RALEIGH, NC (May 6, 2015) – May is Mental Health Awareness Month and is an opportunity to learn both about mental health as part of overall health and the need to be alert to symptoms of mental illness. Unfortunately, stigma, access to care and other issues can be barriers to treatment.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness North Carolina (NAMI NC) wants everyone to know that one in five adults experience mental health problems every year, which can contribute to the onset of serious medical conditions such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“During Mental Health Awareness Month, everyone should take the time to learn symptoms of mental illness and make changes to eliminate stigma,” said Jack Register, MSW, Executive Director of NAMI NC “Early identification and treatment makes a big difference in successful management of the illness and a quicker recovery.”
Stigma remains a barrier to care and it can make one’s mental health condition worse in the long run. Stigma reduces mental health consumers’ access to resources and opportunities and leads to low self-esteem, isolation and hopelessness.
Research shows that by ignoring the symptoms of mental health conditions, we lose ten years in which we could intervene in order to change people’s lives for the better. During most of these years most people still have supports that allow them to succeed—home, family, friends, school and work. Intervening effectively during early stages of mental illness can save lives and change the trajectories of people living with mental illnesses.
Each illness has its own set of symptoms but some common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:
- Excessive worrying or fear
- Feeling excessively sad or low
- Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
- Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
- Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
- Avoiding friends and social activities
- Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
- Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
- Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
- Changes in sex drive
- Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don’t exist in objective reality)
- Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (“lack of insight” or anosognosia)
- Abuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
- Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
- Thinking about suicide
- Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
- An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance (mostly in adolescents)
“NAMI hopes everyone will take steps to recognize the signs of mental illness and pledge to be stigma free” said Register. “It is a time to end the silence and stigma surrounding mental illness that too often discourages people from getting help when they need it.”
NAMI’s StigmaFree campaign urges individuals, companies, organizations and campuses to create an American culture in which the stigma that is often associated with mental health conditions is ended and replaced by hope and support for recovery. To take the NAMI StigmaFree pledge, visit nami.org/stigmafree.
For more than 30 years, NAMI North Carolina has provided free support groups, education programs, and advocacy efforts throughout North Carolina. NAMI NC is the state’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to promoting recovery and optimizing the quality of life for those living with mental illness. Founded in 1984, NAMI NC has become North Carolina’s voice on mental illness, serving 30 local affiliates across North Carolina, who join together to meet the NAMI mission. For more information on programs, our advocacy efforts and the 30 affiliate organizations in North Carolina, visit our website at naminc.org