Did you know?

Since 1949, Mental Health America has recognized the month of May as Mental Health Month. The idea behind the organization is to spread the word that mental health is a disorder that everyone should care about, whether they are affected by it personally or know someone who is.

Some mental health conditions are linked together (e.g.; anxiety and panic disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder and depression). However, there are plenty of people that suffer from a singular disorder (obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, bi-polar disorder, etc.)

Mental illness by the numbers

• One in five Americans lives with a mental illness.
• At least twice as many women than men are affected by mental disorders such as depression, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• 60 percent of people with a mental illness didn’t receive treatment in the past year.
• Nine out of 10 people with a mental illness say they have been discriminated by work, school, police, doctors, and in social relationships as a result of their disease.
• American psychiatrists are in such high demand, only 20 percent are accepting new patients; of those available, only half accept insurance.
• Patients diagnosed with severe mental illness die an average of 10 to 20 years younger than the rest of the US population.

Mental health has come a long way in treatment, but still has work to accomplish in education and support. One major obstacle people suffering from a mental disorder are still struggling to overcome is the stigma associated with diagnosis. The majority of today’s society still has little to no knowledge on how to interpret mental illness. Many typically react in fear caused by ignorance; they don’t know what to say or do, so they avoid the situation/person entirely or respond offensively.

This is where the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) strives to make changes. Founded in 1979, this organization aims to educate, advocate, listen, and lead. According to NAMI, Americans living with a mental illness have an increased risk of second-rate health care, suicide, lost earnings (cumulatively $193.2 billion annually), and chronic medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

How you can help
When a close friend or family member confides in you their diagnosis, here’s how to respond respectfully and appropriately:

1. Listen
   They likely want to talk, so start off by just listening. Don’t interrupt them to ask questions, express sympathy, or automatically assume you know what they need.
2. Acknowledge
   Don’t brush off this important revelation of theirs with suggestions on how to “fix” them. However well-intentioned you may be, you are not a mental healthcare professional. Try, “Thank you for sharing this with me. I know it must have been difficult to work up the courage to say something.”
3. Support
   If they express fear on how to balance therapy appointments with everyday life, you can offer to babysit, do household chores, or errands—but only if you intend to follow through.
4. Check in
   Later on, check in and talk about all the things you normally would—your daily lives, the news, work—but don’t bring up their illness. If they want to discuss it, they will.
5. Vocabulary
   Work on reframing your vocabulary. Casual slang like “insane, nuts, crazy, psycho” is offensive to someone living with a mental illness. Refer to someone as “a person living with depression” instead of “a depressed person.”
6. Learn
   Just as you can learn CPR though certification courses, you can take a First Aid class for mental health (mentalhealthfirstaid.org). It will teach you how to encourage loved ones to seek professional assistance and to identify and respond to a crisis situation.

Help spread the word and end the stigma of mental illness by taking the stigmafree pledge or showing support on social media with the “share and learn” hashtag #mentalillnessfeelslike.

Whether or not you suffer from a mental illness, life’s stresses can take a toll. Physicians often recommend eating a healthy diet rich in nutrients and regular exercise as natural ways to live a more balanced life.

Some supplements can also aid in mental balance and clarity. Thousands of people have experienced an improved mental and emotional boost, in addition to a better balance of serotonin (happy hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body with Laminine. Read some of their stories here.