Recovering from mental illness is terrifying and exhausting, both for the person diagnosed and those who stand beside them throughout the recovery process. Sometimes, particularly when the diagnosis is new, the person suffering feels as if they will not ever become well again.

Family and friends might be unsure if recovery is possible. They question how they can help. Mental illness creates a feeling of helplessness for everyone involved. My and my family’s experience with chronic mental illness has allowed me to understand how important it is to have a support group. It can define the journey taken to recover from mental illness.

My diagnosis is rare. I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder when I was 12. While my siblings were attending school and playing soccer on weekends, I was confined to a children’s psychiatric hospital. I remember wondering what was wrong with me. I remember my parents, wide-eyed, watching as my moods shifted by the hour, even the minute. We were all terrified. Mental illness is frightening at its core.

Unsure what to do, my parents brought me to doctors, psychiatrists, therapists and even nutritionists. The various doctors told them I had Attention Deficit Disorder; the psychiatrists told my parents they were parenting me badly. They were certain that explained my erratic behavior.

The therapist asked me to draw pictures that they thought would explain my moods. I refused to use any crayon that was not black, threw the toys that were carefully placed around the brightly lit room, and tore up the paper. I was unable to control myself. She dismissed me as being ‘overemotional’ and ‘narcissistic’ at the ripe age of 11. The nutritionist told me I was allergic to dairy products. My family, in a show of support, stopped eating anything containing dairy.

Fourteen years ago, professionals simply could not believe a child could have a serious mental illness−despite our family tree being defined by mental illness and suicide.

The years before my diagnosis were painful and affected our family dynamic immensely. My two siblings watched their older sister fall apart; they viewed their parents trying to catch me as I fell into blackness. My illness was quickly making my family ill.

It is impossible to capture my experience with mental illness in a few words, but I can tell you that without the support of my family, friends and a support team, I would not be writing these words. Twenty-six years old now, I feel I have some experience under my belt (so to speak) and would like to share different ways in which people can support a loved one struggling with mental illness.

Often, a newly diagnosed person is confused and angry. They may believe they do not need help. They might push away family and friends. As a person living with a chronic mental illness, I can tell you that isolation often results from fear. Mental illness carries stigma and it is frightening.

For example: I fall into a severe and crippling depression each winter. Each time it occurs I am, somehow, surprised. I quickly forget that my life is usually full of color and that waking up each morning often makes me smile. When I become ill I am certain I will never be well again.

If a family member or friend is unstable, the most important thing you can do is remind them that they will become well again. Without my family and friends to help me through each winter, to assure me that my life will become mine again, once spring arrives, I would certainly struggle more.

It is important to have a plan of action. Effective communication will be crucial if the person with mental illness shows signs of a relapse. A plan of action for such an event creates a feeling of security both for the person struggling and for those who love them.

An example: My family and I sat down with my psychiatrist−once it was clear my episodes were seasonal−and made a plan, in writing, that stated the steps that would be taken if I became ill. It was a difficult thing to do at the time. Seeing my diagnosis on paper made it real. But that paper provides a feeling of security for all of us.

The plan can include medication alterations, community outreach, and simple things like charting your mood and recognizing patterns. I believe this can be one of the most useful tools when working to help someone recover from a mental illness. It certainly is not a document that is placed on my fridge—it’s hidden away somewhere—but it has been instrumental in my recovery.

The health of those who support the mentally ill person often gets ignored. When I first became ill, my entire family suffered. My parents, while working full-time and taking care of my two siblings, spent years focused on my illness and recovery. In the process, they became unwell themselves. My mother slipped into a depression and my father worked to keep our family functioning. It was not easy.

Often, when a person must spend so much time focusing on someone they love, they forget to take care of themselves. It is impossible to help someone else if you become sick yourself. Ask yourself: “Do I need to step back?” Sometimes you do. My family has learned both to support me and support each other. It is in this way that we have been able to embrace recovery together.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Apr 2012
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

 

Similar news:

• Staten Island mental health alliance to offer crucial information for families
• Mental illness class offered
• Make a difference in mental health
• Survey finds mental health ignorance
• Havre woman battles mental illness, finds hope

By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press
–
33 minutes ago 

GENEVA (AP) — Cases of dementia — and the heavy social and financial burdens associated with them — are set to soar in the coming decades as life expectancy and medical care improve in poorer countries, the World Health Organization says.

Some 35.6 million people were living with dementia in 2010, but that figure is set to double to 65.7 million by 2030, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday. In 2050, it expects dementia cases to triple to 115.4 million.

“The numbers are already large and are increasing rather rapidly,” said Dr. Shekhar Saxena, the head of WHO’s mental health division.

Most dementia patients are cared for by relatives who shoulder the bulk of the current estimated annual cost of $604 billion. And the financial burden is expected to rise even faster than the number of cases, WHO said in its first substantial report on the issue.

