Start the Conversation: National Mental Illness Awreness Week

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015

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NATIONAL MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS WEEK, OCT. 4-10

START THE CONVERSATION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

MENTAL HEALTH

NAMI Black Hawk County promotes understanding MELODY PARKER melody.parker@wcfcourier.com‌

Mental illness can affect anyone and, in fact, is more common than heart disease or diabetes.

Mental disorders are the number one case of disabilities in the U.S., according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health are staggering. Nearly 1 in five adults experience a mental illness.

Nearly 1 in 25 American adults (13.5 million) live with a serious mental illness. One half of all chronic mental illnesses begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Serious mental illness costs Americans approximately $193 billion in lost earnings each year.

Nearly 60 percent of people with a mental illness, and nearly 50 percent of youth ages 8-15 with a mental illness didn’t receive health services in the previous year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

NAMI Black Hawk County is a nonprofit grassroots mental health organization whose mission is to improve the lives of people who have mental illness and their families.

“Because of the challenges surrounding the disease, it is important for people to know about NAMI and the help we can offer,” says Leslie Cohn, LMSW, NAMI executive director.

NAMI also works to promote understanding about mental illnesses and recognize them as biologically-based diseases of the brain. They are mental conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to

Leslie Cohn others and daily functioning. It becomes difficult to cope with ordinary life demands, to functional normally, or handle relationships.

The organization wants to dispel the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and the isolation experienced by the people and their families.

NAMI provides educational programming and public presentations to shed light on mental illnesses and provide support for people with mental illness, as well as their families, partners and friends.

Some people with mental illness may recover completely, while others may have repeated episodes with relatively stable periods in between, according to NAMI. Still others live with symptoms of mental illness every day, which can be moderate or serious and cause severe disability.

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death of adults between ages 18 and 65 in the U.S., and 90 percent of all people who die by

suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death.

Mental illness includes anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression and schizophrenia.

The main burden of illness is concentrated in about 6 percent or 1 in 17 Americans. Using this statistic, approximately 7,500 Black Hawk County residents suffer from a serious mental illness, according to NAMI. Mental health conditions can be effectively treated, and with proper treatment and support, people can lead productive lives.

NAMI Black Hawk County has one staff member, who also is a family member and licensed social worker. In addition, volunteers with mental illness and family members serve as resources for the agency.

During the past fiscal year, 18 people volunteered for the organization, which includes six board and committee members who provide ongoing support to the organization.

Peer mentors understand and accept their illness, Cohn says.

Their work with others who have mental illness helps both the participant and themselves in developing coping skills to handle issues they may face. The experience also is rewarding and the mentors feel they recover faster as they aid others with illnesses, becoming advocates for themselves and others.

Program to address depression Mental Illness Awareness Week is the first week of October.

NAMI of Black Hawk County will present Dr. Ann Rathe in an educational program from 7 to 8 p.m. Oct. 5. The event takes place in the lower-level parlor at First Congregational Church, 608 W. Fourth St. Dr. Rathe, a psychiatrist in the Behavioral Health Clinic at Waverly Health Center, will discuss “How to treat recurrent depression and other mental illnesses.”

She received her medical degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and completed her psychiatry residency and a neuropsychiatry fellowship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry.

groups, educational programs, and presentations. We also fielded more than 425 telephone calls and emails from people requesting information, asking questions, or needing referrals.

Finally, more than 1,200 people received our newsletter,” she says.

Community collaboration partnerships

NAMI Black Hawk County has a long-term relationship with Unity Point Health-Allen Hospital, which has provided free office space to the agency since 1994. Exceptional Persons, Inc., allows NAMI to use their bulk mail permit to mail their newsletter, and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, local mental health providers, and other agencies support NAMI and promote its work.

The following organizations provide free support its programs: Cedar Valley Community Support Services Club, the Vineyard Community Church in Waverly and Country View for peer support groups; Hawkeye Community College metro campus for the Sharing and Caring support group and Waterloo Center for the Arts for the NAMI Education/Support group. The First Congregational United Church of Christ in Waterloo offers space for board meetings, educational programs and classes.

Mental health help is here.

“In our last fiscal year, we reached 374 people with mental illness, their family members, and other community members through our classes, support

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

MENTAL HEALTH

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Mindfulness exercises encourage act of living in the moment Exercise 4: Mindfulness Cues

Waverly Health Center

Focus your attention on your breathing whenever a certain thing (cue) happens. For example, every time you hear the phone ring, quickly bring your attention into the present moment by focusing on your breath.

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present, according to Psychology Today.

When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.

These mindfulness exercises are simple yet powerful ways for anyone to increase their selfawareness and mindfulness.

Conscious observation is a form of meditation. It’s subtle, but powerful.

Pick up any object that you have lying around, like a coffee cup or pen. Hold it in your hands and focus your full attention on that object. Observe it. Don’t judge it or think about it. Just look at it for what it is.

