Press & Public: Mental Illness Awareness Week
During Mental Illness Awareness Week upload the Facebook header onto your Facebook page and upload the web badge to your website to broadcast your commitment to mental health. Be sure to link the images back to the National Council (www.thenationalcouncil.org) so we can continue providing resources.
WEB BADGE
<p><a href="http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/" target="_blank"><img width="300" height="450" alt="" src="http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/galleries/default-image/Mental-Illness_2x3.jpg" border="0" /></a><p>
FACEBOOK HEADER
<p><a href="http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/" target="_blank"><img width="851" height="315" src="http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/galleries/default-image/Mental-Illness_851x315.jpg" alt="" /></a><p>
OP ED FOR YOU TO ADAPT AND PITCH TO LOCAL MEDIA
Hey there, Sports Fans
For many of us, October is a time to focus on baseball. One in five Major League Baseball teams will be entering into the postseason having just won their division, and will captivate us on their quest to win the pennant. Approximately 20 million Americans will watch the World Series on television, and thousands more will spend an average of $500 to watch a game in person.
Fewer Americans are likely aware that the first full week of October is also Mental Illness Awareness week. Yet, mental illness is an issue that affects many more of us each year. In any given year, one in five Americans will experience a mental illness. Approximately 20 million U.S. adults live with a serious mental illness, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
Chances are you have a friend, family member, or colleague living with a mental illness. Their goal is not a championship, but recovery. Recovery means something different to everyone — but can include a complete remission of symptoms, or learning to manage one’s illness so that they can carry out their daily lives — going to work, or managing relationships.
Mental illnesses can happen to anyone, even the players on the field. Giants’ first baseman Aubrey Huff went on the 15-day Disabled List earlier this season due to an anxiety disorder.
Mental illnesses are real, common, treatable diseases. According to the National Advisory Mental Health Council, the treatment success rate for bipolar disorder is a remarkable 80 percent. The recovery rates for other serious mental illnesses follow suit: major depression (65‐80 percent), schizophrenia (60 percent) and addiction (70 percent).Unfortunately, many individuals with mental illnesses will not even seek help – because of shame, misunderstanding or discrimination around treatment for these illnesses.
It’s time we learn how to be better “fans” to the people in our lives living with a mental illness. Just like the powerful influence playing to a home crowd can be, individuals living with mental illness are much more likely to continue on their journey of recovery with a strong support network – of friends, family, and other social networks.
We can all learn a common way to talk about mental illnesses, and how to help, through Mental Health First Aid (www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org) — a public education program designed for anyone to learn how to support someone developing signs and symptoms of mental illness or in an emotional crisis. The in person course takes less time to complete than you’ll spend watching one series — and courses are held in communities throughout the country.
Let us take a moment this week to have a conversation about mental illness. If you have someone in your life who you think may be impacted by mental illness, talk to them about your concern, show them you care. You just may be the relief they need.
WEBINARS — INVITE YOUR COMMUNITY AND SHARE THESE LINKS
Recording of Previous webinars
Understanding Depression: How to Help Yourself or a Loved One
Cheryl Sharp and Bryan Gibb, October 11, 2012
Call to Clergy: How to Support Mental Health Challenges in Your Congregation
Jermine Alberty, Zahra Dashtaki, and Para Rabbi Lesley Levin, October 9, 2012
