A topic with plenty of stigmas attached and not one people often like to talk about, mental illness, in its many forms, affects at least tens of millions of Americans. In honor of National Mental Health Month, we at Home Sweet Home In-Home Care in Michigan want to help those struggling with mental illness to break the chains of silence, and in particular, to encourage them to seek the treatment that can improve their lives.
Slowly but surely, celebrities and other people within the limelight are beginning to truthfully and vulnerably reveal their troubles with such incapacitating diseases as depression and anxiety. Nevertheless we still have quite a distance to go. Much less understood and more negatively viewed conditions, such as psychosis and schizophrenia, are routinely covered over. The fact is, research obtained from the National Institutes of Health shows that a psychosis diagnosis is the most highly stigmatized and discriminated against mental health issue.
Terribly, this fearfulness of mental illness stigma is leading to “a pervasive barrier that prevents many individuals in the U.S. from engaging in mental health care,” according to a 2014 literature review published in the Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services journal.
So, how can we aid those that have mental health concerns feel more comfortable in sharing their challenges, enabling them to obtain the treatment they require? Quite a few mental health advocacy organizations are making advances. For instance, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has developed the Stigma-free Pledge that will help foster awareness and acceptance. And, the American Psychological Association (APA) has produced an educational journal, Stigma and Health.
For more help and support with mental health issues and to learn how our senior home care in Marshall, MI and the nearby areas is working to stop the mental illness stigma, contact Home Sweet Home In-Home Care at 269-849-9252.