Minority Mental Health Month
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. In Part 1 on of a two-part discussion, our own National Advisory Board Member Sita Diehl of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) shares with us some of the things we should know about mental health, wellness and recovery, it’s unique effect on marginalized communities and how to support choices for ourselves and our loved ones.
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. What should we be doing to support our positive mental health?
The key for good mental health and the key for Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is early identification and early intervention – getting screening for psychosis and depression. There are very simple questions that can help you as an individual or a friend determine if you need to do more about your personal mental health. Then you can always call NAMI or MHA or Depression and Bipolar support alliance or family doctor to determine if it is something that you should be concerned about. Even then, you have the options for care and it doesn’t have to be a great big thing. Many people are so afraid of being seen as someone with a mental health condition that they often don’t realize that it is really part of normal life.
Are mental health conditions very common? Are many Americans struggling with mental illness?
It is really important because mental health conditions are really common – much more common that people know about. 1 in 5 people have a Mental Health condition at some time in their life, and if you zero in on psychosis – which is considered to be one of the more serious mental health conditions – almost 3 in every 100 people will have a psychotic experience at some point in their lives which translates to approx. 100,00 young Americans a year – which may not seem like a lot but translates to the fact that every high school, or college student has a friend or family member who is in the first stages of psychosis so it really pays to be wide awake and paying attention.
It used to be that this was the sort of thing that was whispered behind closed doors, and increasingly, people are willing to talk about mental health. There is an extensive body of research that says that when someone is in the first stages of psychosis (6 months to a year) if they can get the right kind of help early, then the chances are really high that they can go on with their lives as they do now. Thankfully younger generations especially, are beginning to understand that mental illness is a normal part of life. Understanding that mental illness is part of life in the same way some are overweight or some have diabetes has made it more likely that people will get the care they need and continue to live a “typical” life.
What do you do when someone’s culture or background might be a hurdle to them talking about their own mental well-being or getting appropriate treatment?
There is an added dimension to mental health when you consider how individuals with marginalized cultures consider mental health conditions. Not all of these groups have had the opportunity to consider this as part of normal life – making the stigma very intense. There can be a sense that mental health conditions don’t happen to people in their culture so it makes it more difficult to face or find access to screening and treatment tools. There are also different places inside of ethnic and racial minority communities to which they may turn for help that are different than the majority community. E.g. faith community. *Need to educate faith lenders. There are times that pastoral counseling is needed and professional council is needed. There should be a warm hand off. July is Minority Mental health Month in which all of the MH organizations also highlight the unique needs and approaches for minority mental health.
Why is there such a stigma surrounding mental illness?
A part of it is realizing that there is effective help. Stigma at its core is related to us not believing that there is anything that will help. Cancer used to be stigmatized because people believed it was untreatable or it was catching. They did not know what the treatment was like. We are at a similar place right now with mental health conditions, where there are very effective treatments – they aren’t as available as they need to be but they are increasingly available. As more and more people get the help they need early and get to go on with their lives – just like people with diabetes – that’s a life threatening condition and if you don’t get help, horrible things happen and you die. With psychosis if you get the help early, it doesn’t need to be the end of your life: You can go ahead and finish school, get a job and work, keep your friends and raise a family – all that sort of stuff, but you do have to remember that you have a serious condition and that you should keep up with treatment. Increasingly we need to bring mental health out of the shadows and if we turn and face it there is a lot that can be done and it doesn’t need to wreck your life.
What are some of the things that we should know about mental illness?
Psychosis is not what people think about from what they see in the movies. It is a set of medical symptoms in which your mind plays tricks on you. It is a set of things that happen in your neurological system in which you might see or hear or taste things that other people don’t, or you might feel really guarded and fearful around other people and think that they might be talking about you or think they are plotting against you, or you might have unusual thoughts or beliefs that persist over time, like maybe the signs on the trucks are meant for you, or something that is coming across on the TV is specifically meant for you , or you might feel really strong or unusual emotions that might feel out of context or you might feel nothing at all –sometimes people just can’t feel and their emotions seem blunt. Often when these things start happening to someone there is just so much going on inside that you find it hard to relate to other people, so you end up withdrawing from family and friends or just holding up in your room so that you can get away from the stimulus of others talking to you, but because you are also paying so much attention to what’s going on inside you are less likely to care for yourself, so your grooming goes downhill, maybe you are not sleeping or eating well because you are consumed by these experiences. It goes without saying that you might be having trouble concentrating so if you are in school you might have trouble hearing or seeing or perceiving. It is really tough to pay attention to what is going on in class or what is going on around you when there is so much going on inside of you.
Is Mental illness something that is always with us or is it something that comes on suddenly?
It usually doesn’t happen suddenly. It usually is something that comes on over time. We all have suspicious thoughts about other people and we all see things that other people don’t. It is not always a bright line. If you are experiencing these things, often when people get treatment, they say, “Oh! I didn’t realize that other people didn’t have to deal with this.” So it is a real surprise. You think that this is the way things are and that you just have to make it through. It tends to be hard on people’s self-esteem especially when they are carrying a load that they do not realize other people are not carrying.
It usually happens when you are young – in your teens or early 20s and (sometimes earlier than that but you don’t notice). Your brain is growing so rapidly at this stage in your life that it is not always readily apparent.
Mental illness can seem like such a scary thing. What can a person do to help if they are not a doctor or professional? How do you know if someone needs help?
How do you know when someone might need help? Initially it is more of a feeling. When you think of someone that you care about and you believe that they might be in trouble. If these feelings arise, it is an important time to be kind to the person. What often happens is that people draw away. The person is having a hard enough time as it is and then suddenly people draw back which makes the person feel even more isolated – making them feel worse. As a friend if you can just be kind, and be supportive and be a friend (without getting drunk or stoned - when people have a vulnerability to psychosis they have a vulnerable brain which means that any kind of substance use is more likely to lead to psychosis.) it can be a big help. Stay close and listen to them and care about them and the chances are pretty good that they will start to open up. At that point it is best to be a good listener and a caring friend with an open mind and heart. If they open up you can help them find help and there are some relatively easy ways to find help, like calling (NAMI) 800 950 6264. They will get support from trained individuals – many of whom have had mental health conditions themselves. They will listen and help the person sort out what they are going though, if they need professional help and where they can find help.