Mental Health Is A Public Health Issue
Mental health is a challenging, yet an important public health issue.
A major goal of public health is to identify barriers that individuals and communities face in living healthy, fulfilling lives. One such barrier is mental health challenges related to depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, burnout, culture, and more. People struggling with unaddressed mental health needs often find day-to-day activities, such as spending time with friends, going to school or work, doing their favorite hobbies, or following up with medical appointments, much more challenging. This can lead to additional distress and even worse health outcomes.
In the field of public health, prevention and early intervention are vital to successfully addressing the health needs of individuals and communities.
Over the last year and a half, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health has been a part of our shared discourse in a way that it never has been before.
As a nation, we realized the importance of a cohesive, robust response to a public health crisis, along with the cost of a disorganized and unprepared response. Even so, in public health, health outcomes attributable to poor mental health often remain unaddressed.
One of the reasons that mental health is such a difficult topic to address is stigma.
While there have been incredible efforts to dismantle the factors and messaging that perpetuate stigma related to pursuing mental health treatment, the stigma nonetheless endures through individual beliefs and societal norms. We still hear the all-too-common sentiments of, “I am weak if I ask for help,” “I just need to suck it up and keep going,” and “what is someone going to tell me that I don’t already know,” and so on…
This stigma is further perpetuated through the commonly-held, yet unfounded belief that individuals who struggle with mental illness are more likely to perpetrators of violent acts.
Mental illness does not equal violence, and this narrative has misrepresented reality. In fact, statistics repeatedly show that individuals who struggle with mental illness are actually more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it. Unfortunately, the public discourse still paints this vulnerable segment of the population with broad strokes, rather than having a nuanced conversation about factors that actually contribute to community violence. This misrepresentation costs not only those who struggle with mental illness, but also the community as a whole.
Let’s say that one is able to overcome the internal and social barriers and actually make the decision to pursue mental health care. Then what?
Accessing quality services can be just as difficult. Stigma-driven policies have led to underfunded community mental health resources.
Low-cost or fully-covered services are rare or even non-existent in parts of the county. When individuals are fortunate enough to have health insurance, their policies may or may not adequately cover the necessary treatments. Shortages of well-trained providers can lead to long waitlists and pressure for a quick turnaround at the cost of quality care and follow-up.
As we’ve learned over the last year, in public health, we all have a critical role to play.
Here are 4 ways you can reduce mental health stigma:
Increase awareness. Learn more about common mental health challenges and the power of proper treatment. Recognize that there are ways to helped loved ones who struggle with mental health challenges, while also not defining or labeling them by their struggles.
https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness
Challenge internal and social stigma. Have conversations about mental health and normalize openness in these conversations. Understand your own biases and challenge them. Share openly and authentically to fight back against shame. Normalize mental healthcare as a part of traditional healthcare.
https://www.nami.org/mhstats
Share Resources. If you know where one can access high-quality, low-cost mental health services, share these resources with others, particularly those in your life who are struggling.
Get scheduled with us at https://www.satyawellnesscollective.com/scheduling
King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/community-human-services/mental-health-substance-abuse.aspx
https://www.namiwa.org/index.php/resources
Suicide Lifeline (24 hours-National): 1-800-273-TALK or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Crisis Text Line: crisistextline.org - text 741741
Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, at VeteransCrisisLine.net, or text to 838255
Washington 211: Call 211 for low-cost or free referrals for mental health services
For family and support groups: https://namiskc.org/education-support/
Become an Advocate. Find out what your local community’s policies are with regard to mental health aid and funding. Write letters to your congressional leaders, and vote for candidates who have a track record that reflects their understanding of the importance of addressing mental health policy.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/
NAMI South King County: https://namiskc.org/advocacy-legislation/
Treatment Advocacy Center: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/
Youth for Social Change: https://www.dosomething.org/us/causes/mental-health
ParityTrack: https://www.paritytrack.org/
Washington Recovery Alliance: https://washingtonrecoveryalliance.org/
Washington Council for Behavioral Health: https://www.thewashingtoncouncil.org/
By Nora Nasir, MSW, MPH, LSWAIC
