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October is Depression & Mental Health Awareness Month

Do you know that depression & mental health awareness month is in October? Yes, this article all about depression & mental health awareness programs, facts & figures etc… Keep reading.

Mental health issues and depression can take many different forms. Mental health problems like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and alcohol use can all be diagnosed and treated in different ways.

Millions of Americans must deal with the reality of having a mental health problem every year. However, everyone is impacted by mental illness, whether directly or through friends, family, or the workplace.

Because of this, every year during the first week of October, participants all around the country hold Mental Illness Awareness Week to promote awareness of mental illness, combat discrimination, and offer support.

How to take care of your mental health

There are certain things you can do to help manage your mental health, but this advice shouldn’t be used in place of consulting a doctor and getting the right therapy.

• Eat a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy on a regular basis.

• Get some form of physical activity in every day, whether it’s a few 10-minute walks or an hour at the gym.

•Schedule time for enjoyment and rest, such as an afternoon spent playing outside with your children or reading a book while curled up on the couch.

• Avoid using drugs and alcohol because they both affect your emotions and make a bad situation worse.

• Maintain contact with friends and family because a strong social support system is essential for maintaining a positive, healthy outlook.

Understanding the options available is crucial if you want to enhance your mental health because it is just as vital as your physical health.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, “By failing to treat people with mental health difficulties with dignity, we make it more challenging to ensure that everyone takes steps to safeguard their wellbeing and seek assistance, as it can lead to self-stigma, low confidence, low self-esteem, withdrawal, and social isolation.”

Depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and schizophrenia are just a few examples of mental health illnesses.

All of these are common illnesses. The number of American adults who had a mental illness in the previous year was estimated at 43.8 million (18.5%).

According to the CDC, approximately 13% of children aged 8 to 15 had a diagnosable mental condition in the previous year.

In 2022, mental health organizations are working to give disorders that are frequently stigmatized dignity in honor of World Mental Health Day.

The Generations Family Practice is pleased to help patients discover the right mental health treatment. To get the aid they deserve, contact us right away.

October 2–8 is Mental Illness Awareness Week. (MIAW)

The theme of this year’s MIAW is “Together for Mental Health,” and we will emphasize the significance of this theme by promoting improved care for those who are dealing with serious mental illness.

Every day this week, we will highlight the voices of people who have been there to talk about SMI and how important it is to improve crisis response and mental health care.

MIAW 2022 Program

Between October 2 and 8, there are more events relating to mental illness:

• Tuesday, October 4: National Day of Prayer for the Recovery and Understanding of Mental Illness

• October 6 is National Depression Screening Day.

• World Mental Health Day is observed on Monday, October 10th.

Quick facts

These are just a handful of the reasons why it’s crucial to help raise awareness of MIAW. Please use this information to promote conversations about mental health on social media or through other types of outreach.

• Every year, one in every five Americans suffers from mental illness.

• Each year, one in every twenty Americans suffers from serious mental illness.

•Every year, 1 in 6 American youth ages 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder.

The following are impacted by mental illness:

  • 44% of LGB adults.
  • 32% of adults are mixed-race or multiracial.
  • 22% of white adults
  • One-fifth of American Indians and Alaska Natives
  • One-eighth of Latin adults
  • 17% of adults in the United States identify as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
  • 17% of black adults
  • 14% of Asian adults
  • American adults’ annual prevalence, broken down by condition:
  • Anxiety Disorders: 19.1%
  • Major Depressive Disorder: 7.8%
  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PSD): 3.6%
  • 2.8% have bipolar disorder.
  • 1.4% have borderline personality disorder.
  • 1.2% have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  • 1 percent have schizophrenia.

The program of the WHO

Making Mental Health and Well-Being for All a Global Priority is the theme of a campaign that will be launched by WHO in collaboration with partners.

This will be a chance for those who have mental health issues, advocates, governments, employers, employees, and other stakeholders to come together to acknowledge progress in this area and to be vocal about what needs to be done to ensure mental health and well-being becomes a global priority for all.

Mental Health America’s Programme

This year, Mental Health America (MHA) will work to raise awareness of under- or under-discussed mental health issues. After consulting with our community, many of whom felt that their diagnoses weren’t at the forefront of the mental health debate, we decided on this theme.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Dissociative Disorders, Paranoia, and Delusional Disorders, as well as other conditions that don’t fit into specific diagnoses, are included in this category of disorders, which is referred to as Not Otherwise Specified (NOS).

During Mental Illness Awareness Week, we will focus on one thing each day to send a clear message:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Sunday, October 3rd

• Monday, October 4th: ADHD

• Borderline Personality Disorder, Tuesday, October 5

• October 6th: Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Thursday, October 7

• Friday, October 8: Delusional and Paranoid Disorders

• Saturday, October 9: Not Specified (NOS).

How you can help?

Please describe how #mentalillness feels to you.

Use the hashtag #mentalillnessfeelslike in your social media posts to describe what it’s like to have ADHD, OCD, BPD, or another mental illness in words, photos, or video.

Posts can be submitted anonymously at mhanational.org/feels like, where they will be displayed.

You contribute by:

• Being forthcoming about your personal experiences;

• Assisting those who may struggle to articulate their experiences in order to determine whether they are suffering from a mental illness;

• Lowering stigma and discrimination associated with mental illnesses

• Informing others that their feelings and symptoms are not unique. 

Sources: WHO, MHA

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