Why we need to shout about Mental Illness
Image from Pixabay.com
Mental illness affects 1 in 4 people in the UK and 1 in 6 report experiencing a common mental health disorder (CMD) in any given week. CMD’s includes different types of depression and anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Mental illnesses impact on our physical health and our ability to participate in health-promoting behaviors. People with mental illness are known to have more difficulty in seeking out the physical healthcare they need and are entitled to, and subsequently miss out on routine checks like high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and weight.
Because mental health is still a taboo topic, many people are going undiagnosed and not getting the treatment they need, which has and continues to lead to suicide. With ever-increasing worldwide suicide, we need to find more and different ways to get everyone involved in raising awareness of mental illness and its impact.
The impact of mental illness in the UK alone
The following figures 1-5 were extracted from Mental Health First Aid England’s 2018 Statistics, and are quite telling. If facts and figures don’t appeal to you, I won’t be offended, just scroll down.
Pixabay.com
- Mental illness is the second-largest cause of disability in the UK and Mental illnesses are more common, long-lasting and impactful than other health conditions (1)
- People with a long-term mental health condition lose their jobs every year at around double the rate of those without a mental health condition. This equates to 300,000 people – the equivalent of the population of Newcastle or Belfast (2)
- 75% of mental illness (excluding dementia) starts before age 18 (3,4)
- Men aged 40-49 have the highest suicide rates in the UK (5)
- 70-75% of people with diagnosable mental illness receive no treatment at all (3,6,7)
Together we can raise awareness of mental illness
– Image by Pixabay
The figures are of course alarming, and it’s clear that we’ve all still got more work to do in terms of raising awareness of this massive global problem — the signs and symptoms, together with the stigma.
It’s also apparent that, more often than not we, the people who actually experience mental illness, are expected to take the lead on speaking out about mental health and promoting awareness. So, what else can we do?
How can we raise awareness
Of course, we have the annual World Mental Health Day, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, which will take place this year from 18th -24th May. This year’s theme is ‘sleep’. The week will focus on the connections between our sleep – or lack of it – and mental health.
When I worked in the Mental Health Day Hospital, I used to love the run up to this week. We’d plan and organise a huge garden party and with our patients’ help we’d invite every patient, including inpatients, their families, friends and visitors, together with every member of staff, including domestic staff, porters, Consultants and community teams, the local sixth forms, colleges and local dignitaries.
We downloaded all the available resources and made hand-out packs to give to visitors every day that week and to the party guests who promised to promote awareness in their workplaces, at colleges and universities. We always managed to get a small spot in the local newspaper and — okay — we never hit the front page but patients loved seeing their efforts being recognised.
UK mental health awareness initiatives
health – Image by Pixabay.com
Fortunately, we have more than one organisation promoting the various mental health awareness days. In the UK, each year in February, the Time to Talk Day tries to encourage openness about mental health to help people talk, listen and support others. While I wonder how many people are even aware of it, let alone participate, I still think it’s a great initiative.
April 2020 — Stress Awareness Month has been running every April since 1992 in a bid to increase public awareness of both the causes and treatments for stress.
9th May 2020 — National Schizophrenia Awareness Day shines a light on the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the UK and millions more worldwide.
These are just a few of the key dates and events that Rethink will be covering — check this page often as some themes have yet to be announced.
Global mental health awareness
Image from Pixabay.com
Wherever you live, I’m sure you’ve got similar initiatives and maybe you have different dates where your local organisations promote mental health awareness? Do they have online resources that you could use and share?
If you work in the care sector, encourage your colleagues, the care workers and those they care for to start a conversation about mental health? If you work in offices, factories, schools or in the community and you’re not sure how to start the conversation, download information packs to help you with ways to do this.
