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.
Specializes in Float Pool - A Little Bit of Everything.
I am a Vet with PTSD. I hope that more awareness comes to the failures of the system with the VA. I know it was big news for awhile, but the bigger news is that it had been like that since forever ago and the biggest news is that nothing has changed for those of us needing access to quality care. The VA Choice program fails us. The VA fails us. It has got to change. 22 a day is too many!
Anyone who goes into a Mentally Ill Awareness thread and starts bashing the people supporting it, in an oh so grammatically poor way, may be 2 shots short of a load himself.
Carry on?
Oh, good.
You saw those grammatical errors too. Made reading tough.
I am a Vet with PTSD. I hope that more awareness comes to the failures of the system with the VA. I know it was big news for awhile, but the bigger news is that it had been like that since forever ago and the biggest news is that nothing has changed for those of us needing access to quality care. The VA Choice program fails us. The VA fails us. It has got to change. 22 a day is too many!
Thank you for your service.
I just lost a friend, a long time cop and Marine, who was medicating himself with alcohol because no one could properly help him with his demons. It is one of our country's biggest shames that we cannot help those who would give their lives for us.
There are several ways to look at mental health issues.
Social, Personal, and Professionally. We are all affected by mental health issues. Many homes, work, schools and places of worship. Professionally Stress adds whole new mental issues, Sleep deprivation etc. The list goes on as a community we need to begin to look at mental issues with a complete package.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Thanks everyone for keeping an open mind about mental health issues. It's gratifying to see the number of responses, even if some are negative. That means we have an open dialogue and are not afraid to discuss MI, which is progress in the fight against stigma. That doesn't mean those of us with mental health conditions are "bragging" about them; in fact, most of us are still closeted at work and in the public arena. But the fact that we're talking about it, especially with input from neurotypicals, means that one day we might be able to do our jobs without fear of being let go due to mental health issues, and live our lives without facing social opprobrium. Please keep the responses coming!
There are several ways to look at mental health issues.
Social, Personal, and Professionally. We are all affected by mental health issues. Many homes, work, schools and places of worship. Professionally Stress adds whole new mental issues, Sleep deprivation etc. The list goes on as a community we need to begin to look at mental issues with a complete package.
Of the "several ways" - self-awareness/insight is for sure,
right up there in significance..
Realization of deficits, & taking all sensible/reasonable steps to
curb mal-adaptive responses via learned psychological
&/or efficacious pharmacological Tx - is shown to be useful for most.
Those who reject Dx, resist Tx & remain functionally disordered,
are a cause for concern in our society, especially when the lives
so negatively affected - are not limited to their own..
However I find it dispiriting that in so many ways the opportunities
& outcomes for those in need of care, but able to mobilize few resources
of their own, has never been worse in my 3 & 1/2 decade career
.thumb.jpg.de0b1803a7b639db80953e3a326388a1.jpg){kind=small}
NotYourMamasRN
317 Posts
I am a Vet with PTSD. I hope that more awareness comes to the failures of the system with the VA. I know it was big news for awhile, but the bigger news is that it had been like that since forever ago and the biggest news is that nothing has changed for those of us needing access to quality care. The VA Choice program fails us. The VA fails us. It has got to change. 22 a day is too many!