10.10.2007

Oct 7-10: Mental Health Awareness Week

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Week, I'm passing on some basic points about mental health and mental illness from the National Alliance on Mental Illness:
  • Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence.
  • The World Health Organization has reported that four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are mental disorders. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children.
  • The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.
  • Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.
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3 comments:

  1. Jan5:36 PM

    Good info (that I've experienced myself). Thank you for putting this out in the community.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr. Laura Marie Grimes6:38 PM

    I didn't know about this week's observance. Thanks for this good information.

    I finally did my interview--figured I'd comment here rather than way back and you can put it in a post, if you want, wherever it suits you.

    Here it is

    ReplyDelete
  3. RevDrKate9:59 PM

    Thanks! Always good to get good info out in the world!

    ReplyDelete

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins

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