May Is Mental Health Awareness Month

Nurses General Nursing

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  • Long Term Care Columnist / Guide
    Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

The month of May brings so many things to celebrate: better weather, May flowers, Mother's Day, Nurses' Week. But on a more sober note, did you know that it's also Mental Health Awareness Month?

Most people don't. That's because mental health is still considered something of a taboo subject in our society, even though 1 in 4 Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder and/or cares about someone who does. We don't like to talk about it because there is such a negative stigma attached; it's as if we keep quiet, "it" won't happen to us. But psychiatric illness is no respecter of income level, personal attributes or social status, and it can strike at any time during one's lifespan.

So if your last exposure to mental health issues was during your psych rotation in nursing school, get educated. Visit reliable websites such as Psych Central for the latest research. Read scholarly articles on mental health topics in nursing journals. Better yet, talk (and listen!) to someone you know who lives with depression, OCD, bipolar, or other mental illnesses. You will learn that people with MI can have full and satisfying lives, and that we're just like you---we work hard, love our families, and do our best to play by the rules even though our disorder(s) may make it difficult at times.

I hope to see lots of responses to this thread. The dialogue needs to go beyond the latest mass shooting and/or what to do with the vast number of mentally ill homeless people. The issues are much more complex, and nobody knows that better than those who struggle with MI, not only in May but every day of the year.

Editorial Team / Admin

Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN

6 Articles; 11,658 Posts

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

My local area is looking to build a much needed inpatient psychiatric facility. It was published in the newspaper last week, and the comments on the article have been refreshingly positive for the most part. Maybe, even within my own lifetime, the stigma attached to mental illness will become much less prominent.

Pat_Pat RN

472 Posts

Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.
even though 1 in 4 Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder and/or cares about someone who does.

"Diagnosable mental disorder" lol

"If you name it, they will pay."

Farawyn

12,646 Posts

Viva, I will put this in my signature. Thank you.

Whispera, MSN, RN

3,458 Posts

Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.
"Diagnosable mental disorder" lol

"If you name it, they will pay."

I'm unsure what your comments mean, Pat. Please explain.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN

22 Articles; 9,987 Posts

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't get it.

xsnurse

23 Posts

Funding in Florida is one of the worst in the United States. It's really sad. I worked in an acute mental hospital and many people could not afford help and the waiting list for free or reduced services was months, meaning frequent re-admissions. A lot of people, nurses included, are still very ignorant on mental health. After working in the mental health hospital, I went to work in a regular hospital on the ortho unit but we go a couple psych patients. Many nurses did not know how to properly care for these patients. Many think they chose to be how they are. But no one would chose to be bipolar or schizophrenic. Definitely more education is needed.

May is also brain cancer awareness month. I had never heard of glioblastoma until my brother was diagnosed. It's a horrible disease that also doesn't get much attention. Please read up on that too if you have some time.

Pat_Pat RN

472 Posts

Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.
I'm unsure what your comments mean, Pat. Please explain.

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't get it.

Big Pharma makes money from people taking drugs for psychiatric disorders. Big Pharma puts pressure on [whoever makes new psychiatric disorders] to make a new disorder so they can come up with a new drug to treat that disorder.

Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.

Big Pharma makes money from people taking drugs for psychiatric disorders. Big Pharma puts pressure on [whoever makes new psychiatric disorders] to make a new disorder so they can come up with a new drug to treat that disorder.

Just like that "new" opioid constipation "article" that is floating around here...

hat>

I certainly hope you never had to deal with a family member with a mental disorder. Especially a child or grandchild.

My grandma was schizophrenic. My cousins daughter has bipolar disorder with schizoid personality disorder. My sister, mother and I all have depression. I have an eating disorder. My nephews have ADHD, and one has bipolar. We all live this reality. It has NOTHING to do with big pharma. It's hard to watch your younger cousins deal with a stigmatizing disorder.

Big pharma isn't making up these disorders. It's reality for millions of Americans. Most homeless have some form of mental disorders.

Do you think that postpartum depression is real? Or is that another conspiracy from big pharma?

Specializes in ED, psych.

Big Pharma makes money from people taking drugs for psychiatric disorders. Big Pharma puts pressure on [whoever makes new psychiatric disorders] to make a new disorder so they can come up with a new drug to treat that disorder.

Just like that "new" opioid constipation "article" that is floating around here...

hat>

So here I was, minding my own business, waiting for my appointment at my PCP for my annual well visit ... when BAM! An evil henchman from Big Pharma pops up from the dark corner of the waiting room and throws Seroquel and Latuda samples at my feet! Poof! He disappears, just as the nurse calls my name. As she spies the samples, her eyes narrow, then knowingly she takes my paperwork from my hands and checks off "bipolar disorder."

And that's my story.

Farawyn

12,646 Posts

Funding in Florida is one of the worst in the United States. It's really sad. I worked in an acute mental hospital and many people could not afford help and the waiting list for free or reduced services was months, meaning frequent re-admissions. A lot of people, nurses included, are still very ignorant on mental health. After working in the mental health hospital, I went to work in a regular hospital on the ortho unit but we go a couple psych patients. Many nurses did not know how to properly care for these patients. Many think they chose to be how they are. But no one would chose to be bipolar or schizophrenic. Definitely more education is needed.

May is also brain cancer awareness month. I had never heard of glioblastoma until my brother was diagnosed. It's a horrible disease that also doesn't get much attention. Please read up on that too if you have some time.

I'm so sorry about your brother.

nynursey_

642 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.

I feel so passionately about the current need for improvement of mental health services in this country. I applaud this post.

It is very, very rare that I encounter a Med/Surg patient without a comorbid psychiatric condition that greatly affects their health. In the majority of cases, these comorbid psych conditions are also barriers to compliance, not well-controlled, and often undiagnosed. I notice that community resources are scarce upon discharge and often during the inpatient period prescribers will gloss over the need to call such services as social work and/or psychiatry consultation. It seems as though the 'mind/body connection' is often ignored in the acute care phase where it's often the most important (and the most convenient) to address. Wonder why we can't keep individuals out of the hospital? We don't fix the ENTIRE person. We cover it with a Band-Aid.

A patient's mental health is essential to their physical health. Even in the face of diagnosed and managed psychiatric illnesses, their role in a patient's physical condition is often overlooked, and many symptoms and signs are explained away by the mental illness rather than incorporated into the tx plan. Mental illness, like any other physical condition, is a comorbidity and should be managed as such, not simply swept under the rug as "psych's problem."

Thank you for writing this article! As someone with diagnosed PTSD, dysthymia, and anxiety, I will be proud to sign any petition that helps bring the importance of mental illness to light. My PTSD, dysthymia, and anxiety are simply something I have, and not who I am. If we could begin seeing our patients in the same way, imagine how much more comprehensive our care could be.

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