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Mental Illness Awareness Week:

Read some of the information below to learn more about mental illness, as well as some of the resources that are available if you or a loved one is experiencing a mental illness. Make sure to log back into Bureaucracy Busters in about a week to see how State employees did on the "Mental Illness Week" survey and to discuss how you can work to reduce stigma around mental illness.
True or False:
Individuals living with serious mental illness do not face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions. |
Answer: False. In fact, people with mental illness have a high incidence of metabolic disorders including obesity, diabetes, mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Additionally, studies have also shown that people with mental illness die 25 years sooner than people without mental illness. |
One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by what age? |
Answer: Age 14.
While one-half of mental illness begins by this age, three-quarters of all chronic mental illness begins by age 24. |
Approximately what percent of adults with a mental illness received no mental health services in the previous year? |
Answer: 60%.
Additionally, almost ½ of youth ages 8 to 15 with a mental illness did not receive treatment in the previous year. Despite the fact that many cases of mental illness in the United States go untreated, mood disorders (like depression) are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults ages 18 to 44. Mental illness is treatable. There are Evidence-Based Treatments for people who experience the symptoms of Depression, and other EBPs for those who experience the symptoms (or episodes) of other mental illnesses such as Bi-Polar illness and Schizophrenia. Medication helps, therapy helps, and the current ‘gold standard' is a combination of therapy and medication. However, not everyone experiencing the symptoms of mental illness needs medication. Sometimes a friend, increased social activities, journaling, exercise, and related activities are extremely useful. The best thing to do is get symptoms checked out and treated. |
True or False:
Despite effective treatment, there are often long delays—sometimes decades—between the first appearance of symptoms and when people get help. |
Answer: True
For many people with mental illness, the stigma associated with mental illness can be a barrier to seeking treatment and support. The chart below depicts ways in which different forms of stigma can impact individuals experiencing mental illness. |
The Effects of Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice and discrimination exclude people with mental health and substance use problems from activities that are open to other people | This limits people's ability to:
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Prejudice and discrimination often become internalized by people with mental health and substance use problems | This leads them to:
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As a result: |
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From Corrigan P., Watson, A., (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World Psychiatry, 1(1): 16-20
True or False:
About 9.2 million adults have co-occurring mental health and additional disorders. |
Answer: True.
Consider this: 55% of individuals in treatment for schizophrenia report lifetime substance use disorder (Regier et al, 1990), and 59.9% of individuals with substance disorder have an identifiable psychiatric diagnosis (Kessler et al, 1996). Traditional models of the mental health and substance use systems operated in isolation. However, this is beginning to change. In recent years there has been a growing focus on co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. You can learn more about integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. |
Additional Resources
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Facts and Numbers
- National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline
- Resources for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders
- Office of the State Employer's Interactive Screening Program: Offers State of Michigan employees and their family members the opportunity to find out if they or their loved ones have symptoms consistent with several treatable mental health conditions and could benefit from seeking further evaluation.
- Employee Service Program: A confidential, no-cost resource available to all State employees with mental health questions or concerns.
- Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): A course designed to teach the general public how to recognize symptoms of mental health problems, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person towards appropriate treatments and other supportive help.
- Share Your Story: Tell your story and help to inspire others. Offered through the National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Resource Guide for Families Dealing with Mental Illness
- A Toolkit for Change: Reducing stigma around Mental Illness
- NAMI Stigma Busters: A network of advocates across the country that fight inaccurate or hurtful representations of mental illness
Mental illness can also take time to diagnose accurately. In fact, initial diagnoses are often modified several times. Co-occurring disorders, as well as underlying medical diseases, can have an impact on diagnosis. For this reason, a physical examination is recommended when mental illness is suspected.