Mental illnesses are brain disorders due to a chemical imbalance. When the brain gets sick, it cannot heal itself. You only get one brain!
Mental illnesses make it difficult or impossible to live a normal life without medication and therapy and life-style changes (diet, exercise).
Any person at any age of any race can develop a mental illness.
Mental illnesses are NOT curable but they ARE treatable and allows people with a mental illness to live an improved, productive, and quality life.
The symptoms of mental illnesses vary by each type of brain disorder depending on the area of the brain affected by the disorer. The sooner treatment is started, the better and longer the healthy part of the brain will function!
Medications are avilable to treat those symptoms making it possible to lead a normal life, but the medications must be taken regularly as prescribed. Trust me, once medicine is regulated, you will feel much better and function much better. You will never want to go without medicine again!
There is plenty of financial resources available from drug companies and insurance companies to make mental illness medications affordable and accessible to those diagnosed with a mental illness.
Unfortunately, mental illnesses carry an ugly stigma that influences people to deny having a mental illness and seek treatment.
Research and studies are changing almost daily resulting in more factual information and drugs to treat mental illnesses.
African-Americans are the least race group to seek mental healthcare for mental illnesses.
Most research today suggest that women are the carriers of genes responsible for Depression and/or Bipolar. However, men suffer from these two mental illnesses as well.
Most research today suggest that men are the carriers of genes resulting in Schizophrenia. However, women suffer from this mental illness as well.
One reason that mental illness carries a stigma is that people suffering from a mental illness 50 years ago were institutionalized in a facility and their care and treatment were substandard. There was no focus on preventing and coping mechanisms for a mental illness.
Today, individuals with a mental illness have rights to live in the community in a least restrictive environment (barring criminal activity). Today, the focus has shifted to treating the mental illness and teaching management of the mental illness as well as coping skills.
In most scenarios, mental illness is generational. That means that denial and lack of treatment is a behavior that is learned from family members. Thus, people carry on their lives without helping loved ones get the mental healthcare he or she needs. An untreated mental illness can develop in to a more serious mental illness, suicide, and the behavior of not seeking treatment gets passed on to the next generation.
Untreated mental illnesses disrupt the entire family and community. America spends 100 billion dollars a year on untreated mental illneses.
Children affected by mental illnesses range from 5 - 9 percent of the population between ages 5 - 17. These children will become adults with mental illnesses!
One in every 5 families will have a loved one affected by a mental illness. With proper treatment, 70 - 90 percent of individuals with a mental illness will significantly improve their quality of life.
Approximately 2.5 million people with a mental illness are unemployed!
Approximately 1 in 20 persons with a mental illness is homeless. With the right treatment, 95-98 percent of these people can live within a community. These persons can receive supports and services with dignity!
Below are agencies that specialize in providing supports and services for the mentally ill person and family. Your primary physician can also (should) make referrals, but you may have to be courageous and honest with him or her and ask for mental healthcare services. It is important for family and friends to support a mentally ill family member and education about the illness and available supports are key steps to the success of living with a mental illness.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness:
www.nami.org The National Institute on Mental Health:
www.nimh.org Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation:
www.bpkids.org Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance:
www.dbsalliance.org National Mental Health Association:
www.nmha.org The American Association of Pastoral Counselors:
www.aapc.org African-American Doctors National Medical Association:
www.nmet.org Trivia (sort of): Did you know that if Noah were alive today, he would be considered Schizophrenia? Remember, this man heard voices (God) and he built an ark in the desert claiming it would rain (lost touch with reality, hallucinations) ....
Did you know that if Albert Einstein were alive today, he would be diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Remember, this man did nothing but come up with numeric formulas (recurring ideas) ...
Many great people today lead productive lives in professions such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs, media, actors, musicians, artists, etc. WHILE living with a mental illness? There is hope for recovery ....
SOME BOOKS ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESSES:
Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families by Francis Mondimore, M.D., Johns Hopkins University Press;
Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by Rosalynn Carter, Random House.
Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Quill Press.
Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry by Bebe Moore Campbell, Putnam Pub. Group.
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones, Orion Children's.
Today, I wish you reach out to help somebody you love with an untreated mental illness.
Agnes B. Levine
Author of: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 0975461206 Winter 2008 Release Pending
www.myspace.com/coolingwellwater (Subscribe Now)
Founder/President: Levine-Oliver Publisher, the Exclusive publishing home of Swaggie Coleman. Visit Swaggie's Voice© at:
http://swaggiecoleman.blogspot.com and win prizes!
Posted By: agnes levine
Sunday, October 5th 2008 at 2:17PM
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