Our mental health is just like our physical health. It’s important to care for both. Mental health refers to our feelings, emotions, thought patterns and behaviors. We all experience positive and negative feelings, and that’s completely normal. The only difference from one person to another is the variation of what degree it affects our daily functioning and how we cope.
Mental disorders can affect anyone, anywhere
Mental health affects millions of people each year. One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness, according to research by the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). One in 25 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness and 17 percent of youth (ages 6-17) experience a mental health disorder. There are many illnesses associated with mental health, the most common one being depression. If prolonged and left untreated, it can be fatal.
Between 2012 and 2016, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people between 10-24 years old in Anne Arundel County. High school students in the county reported higher rates of feeling sad or hopeless and seriously considering attempting suicide compared to the state of Maryland. As a result, the number of crisis interventions for social and emotional problems has more than doubled since 2013. The most recent intervention is the Mental Health First Aid training program offered at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC).
“It’s important for us to provide this training to our employees because we constantly interact with patients who are in distress,” said Donna Phillips, clinical director at AAMC’s Psychiatric Day Hospital. “It’s really important to recognize the signs and symptoms of when someone has a mental health condition and appropriately respond to that distress, whether it’s at work or at home. Training our employees helps identify signs and symptoms, different diagnoses as well as create an action plan to learn how to respond.”
Just as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training aims to help employees assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. And with the rising reports of suicide in the county, medical professionals are taking action to keep the community safe. The eight-hour course teaches participants how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance disorders in adults.
“Having the right tools and knowledge on how to interact with someone showing signs of a mental health disorder can be lifesaving,” said Maria Winters, LCPC, mental health clinician at AAMC. “The other reason we do this training is to reduce stigma by providing information and education to people so they can apply this when interacting with patients, coworkers, family or anyone.”
You can help, too
According to Phillips, only 41 percent of people who experience a mental illness seek help, while the majority remain quiet.
“Partly because of the stigma around mental health,” she explained. “Some individuals may feel hesitant to receive any mental health professional services due to the stigma that is associated with those services. What the community doesn’t know is that there are many levels of care and different professionals who are available to help. It’s important for those who are living with or know of someone with a mental illness to know how to have the conversation and encourage that person to get the help needed.”
Tips from the evidence-based training include:
- Pay attention and approach the individual. If you live with someone experiencing a mental illness, no one will notice changes more than you. Identify the stressors in their environment. Did anything change environmentally to cause their change in behavior? Did they change jobs? Are they having problems with their relationships? Don’t be afraid to approach the person and ask about anything you’re noticing.
- Validate and honor their experience. Let that person know they’re not alone or that what they’re feeling is not something to be ashamed of. “You’ll be fine” is not validating how someone feels. Be respectful of the person and how they feel about their experience.
- Get informed. There are endless resources available to help someone who’s experiencing a mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health First Aid and NAMI are just a few of the many organizations who provide free tools for those looking to learn more about mental health or seek to train themselves.
- Encourage them to seek help. Any time there is a concern, there should be a discussion. Just because someone might tell you they’re fine or that they don’t need help, it doesn’t mean that they’re OK. If the person’s behavior has changed and is causing distress, encourage them to seek help.
Early intervention can prevent symptoms from progressing from mild to severe. If it’s causing distress to the person, it’s time to seek help. If behavior or thinking starts to get dangerous, toward you or someone else, it’s a must to get help.
Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, whether it’s you or someone you live with who is experiencing it. Living with someone who has a mental illness can be challenging. If you’re well informed and equipped to intervene earlier on, not only are you helping to reduce stigma around mental illness, you’re addressing one of the most important public health issues of our time.
Donna Phillips, M.A., is clinical director at AAMC’s Psychiatric Day Hospital. You can reach her at 410-224-4207.
Maria Winters, LCPC, is a mental health clinician at AAMC. You can reach her at 410-224-4207.