You’ll feel a sense of increased

“nowness” during this exercise. Conscious observation can really give you a feeling of “being awake.” Notice how your mind quickly lets go of past or future thoughts, and how different it feels to be in the moment.

You can also practice conscious observation with your ears rather than your eyes. Many people find that mindful listening is a stronger mindfulness technique than visual observation.

Freedom resiliency Future Vision Growth dreams aspirations strenGth

This is more of an exercise in practicing concentration than it is in mindfulness. Close your eyes and focus your attention on slowly counting to ten. If your concentration wanders off, start back at number one! For most people, it goes something like this: ‌“One...two...three...do I have to buy milk today or did John say he’d do it? Oh, whoops, I’m thinking.” ‌ “One...two...three...four...this isn’t so hard after all... Oh no.... that’s a thought! Start again.” ‌“One...two...three... now I’ve got it. I’m really concentrating now...”

Exercise 3: Conscious Observation

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Mental Health Recovery

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Exercise 2: The Ten Second Count

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Freedom resiliency Future Vision Growth dreams aspirations strenGth

hope recoVery empower choice chanGe

Exercise 1: One Minute of Mindfulness

Check your watch and note the time. For the next 60 seconds your task is to focus all your attention on your breathing.

Leave your eyes open and breathe normally. If you find your mind wandering, bring your attention back to your breath. You can also try using a mindfulness bell, to focus your attention.

Use this exercise many times during the day to bring your mind to the present moment, clarity and peace. Remember, this is not a contest or personal challenge. It can take some people many years of practice before they are able to finish one minute of alert, clear attention. Over time, you can slowly stretch this exercise into longer and longer time periods.

Choose a cue that works for you. Choose to become mindful each time you look in the mirror or every time you hear a bird.

Mindfulness cues are a great way to snap you out of the unconscious “autopilot” state of mind and bring you back into the present moment.

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health care providers work together to heal minds and bodies TOM EACHUS Executive Director Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center‌

One in five American adults will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and three quarters begin by age 24. The average delay from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment is 8-10 years.

Even though many behavioral health conditions are very treatable with success rates higher than those for some medical conditions, individuals experiencing mental health problems face multiple barriers to care that most patients with physical health problems do not.

Denial, shame, social stigma, lack of providers, having no insurance or inadequate insurance coverage, lack of access to medications, transportation problems and other issues discourage people from seeking mental health care. As a result, 60 percent of American adults with mental illnesses never receive treatment.

Our nation has not committed adequate resources to the issue and support for mental health funding, despite the growing recognition of the problems associated with untreated mental illnesses, seems to be decreasing as well. Iowa ranks 47th in the U.S. in the number of psychiatrists and psychologists and 44th in mental health

workforce availability. National experts recommend a minimum of 50 inpatient mental health beds for Iowa’s population. Iowa has 8.1.

When Allen Hospital, Covenant Medical Center and Sartori Hospital recently conducted their Community Health Needs Assessment in 2012-2013, better access to mental health care and improved coordination of health care were listed as high priorities.

Better access means more than adding providers. It also means treating patients’ mental and physical health needs concurrently. Physical illness can cause or worsen behavioral health issues. Behavioral health illnesses like depression, anxiety, PTSD, alcoholism or drug

dependency often mask underlying physical disease. Treating either without treating both only perpetuates the cycle.

Two of the Cedar Valley’s largest mental health providers decided we can do better. Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center became an affiliate of UnityPoint Health-Waterloo on Jan. 1.

We came together to coordinate physical and mental health care. Our goal is not to provide more services, hospitalizations or revolving doors. We want to coordinate our existing services to make it easier for patients to get help. They will have better outcomes when we work together to heal their minds and bodies.

HOPE HAVEN From page 2 change. It has given me the tools to literally turn my life into what I want it to be. There have been ups and downs, tears and laughs ,but I’ve gained insight from every mistake and triumph. The strength that has been rebuilt in my mind and heart is profound. The courage that’s been added to my life has helped me forgive myself. God is now in my heart. I read the Bible and pray every day. My faith in myself is restored. All these blessings have led me back to one thing and that’s ‘ME!’ I’m finally myself again.”

Melvin’s journey: “Key to Success helped me realize who I am and gave me direction. Now, I know myself and what I need to do to make it.”

June’s journey: “Forever locked into my childhood beliefs, the program has helped release me from an emotional prison to emotional freedom, which affects my whole life.

Recovery is possible.”

Hope is on the Horizon Hor

I t ’s not eas y to talk about me ntal healt h and addic t ion.

Yet it touches so many families in our communit y.

For years, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare–Iowa has offered Horizons, a chemical dependency program aimed at helping people rise above their addiction. Today, patients have access to a new care model in a modern environment at Covenant Medical Center.

We focus on helping patients develop behaviors centered around health and wellness.

I T ’ s j us T o n e M o r e Way W e’ r e I M pr ov I n g T H e H e a lT H o F o u r Co M M u n I T y.

Covenant Clinic | Covenant Medical Center | Mercy Hospital | sartori Memorial Hospital