulting from physical illness causing altered actions and thoughts, or an actual mental illness. There is an abundance of common symptoms for mental health illnesses, which include extreme levels of worry or fear, feeling overly sad, disorderly thinking or difficulties concentrating or learning, drastic mood changes, extended or intense feelings of irritability, evading friends, family, and social interactions, an inability to understand and or relate with others, delusions or hallucinations, overusing substances such as alcohol or drugs, multiple physical ailments without a cause, and suicidal thoughts.

Mental health illnesses can begin during childhood. Young children are still growing and learning ways to communicate and identify their thoughts and emotions, and their signs may vary from adults. The most common and clearly defined mental health signs in children revolve around behavioral issues. Some signs include changes in performance in school, heightened levels of anxiety, hyperactive behavior, increased nightmares, habitual disobedience, aggression, and temper tantrums. These issues are typically more intense than children not getting their way or acting out.

The issues described above are only part of the battle when considering mental illness and the most common symptoms directly related. As a whole, mental health issues are unique, complicated to diagnose, and difficult for the person suffering to understand and accept. Mental health issues are comprised of numerous factors an individual endures. The following symptoms are critical to consider and the ways they may contribute to mental health conditions but may help when deciding on treatment options.

Anosognosia is a neurological condition causing a person to lack awareness of their mental health condition and instead are in denial. They do not have insight into that something with their thought process is not rational. An individual can have moments of clarity, and acknowledge their illness, but their insights shift back and forth.

The risks of suicide and suicidal thoughts can be terrifying, but it is crucial to understand help is available. We may be able to avoid this terrible outcome if we reach out to family and friends occasionally, so they know you are available and care about them. There are several warning signs of suicide, but the following are only a few and include an increase in alcohol and drug usage, aggressive behavior, withdrawal from friends and family, drastic mood swings, and impulsive or reckless behavior. Again, these are only a few signs that scratch the surface, but when a person has suicidal thoughts, they can go far deeper.

Self-harm is not as simple as it sounds and covers a range of different actions. Unfortunately, this is an issue extremely common in adolescents and young adults. One who is causing self-harm is displaying signs of emotional distress and uses pain as a coping mechanism. Self-harm can make an individual feel additional shame on top of how negative they are already feeling about themselves. Self-harm may include frequent cutting or burning, drinking alcohol, or doing drugs. Once the person has caused themselves enough scars, they may start avoiding interactions with others because they are unable to hide their scars.

Approximately 18 million people with a mental illness smoke as a coping mechanism to deal with symptoms or stress from life. Adults with a mental health illness have a higher rate of smoking than someone without a mental illness. The nicotine in cigarettes can temporarily alter moods and distinguishing symptoms, which makes a person consume more cigarettes. Smoking is not only a temporary relief but an unhealthy way to cope as it can cause more negative health consequences.

Substance use disorders is the continuous misuse of alcohol and or drugs. Those experiencing mental health issues may misuse drugs and or alcohol to cope with the overwhelming symptoms they are experiencing. The term for this combination is known as dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders. The symptoms of a substance abuse disorder may include withdrawing from family and friends, drastic behavioral changes, involving themselves with risky behaviors, development of a high tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, and feeling they need the drugs or alcohol to function in their lives.

Thank you for visiting my site today, and this will be all I will share today. I did not want to provide an overwhelming amount of information because I wanted you to be able to absorb as much as possible before adding the common mental health illnesses. I am working on completing the second part of this post, which will cover the most common mental health illnesses. I feel this information is important because mental health is consistently neglected, and our society has shunned it. We all must make a conscious effort to understand these issues better, so we can attempt to acknowledge when we or someone we know is suffering. There is no way to force someone going through a mental health illness or crisis to get the necessary help, but if we can start by understanding them, we might be a step ahead.