Talking about our own mental illness
For those of us who experience mental illness, it can be difficult or awkward to open up and it’s up to you entirely who you tell. But sharing it with someone might be a good way of getting some much needed support during difficult periods. You might even feel relieved not having to hide anymore and enjoy having someone to confide in at last.
family – Image by Pixabay.com
Furthermore if we’re able to talk openly about mental health, more people might be encouraged to seek professional help. Perhaps families and friends can learn from us, the way forward, to open up and talk about mental illness in their own families. They might even be inspired and join in— by lobbying our governments for better mental health care and improved services, together with raising awareness of mental illness and the impact it has on both patients and their families.
Only by raising this awareness will we be able reduce the discrimination and stigma that accompany mental illness.
Prevention is best
If we can do all the above, governments will be more informed and will have the knowledge needed to provide the right information, guidance and support in childhood and adolescence. The chances of developing mental health problems can be reduced for millions of people over a lifetime – with enormous benefits to the people directly affected, along with their families, friends and the communities they live in, Mental Health Foundation, 2015.
Prevention is best because, as yet, there is no cure.
While much of the work is done by the very people who experience mental illness, do you have any ideas about how to include others in this fight to raise awareness? Is there something else we can or should be doing? I’m looking forward to your comments or any questions.
References
- Public Health England. Health profile for England: 2019 [Internet]. 2019. Available from: gov.uk
- Stevenson D, Farmer P. Thriving at work: The Independent Review of Mental Health and Employers [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2017 Nov 22]. Available from: gov.uk
- Davies SC. Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2013, Public Mental Health Priorities: Investing in the Evidence [Internet]. 2014. Available from: gov.uk
- Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry [Internet]. 2005 Jun 1 [cited 2018 Oct 16];62(6):593. Available from: archpsyc.jamanetwork.com
- Office for National Statistics. Suicides in the UK: 2018 registrations [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2020 Jan 6]. Available from: ons.gov.uk
- Alonso J, Liu Z, Evans-Lacko S, Sadikova E, Sampson N, Chatterji S, et al. Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries. Depress Anxiety [Internet]. 2018 Mar [cited 2018 Jun 26];35(3):195–208. Available from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Evans-Lacko S, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Alonso J, Benjet C, Bruffaerts R, et al. Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Psychol Med [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2018 Jun 26];1–12. Available from: kclpure.kcl.ac.uk
Mental illness could be relieved or reduced by taking a balanced diet , excercising , having enough sleep …
Psychologists or physiotherapists and some medical treatments could help …
Here is a good link to read …
https://www.nami.org/FAQ/General-Information-FAQ/Can-people-recover-from-mental-illness-Is-there-a
Oh yes. There’s lots we can do to help our mood and mental state and relieve some symptoms. Unfortunately there is no cure, as yet. However, many people can recover to the point of leading fulfilling lives, working and contributing towards society. Thanks for the article, nami is a great resource. 🙂
God is in everyone and everything, after the winter comes the spring ,
The bells of joy start to ring ,
Rebirth of livelihood is a wonderful thing ,
The divine is here , there and everywhere,
For all of us , God would care ,
Dare to believe that life is fair ,
In the darkness of the night,
Stars could be shining bright,
The moonlight shows up on sight ,
Being from the divine light ,
Things are marvelous and white,
With God , by your side , nothing to fear and nothing to fright,
Gather in love and with the almighty God unite ,
Our powers we gather and
May almighty God , the warm flames of justice and love in the world ignite
https://lovechangeseverything.blog/2020/03/15/ill-meet-you-where-you-are/
Stay tuned in and connect with your divine self first to help others later on …
Wow! Schizophrenia awareness day comes the day before my birthday! There ya go! 😀
I’m really impressed by your work with World Mental Health Day! That whole shebang sounds like a great occasion!!
I was interested that 75% of mental illnesses start prior to adulthood. I can see that. I’ve had issues forever. It must be ingrained. It does seem unlikely that someone would develop a mental illness out of the blue, but I guess that happens too!!
