May Is Mental Health Awareness Month

[VivaLasViejas]

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.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

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?

I am reminded of Tom Cruise and his diatribes against psychiatry and so-called Big Pharma. What he and so many others don't realize is that these diseases are not only real, but they require understanding as much as drugs and therapy. That is sadly lacking, even in this supposedly enlightened age. Nobody is making up these illnesses---they are as real as the people who suffer from them. And if it seems that there are new diagnoses and new meds coming out all the time, it's at least partly because doctors have gotten better at sussing out the more subtle symptoms of mental illness and putting a name to them.

Personally, I owe my current state of mental health to psychiatry and Big Pharma. I wouldn't be here without them.

[elkpark]

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.

Hope you never have to deal with a "made up" psychiatric disorder in yourself or a loved one.

[pixierose, BSN, RN]

I am reminded of Tom Cruise and his diatribes against psychiatry and so-called Big Pharma. What he and so many others don't realize is that these diseases are not only real, but they require understanding as much as drugs and therapy. That is sadly lacking, even in this supposedly enlightened age. Nobody is making up these illnesses---they are as real as the people who suffer from them. And if it seems that there are new diagnoses and new meds coming out all the time, it's at least partly because doctors have gotten better at sussing out the more subtle symptoms of mental illness and putting a name to them.

Personally, I owe my current state of mental health to psychiatry and Big Pharma. I wouldn't be here without them.

Amen, Viva.

I wouldn't be where I am without the "evil Big Pharma." The ability to enjoy spending time with my family, going to nursing school, running marathons, hiking with my dogs ... Thanks Big Pharma [emoji7]!

[NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN]

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.

He means this bridge is very large, come play under it with him.

[NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN]

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

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.

hat>

*makes tinfoil sailboat*

Actually, mental illness didn't exist before 1247, when the Bethlem Royal Hospital opened as the first lunatic asylum. Since this was before Big Pharma, I suspect it was Big Hotel, who wanted residents that couldn't leave at the end of their vacation, that created mental illness.

The drug industry does some stupid things (like shift work disorder - your body wanting to sleep at night is a disorder? puh-lease) but you need to educate yourself before you claim mental health isn't a valid medical (and human) need.

[nursel56]

Thanks, Viva, and you're right-- I wasn't aware that May was Mental Health Month. I think we're inching forward, and that the mantra has to continue. It takes a ton of awareness raising to affect the attitudes of the public at large.

I just want to make the comment that we lost a real champion in this area when we lost Patty Duke. I watched a few of her more recent interviews on the topic on youtube. She never stopped advocating, whether or not cameras were around.

One of her comments was that she preferred the old moniker "manic-depressive" vs "bipolar" because the former "sounds more like what it feels like".

I'll defer on "big pharma", feeling as I do that the author of a thread can decide whether or not allowing someone to shift the focus onto their unrelated opinion is beneficial to the topic or not.

[canigraduate]

Thanks for bringing this up, Viva.

As far as the one in four goes... I dunno, I don't know many people who don't have mental illness. My Mama had ADHD and depression, my grandma has been on Valium since the '50s, my Dad is undiagnosed SOMETHING (pretty sure bipolar and ADHD and maybe depression), my brothers both have ADHD, one of 'em is an alcoholic, one of my multitude of cousins is bipolar, several are drug addicts, my grandfather was an alcoholic... You get the drift. My in-laws and my husband are pretty neuronormal, though. It's fun hanging out with them, they're so out of my reference zone!

As far as Big Pharma goes... for me, anyone who uses that term seriously gets relegated to the "ignore" and "zero credibility" lists.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I loved Patty Duke. She was talking about bipolar disorder and mental health long before anyone else did, which took a lot of courage. The stigma isn't good now, but it was much worse back then. Thanks to celebrities like her and Carrie Fisher, the public sees that people with mental illness can be successful and lead happy lives, which will hopefully eliminate prejudice and discrimination in the not-too-distant future.

[James W.]

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.

The "stigma attached to mental illness" won't fade away..

( well, until the 'AI Singularity'occurs, anyhow, maybe).

As evidence, just check out the scene from '2001, A Space Odyssey'..

..wherein Hal, the murderous robo-puter..

..attempts to convince Dave, the sole surviving astronaut, that he's..

"...Much better, now..."

Or as in another Stanley Kubrick classic, 'A Clockwork Orange'..

..when Alex says.. "I was cured, alright"..

So that ongoing follow-up Tx is needless.. yeah right..

On the other hand, simply chopping one form of social control network,

( state psych facilities ) & using basic imprisonment custody instead,

has shown itself to be a very negative step backwards..

The current 'pressure-cooker' environment of so called 'acute' psych units

attached to large general hospitals hasn't worked out too well, either.

[kaydensmom]

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.

hat>

If you lived in my head for one day you would be begging the big pharma companies to come up with a medication that would just help you feel a little bit "normal".

Mental illness is very real for the people that suffer with it everyday.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I think the most heartbreaking lately is those with oft "invisible" developmental disabilities like autism that have mental illness or psychiatric crisis.

My state has just expanded the services for age 5-21 for those with a DD and comorbid mental health but if inpatient is needed it's near impossible. Outpatient & partial is difficult enough to secure someone comfortable & experienced to work with these children, teens & young adults.

If the situation escalates to self harm or outward behaviors bordering on violence no one knows what to do. Thank goodness POAC offers free training for police, fire, EMS, medical and anyone else in NJ for autism training including behavioral concerns for the safety of all involved including the patient, family and help.

[pixierose, BSN, RN]

I love Carrie Fisher (and her dog Gary Fisher). Her sense of humor is amazing. She embraces bipolar disorder and handles it with grace.

My sister-in-law is ... not so nice about mental illness. She was reading a story about Carrie Fisher and her struggles with mental illness and substance abuse in People magazine several months ago and was going on and on about how she couldn't believe how crazy she was, can you believe she takes Lithium, does ECT, people like that should just stay quiet about their disorder blah blah yadda. She was honestly looking at me like I would agree with her (she did not know at the time of my diagnosis of bipolar disorder). Before I could say anything, my mother-in-law said, "Whoops, I forgot to take my meds." Proceeded to the kitchen to get her psych meds (3 of them). Then said to my sister-in-law, "it's too bad there's no medication for you to take for your nasty attitude."

I love my mother-in-law. That was the first time she told anyone she was having troubles.