WHILE MUCH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE on the treatment of mental illness, thousands and thousands of people still are suffering in silence.
"There are a lot of people out there who are not getting help, and a lot of that is because they do not want to admit they have a problem because of the stigma that is attached to mental illness," said Hal Adams, a mental health advocate from Menifee. "That stigma is the thing we are all trying to get rid of."
Adams and other mental health advocates are speaking out about their families' experiences in hopes of showing people that mental illness is nothing to fear or be ashamed of. He is always quick to remind people that recovery is possible and that family members play an important role in promoting wellness.
"If we're lucky, we get our loved ones into clinics, get them diagnosed properly and into treatment," said La Quinta resident Richard Devine, whose 28-year-old daughter was diagnosed 14 years ago. "But because of that stigma, people do not seek the services or they try to self-medicate and treat themselves with drugs or alcohol." Devine, Chairman of the Riverside County Mental Health Board, said people might not be so reluctant to seek treatment if they knew just how common mental illness is. For example, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness:
- Mental illness can impact anyone, regardless of age, background, employment, education and income level.
- One in four adults – about 57.7 million Americans - experiences a mental health disorder in a given year.
- The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective. Between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have a significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of medical care, psychiatric care and social supports.
- One in 17 adults lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder, and about one in 10 children live with a serious mental or emotional disorder.
- About 2.4 million Americans, or 1.1 percent of the adult population, live with schizophrenia.
- Bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million American adults, about 2.6 percent of the adult population, per year.
- Major depressive disorder affects 6.7 percent of adults, or about 14.8 million American adults, making it the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada in people ages 15-44.
- Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder and phobias, affect about 18.7 percent of adults, an estimated 40 million individuals.
Educating the public is a key to erasing the negative stereotypes that surround mental illness, said Adams, whose son suffered from severe depression for years before reaching a state of recovery. Speaking out on how mental illness affected his family is not easy, but it is worth it, he said.
"Anything we can do to help break the stigma, we're happy to do it," Adams said. "It's going to take time, but it's a worthwhile journey."
Riverside County Department of Mental Health
www.rcdmh.org
www.networkofcare.org
For immediate assistance, call: CARES Line - 1.800.706.7500
Family Advocates Program - 800.330.4522
Substance Abuse Program 951.782.2400
Parent-to-Parent Telephone Support Line 888.358.3622
Parent Support Services - 951.358.3622
www.NAMI.org
NAMI Coachella Valley - 888.881.6264
NAMI Mt. San Jacinto - 951.765.1850
NAMI Temecula Valley - 951.672.2089
NAMI Western Riverside - 951.369.2721