Each May across the U.S., we observe Mental Health Awareness Month to educate the public, highlight the importance of mental well-being, and advocate for better mental health care and resources.
According to the 2022 KFF/CNN Mental Health in the U.S. Survey, 90% of Americans believe the U.S. is facing a mental health crisis. As an advocate and observer of mental health practices spanning the past four decades, we are living in an unprecedented time of expressed need. At least a portion of that need is not increased frequency of illness but rather increased acceptance as a consequence of the weakening of the walls of stigma that have kept mental health in a dark corner, away from the general public, and filled with shame. Research by Pescosolido et al and others supports that there is a growing generational decrease in stigma around depression. While the insight of today’s high school and college-aged students into the importance of mental health and their open desire to address and improve their mental well-being may be the light at the end of a long dark tunnel for many unnecessarily suffering with treatable mental health conditions, we still have a long way to go.
Mental health care is simply health care
Today’s community advocates and clinicians press hard for early intervention to improve outcomes, to prevent symptoms from becoming disorders, and to prevent serious disorders from disrupting life’s goals. We know that early identification and treatment of psychosis prevent injuries to the brain that are not reversible and can be prevented (Carlos Gonzalas-Vivas et al. 2020, Front Psychiatry). Today’s evidence-based treatments and improved pharmaceuticals can prevent a lifetime of challenges when intervention is early. According to the National Institute of Health, 50% of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75% by age 24. Addressing symptoms early can prevent them from developing into conditions and progressing to deeply ingrained perceptions, behaviors, and lifestyles. But early intervention requires awareness and a willingness to act.
More people are seeking mental health care than ever before
Whether we are facing more need or whether greater acceptance of need has increased efforts for access is hard to discern; it is likely both. One thing is for sure: more people are recognizing mental health issues and are seeking help. Various studies show increases in the number of adults receiving counseling and medication. The TRES website cites that the percentage of U.S. adults seeking treatment or counseling rose nearly 45% between 2020 and 2024, and the percentage of adults taking mental health medication rose from 19 to 24% between 2019 and 2023.
“Turning Silence into Connection”
I asked a large group of adults at a workshop I was leading to close their eyes and raise their hand if they would be comfortable sharing with friends that their spouse or child had diabetes. The room’s hands were raised unanimously. I then asked who would feel comfortable sharing that their spouse or child had a mental health condition. Not surprisingly, fewer than 50% of hands went up. I knew a woman in the audience who lost a teenage granddaughter to suicide. Her arms were tightly at her sides.
This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Month, promoted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “Turning Silence Into Connection”, aims to build community and fight stigma, both recognized factors in building resilience for positive mental wellness and improving access to care when needed. It does feel like we are finally beyond asking why mental health is important and are ready to face what we need to do and when. Even with 50% of hands sharing that mental health is still a shameful secret, they showed up for a mental health awareness event.
Moving toward mentally healthy communities
Recognizing mental health conditions as they arise is the starting point. Mental health conditions create a “ripple effect” that impacts family, friends, partners, and colleagues. The ripple can be equally positive or negative, depending on whether it stems from good health or illness. The experience of stress, fatigue, and frustrations from the burden of caring for someone with a chronic illness is too common not to understand. But the positive side is likely taken for granted rather than seen as a motivator. According to research published by Tulane University, improved mental health in an individual does not just eliminate the stressor; it also has a positive impact on those around them by fostering stronger relationships, improving social connections, promoting communication and empathy, and, overall, resulting in more stable environments.
What can you do to turn “Silence into Connection”?
• Start a conversation with someone who looks stressed, depressed, overly tired, or disengaged. It’s not nosy or meddling. It’s caring. Connectedness is the number one resiliency factor in improving mental wellness (NAMI).
• Make programs like Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) – an evidence-based curriculum prepared for non-medical professionals to provide basic education about mental health and addiction – available and as common as CPR. Use high-profile people to advocate for participation. Find champions who will tell their mental health stories.
• Employers: Promote an environment in which early detection and intervention of mental health and or substance use conditions are normal and encouraged by making EAP services available, offering mental wellness training for managers and staff, and including a mental health day off as an acceptable use of PTO in your benefit package.
• Educators: Work with your local prevention professionals to identify appropriate resiliency-building curriculum for your classrooms. Create environments where open dialogues with students and parents about signs and symptoms of mental health conditions are valued. Help to facilitate early intervention.
If you are in a mental health crisis, call 988 or go to your nearest behavioral health urgent care center or local hospital emergency department.
Carol Zuniga, MS, CEO of Hegira Health, Inc., has nearly 40 years of experience in the behavioral healthcare industry. A Limited Licensed Psychologist in Michigan for 35 years, she was recognized in 2020 by Crain’s Detroit as a Leading Woman in Healthcare. Hegira Health, Inc., a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC), is a leading provider of behavioral healthcare services with clinic locations in Western Wayne and the Downriver communities.