I like awareness ideas like having college students take a quiz that could alert them to issues they might have and how serious the issues are, that they might not otherwise be aware of or worried about. Not like a diagnosis, but like a way to catch anything that could be problematic. I’ve observed that it’s a pivotal age for mental health in a lot of ways, and college students have better opportunities to get help on campus and out from under their parents’ rule. (‘Cause parents can be so used to their kid that they think the mental illness is normal, or whatever.) I would also love to see regular doctors ask a handful of questions designed to identify potential mental illnesses, like, “How are you sleeping?” or “Can you rate your level of happiness for me?” or whatever, instead of just checking blood pressure and asking about physical issues.
So this year’s theme is sleep? Love it! I actually have something to share about sleep. My best friend Sonya encouraged me to go off Ambien, because when I visited her, she noted that I was eating all her food while doped up on the stuff. 😀 She urged me to find a replacement for Ambien, so I researched supplements, and I’ve had a lot of luck with the hops (from beer) in liquid tincture form. (Liquids kick in faster, which is great when you’re treating insomnia!) I highly recommend it. No prescription needed! I’ve been able to lose weight without the Ambien sleepeating!
Great blog post!
Whoop, whoop, we’ll be looking out to see how you’ll celebrate 🙂
I probably knew I had mental health problems from a young teenager but obviously would never have spoken out about it then. It tooks years and a few horrific life events before I ‘broke’. It’s incredible when you think of it – how many people are struggling with no diagnosis, no treatment and support?
You’re right about the kids – I think they should be educated in some way (perhaps a specialist mental health lifeskills teacher?). I’ve always said that kids should be allowed to talk about their emotions in a safe and welcoming environment and learn that they’re not alone i.e. coming from a single parent family, divorce, adults shouting, domestic violence – I don’t mean to normalise all this, but kids should be aware of these things and learn skills to help them manage.
Wow, what’s that sleep tincture called and where do you get it? I take Amitryptaline which, even though I up the dose, I still don’t sleep and I hallucinate.
If there’s an alternative, I’m willing to try it. Thanks Liz 🙂 Caz x
Yeah, here it is in America’s Amazon page!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XVVR5K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Check it out! Before I went off Ambien, many years ago, I tried all the supplements: melatonin, valerian, etc., but none of them got it done. The hops! It’s all about the hops!! 😮
Thank you Meg, I’ll have a look x Oh and Sorry, I put the wrong name 🙁 x
That’s okay! I figured you must be psychic!! 😀 My middle name’s Elizabeth, and I love its many nicknames!! YAY!
Lol x
Walking in nature, moderate excercises , getting and meditating are helpful to relieve and heal your body …
The awareness days/weeks/months are great, but with a different day/week/month for every condition under the sun, there gets to be a sort of awareness fatigue. I think that’s why it’s also really important to have those one-on-one conversations.
Yeah, I agree with awareness fatigue Ashley and I wonder how else we can do it. One-to-one conversations are great and hopefully someone will take something positive from that and pass it on.
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Is that to stop the stigma that is attatched! to this subject! ✈️
It is indeed 🙂
For something that is so common there is still so much stigma surrounding mental illness. There’s also so much incorrect information about it which can do so much harm. We definitely need to keep shouting about it till things change!
Thank you Pooja and, yes, we will keep shouting 🙂 x
Thank you for sharing this! Those statistics are sobering, but I hope they also communicate something else essential to people who are experiencing mental illness: You are not alone. Whether we are currently dealing with mental health issues or not, if we can reach out to each other in solidarity, we can help improve this situation.
Yep, I think so 🙂
I love that there are so many days now set aside to raise awareness, its a very positive step toward ending stigma.
Thank you Carol Anne and not sure why, but of your messages have been going into spam – I’m not ignoring you, honestly 😉 x
It happens, it happens to me to recently with someone’s comments, don’t know why WordPress is so stupid sometimes XX
You just made me laugh out loud – WordPress is so stupid! I love it 😉
😍🙌🏻🤍