Sunday, April 14, 2013

NAMI and Numbers...



As I have talked about in previous blog articles, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a wonderful resource for those dealing with mental illness.  They are terrific in terms of education and information.  They provide support.   But for me, the most important thing that they provide is acceptance.  In every interaction with NAMI, I feel respected. I feel heard.  I don’t feel judged.  And that means that I never feel scared to call them for support.  That, in and of itself, is the reason that I so respect the organization.  The reality is that for a person with mental illness, finding people that truly understand what mental illness is can be a hit or miss proposition.  I have been spoken down to by people who equate mental illness with lack of intelligence.  People are frequently condescending to me because “everybody gets sad”.   I have tried to get support from friends and family who don’t understand what having a mental illness is.  I have found that they are just humoring me when I try to explain what mental illness is.  So, when I really need to speak to someone who ‘gets it’, I know that NAMI is there.  It really is an amazing feeling.


I find myself looking at all sorts of materials as I write these blog articles.  I search out other blogs, newspaper articles and all sorts of factual materials about mental illness.  So, this weekend I found an explanatory brochure put out by NAMI.  Having read many explanations about what mental illness is, I can tell you that I think this is a clear explanation.  Here is the link to finding the brochure online:  http://bit.ly/134GRNz  The other reason that I found this so important is that they stick to factual explanations about many mental illnesses, including OCD, PTSD, and other conditions that you may not have a clear understanding of. The explanations are short and sweet, so you aren’t going to be left feeling like you had too much information thrown at you. It is also trustworthy information, compiled by medical professionals.  So, if you are looking for some information that is clear and easy to digest, look up this brochure.  I truly hope it helps.  Let me know.


Now, on to what I found in the brochure.  The first thing that jumped out at me was a short discussion about numbers.  Every time I look at information regarding numbers, I am struck by how widespread mental illness really is.  Of course, they repeated that one in four adults has a significant mental illness in any given year.  That is 60 million people.  Think about that.  Then they discussed the numbers suffering from SERIOUS mental illness.  They place those numbers at one in seventeen.  Now, when we say serious, we are talking about things like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression.  Then they threw in one that I didn’t know.  Did you know that one in ten children suffers from a mental or emotional disorder?  I didn’t know that.  What does that say about the difficulties of raising those children?  Or handling them in school?  Another set of interesting facts:  Up to 25 million Americans suffer from major depression.  And women are 70% more likely to suffer from depression than men.  (We don't really know why.)


But for me, the most shocking statistic was this one:  Only one in three of the adults and one out of two children actually receive treatment for their condition.  In this statistic, we are talking about DIAGNOSED children and adults.   As NAMI says, there isn’t a coordinated system to obtain the kinds of treatment needed.  That includes the medical treatment and medication, the case management and therapy.  It can also include other kinds of supportive services because appropriate treatment is very individual.  That is sad.  Mental illness is treatable.  Creating a treatment plan and following up with appropriate care is important to maintaining productivity and allowing people with a diagnosed mental illness to function.    


Now on to one of the final ‘statistic’:  As NAMI notes, depression can lead to impairment in daily functioning. This is certainly significant and understandable. In addition, it can also lead to death. Suicide is the l0th leading cause of death in the United States.  Want to make a difference in the lives of the mentally ill? Maybe looking at available treatment would be the first step. What would it be possible for us to accomplish? 

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