Always, Alyssa

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Positively Alyssa

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. This was established in 1949 to strengthen an understanding of the importance of mental well-being. It is time to recognize and praise recovery from mental illness for those inflicted with mental illness. Prevention and treatments can work for people. It is an effective way to help people recover from mental disorders and to live a full, and productive life. Unfortunately, in 2022 there is still a negative stigma surrounding mental illness. People are thought to be crazy, incompetent, or dangerous. This is a false understanding of mental illness, which this month is meant to alleviate and correct.

Over the past two decades, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and others within the US Department of Health and Human Services have collaborated to increase the importance of comprehending the prevention and treatment of mental health issues. There have been effective efforts to raise awareness regarding the significance of mental health and encourage acceptance, support, prevention, and recovery from mental health conditions which include but are not limited to the following:

Congress provided substantial behavioral health workforce investments in 2022, which included $225 million for behavioral health professionals and paraprofessional education.

SAMHSA supports the development of a Behavioral Health Workforce tracker, which is a new database of over 1 million behavioral health providers. This tracker offers users a visual of available behavioral health providers by geography, provider type, and Medicaid acceptance status.

It would be false to say that the United States has not failed to correct the misunderstanding of mental illness and help those suffering for the past several decades, but changes are being implemented now. The current administration in the United States remains dedicated to addressing the behavioral health dilemma people have been faced with and strengthening the mental health and well-being of all Americans. It has been acknowledged mental health challenges intensified drastically due to the COVID pandemic, including substance abuse, youth mental health, and suicide.

In March 2022, President Biden signed the Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act into law. This act will invest $135 million over 3 years towards improving mental health in healthcare providers, including suicide prevention efforts.

Our mental health refers to our emotional and social well-being. This can impact the way we think, feel, and behave, which can influence how we connect with others, decisions making, tolerate stress, and numerous other aspects of our daily life. We all focus our attention heavily on our physical health, which is important, but our mental health is just as important and often neglected.

Mental health is crucial for everyone. Taking care of ourselves is vital to prevent mental health from declining. Circumstances such as nutrition and gut health, stress, sleep, relationships, trauma, and much more can produce further poor mental health. While our mental health is strong and healthy, we can practice and learn coping skills to ensure we can handle difficult situations when they occur because we know they can happen at any time.

A mental health condition or mental illness is referring to a set of symptoms recognized by the mental health community. Individuals with a mental illness or condition encounter changes in mood, thinking, and or behavior. This can be extreme and unexpected for some. For others, it can mean they are unable to think clearly and avoid friends, family, and enjoyable activities. Unfortunately, some may hear voices that others cannot hear. For someone to be diagnosed, their changes in thinking and emotions must severely harm their ability to do the things they want to do. It does not matter what kind of mental health condition a person endures because the possibility to recover is possible.

There are many contributing factors to mental health problems. It is extremely likely for many people to have a complex combination of factors. Everyone is different, so some may be much more deeply impacted by certain things than another person would be. The following factors can result in a period of poor mental health:

Child abuse, trauma, or neglect.

Social isolation or loneliness.

Experiencing discrimination and stigma, including racism.

Social disadvantage, poverty, or debt.

Bereavement (loss of someone close to you).

Severe or long-term stress.

Living with a long-term health condition.

Unemployment or loss of a job.

Homelessness or poor housing.

Drug and alcohol abuse.

Domestic violence, bullying, or other abuse in adult life.

Significant trauma as an adult, such as military combat, experiencing a serious incident where you feared for your life, or being a victim of a violent crime.

Various physical causes such as a head injury or neurological conditions.

I plan to do a second post about treatments for mental health conditions because I did not want to make this post too long. One important thing to mention is trying to understand and support those with mental health conditions is going to be much more helpful than judging the person. Everyone around the world, whether they have a mental health condition or not deserves kind treatment and understanding. With the negative stigma people with mental illness face currently, they deserve compassion because we never know what will push them too far.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope the first part of my Mental Health Awareness post was interesting and provided you with a slightly clearer understanding. Life is hard enough already without judging an innocent person battling with a mental health issue, but we need to try to understand how challenging it must be for them. We might not understand the illness, but chances are it is confusing for them as well. I hope you are enjoying a relaxing and safe weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!