May is Mental Health Month

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May is also known as the Mental Health Awareness month. This month is dedicated to helping raise awareness and educating the public about the ongoing mental health illnesses that some people have. It is also celebrated to help those who are living with these conditions and at the same time come up with strategies to attain mental health and wellness. 

There are millions of Americans who are battling mental health and the numbers increase each year. That is why the month of May is dedicated to mental health awareness to help encourage open conversations about these conditions and at the same time implement effective and efficient methods of treatment.

Hospitals and health systems play an active role in providing behavioral health care and helping patients find available resources in the community. They also help in creating unique partnerships with different companies to help address these behavioral health issues in non-traditional ways. Many of these include innovations in the way behavioral health disorders are diagnosed or identified and treated with the help of physical and behavioral health services, changes in the inpatient and outpatient settings as well as other community partners. All of these strategies help in improving the overall value of health care as well as improvements in the outcome of patient care and total costs. 

Facts About Mental Health Illness

In an effort to clear up some issues regarding mental health misconceptions as well as promote awareness, here are important facts that you should know about. 

  • One of the leading causes of ill-health and disability around the world are mental disorders.
  • One out of five people around the world have mental health disorders. That is more than the population of Florida and New York combined.
  • Women are more likely to seek help for their mental health issues.
  • Depression can occur twice as likely in people with heart diseases compared to the general population. 
  • People who took their own lives by suicide has a 90% underlying mental illness. 
  • About 18% of Americans have anxiety disorders.
  • 6.9% of Americans suffer from severe depression. 
  • 2/3 of people with known mental disorder never seek help. Those who do receive treatments can sometimes find them ineffective.
  • There are plenty of patients who withdraw from treatment even before they have completed their therapy sessions or medications. 
  • 1/5 of adults who received mental health treatment drop out before completing them. 
  • One out of five Americans suffer or have experienced mental illness. 
  • 1 out of 25 people experience serious mental health illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 
  • About 800,000 deaths around the world each year are due to suicide. 
  • About 41,000 people in the United States commit suicide yearly. 
  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death around the world among 15 to 29 years old. 
  • Those who have been to war or have experienced a major disaster are most likely to have mental disorders. 
  • People with mental health issues are generally non-violent and can even have jobs.
  • Only 3.5% of violent acts are due to people with serious mental health illnesses.
  • Genetics, injury, physical illness, or traumatic life experiences are among the many factors that can lead an individual to have a mental illness. 
  • People suffering from mental health issues often do not seek treatment due to the stigma associated with it. 
  • Only 44% of adults who are diagnosed with mental illness are able to get the treatment they need.
  • Therapy, yoga, meditation, and holistic treatments are all helpful in treating mental health issues. 
  • Addressing trauma in children and adolescents can help prevent the development of mental health disorders. 
  • Investing in improving mental health services in low to medium income countries is not as costly. Giving $2 to $4 per capita can help save millions of lives. 
  • About $200 billion dollars is lost due to serious mental health illnesses in the United States each year. 
  • About 50.5% of adults in the US with drug and alcohol addiction also suffer from mental illness. 
  • 20% of young adults suffer from a mental health condition.
  • 1 out of 10 adolescents has experienced a period of major depression. 
  • It is twice likely that members of the LGBTQ community suffer from mental health conditions.
  • About 70 to 90% of people who seek proper treatment for mental health disorders have seen reduced symptoms in their condition. 
  • Most people with mental illnesses lead a productive life despite their mental health challenges. 

Treatment for these conditions is plentiful but no single method is able to treat everyone effectively. In fact, the best solution to cure mental health problems is through a combination of treatment like the following:

Psychotherapy 

This is also known as “talk therapy”; it is a therapeutic way of treating mental illness with the help of a trained mental health professional. It is also a good way to help people who have a variety of mental and emotional difficulties. Through increasing the well-being and providing them healing, a person can benefit a lot from psychotherapy. It is also believed that 75% of those who enter this kind of treatment have seen improvements in their conditions. 

However, psychotherapy cannot be any help if it is done alone. This is why medications are paired with this therapy to treat common mental illnesses. Antidepressants, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, stimulants, and mood stabilizers are among the many medications that can help manage the symptoms and are highly recommended to be paired with psychotherapy. 

Case Management

Is the coordination of services for individuals suffering from mental health illnesses. A case manager usually handles and assists adults and children in getting access to the needed medical, social, educational, and other services needed by those who have mental health issues. If needed, hospitalization can also be given to the patient. This way they can be monitored, properly diagnosed, and given proper medications or treatment. 

Support Groups

These groups play an important role for individuals to unite and share their success stories and experiences regarding mental health illness. This could be through specific areas like family, grief, depression, or divorce. With the help of their counselor, members of the support group can guide each other through a shared goal of recovery. 

Complementary and alternative medicine

These are helpful to those who are living with mental health issues like insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety but want to learn coping skills to overcome their situation. Some of these alternative treatment includes exercises, relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation, and dietary supplements as part of their daily nutrition. 

Taking care of our mental health is a priority and this is a great month to take time to focus on it. If we are not of sound mind, we cannot function normally. So if you want to know more about mental health and help raise awareness, make sure to reach out to your local health groups. The more aware the people are about mental health, the more we can help others who are suffering these conditions.