I cringe anytime I hear someone talking about finding "the cure." It’s the same feeling that strikes me when someone walks into my office, where we help people with mental health problems, proclaiming how they just want to “fix” their loved one.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM). This is a chance to learn about signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and help fight stigma that keeps people from receiving vital care. This month’s column won’t focus directly on MHAM, but upon a recent challenge in the mental health field, the Netflix Original series 13 Reasons Why, which since its release has generated a lot of buzz, especially from mental health and suicide prevention organizations.
I turned 37 on April 20, 2017. Another candle on the cake. Another year of beautiful life. Another year of surviving mental illness. I reflected on my life. It has almost been 20 years that I have been living with schizoaffective, bipolar type. However, back then, my diagnosis was bipolar disorder with psychotic features. I can’t believe I have made it this far. I have survived multiple suicide attempts and about 12-15 psychiatric hospitalizations. I survived all the delusions.
“The key to keeping your balance is to know when you’ve lost it.” I don’t know who said that, but knowing I had lost my balance in life was the turning point in learning to live with bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis. Unknown to me as an undergraduate nearly a half-century ago, I had both incurable neurological diseases. Most disorders have obvious symptoms, but mine were hidden working like a computer virus destroying a marriage, a career, and ultimately leaving me living alone, in poverty, and planning suicide.
Over 4.3 million people in California need mental health services, with just under 40,000 of those based in the San Joaquin Valley. Anxiety disorders play a big part in this statistic, with panic attacks being a common issue.
Suicide is a complex behavior just as we all are complex individuals. A suicidal person can be a person at any point on our walk through life. There are greater risks and protective factors present, but suicide can occur among all races, ages, religious affiliations or philosophies (or lack thereof), economic statuses, ages, and professions. It is important to remember this complexity when thinking about approaching prevention efforts.
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. More than forty-four thousand people die by suicide annually. Each death leaves behind survivors of suicide loss, including partners, family, friends, co-workers, schoolmates, and others. Often, these survivors are in need of resources such as support groups, counseling, and opportunities to take action. In many areas these supports are not available. This creates an opportunity for survivors to turn their experiences into advocacy and help bring resources into their community and/or join existing efforts.
November 19 is International Survivors of Suicide Day. This is an occasion that encourages people affected by suicide loss to gather, share comfort, and create an understanding of what has happened and the journey yet to come.
Millions of Americans of all ages struggle to live with depression every day. But unfortunately, depression suffered by the elderly is often overlooked as a common side-effect of growing old.
Those of us who are around mental illness on a daily basis, have to ask ourselves what is me authentically and what is the illness? It’s hard at times to distinguish between the two.