“The catastrophic cost drives millions of households below the poverty line,” warned the agency’s director-general, Margaret Chan.

Dementia, a brain illness that affects memory, behavior and the ability to perform even common tasks, affects mostly older people. About 70 percent of cases are believed to be caused by Alzheimer’s.

In the last few decades, dementia has become a major public health issue in rich countries. But with populations in poor and middle-income countries projected to grow and age rapidly over the coming decades, WHO appealed for greater public awareness and better support programs everywhere.

The share of cases in poor and middle-income countries is expected to rise from just under 60 percent today, to over 70 percent by 2050.

So far, only eight countries — including Britain, France and Japan — have national programs to address dementia, WHO said. Several others, such as the United States, have plans at the state level.

While the report shies away from making specific recommendations to policy makers, it does urge them to address the challenges of dementia as soon as possible.

Emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil, for example, have functioning health care systems but don’t have the capacity to deal with the massive rise in dementia, said Saxena.

Ensuring doctors and nurses can spot symptoms is a start because lack of proper diagnosis is one of the obstacles to better treatment, he said. Even in rich countries, more than half of dementia cases are overlooked until the disease has reached a late stage, according to the report.

One common misconception is that dementia is inevitable.

“Most people regard dementia as a normal sign of aging, which is not correct,” said Saxena. “Older people have problems of memory and cognition, but dementia is a disease with much more rapid symptoms and progression.”

Badly treated or ignored, dementia sufferers can become isolated and vulnerable, especially if they also have poor eyesight or hearing.

And rich countries like the United States should reconsider the drive to place dementia patients in institutions, said Saxena. “That’s a mistake that some developed countries have made that is neither financially viable nor providing the best care,” he said.

To Saxena, the increasing rate of dementia is a “paradox” of medical progress.

“The better we do, the more we expect to have problems with dementia and we need to be prepared for that,” he said.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Similar news:

• Many Millions Suffer from Depression
• Report: Boomers lack mental health care
• Kenya clinic riot spotlights mental health
• Report: Too little mental health care for boomers
• Report: Too little mental health care for boomers

 

At Tuesday night’s Rockland County Legislative meeting, a letter emailed to Chairwoman Harriet Cornell and Legislator Ilan Schoenberger was read aloud. The letter was from an employee of the county’s mental health department—who later in the evening came forward as Mary Rodriguez—and she spoke of her concerns with lack of information about the new state-mandated Health Homes initiative, possible layoffs and a request for more staff involvement or communication.

The New York State Department of Health’s new initiative, Health Homes, hopes to help patients with specific medical care and save on health costs. This came out of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign team and focuses on coordinated care for complex patients.

After the letter was read, Mary Ann Walsh-Tozer, commissioner of the Rockland County mental health department, reflected on the letter. Then two employees came forward to speak, one of whom was Rodriguez.

Here are excerpts from the letter:

I feel that it’s absolutely necessary to address a new service that’s being immediately implemented in our county by the state office of mental health and department of health. The target dates to begin implementing these services are April 1, 2012.

With respect to our current county positions … we would like to point out our specific services in the case management union will be a vital part of the future of mental health treatment. The crux of this new wave of services equals quality, experience and knowledgeable care managers. Ironically, it is the same service that we already have been providing for years.

It could only benefit the county and the clients we serve to keep our union intact. It makes sense to keep current care managers that are already in place as employees.

We will continue to bring in revenue to the county. We already know and service the clients who transferred into this kind of  … it seems that there is no need to contract out for these services.

We hope that you will investigate these … important changes coming down on us.

Walsh-Tozer said she did not know of these staff concerns.

“I had spoken to the supervisors and they were not aware that there were concerns from the staff,” she said, adding that she encourages staff to approach her and the administration with all their concerns.

“Health Homes … is a care management service model.

She explained that the Health Home Initiative is from the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

“The initiative is coming out of the state. They are transitioning and phasing in what they’re calling ‘care management,” she said. “The intention of this is to ensure that an individual’s care is completely coordinated, their health care, behavioral health care, social services need … there is someone, not only coordinating that care, but focusing strongly on ensuring that everyone that is part of each consumer health care team … are all talking to each other.”

Schoenberger was one of the legislators to receive Rodriguez’s email among others.

“I apologize if it put (Rodriguez) in an uncomfortable position,” he said, adding that he has written, in the past, a law called the Rockland County Whistleblower Protection Act. “Any county employee that comes forward and tells us of things in the county government that could be done better or done more, has immunity protection from any discipline or any kind of action. I appreciate the email, (the employees) coming here and the commissioner’s comments.”

Care Coordinator

Coordinated care can lengthen the lives of individuals with complex care needs.

“The care coordinator in a health care home is the center of the wheel,” said Walsh-Tozer. “I happen to think that there is a great deal of value in this initiative.”

“The services that Commissioner Walsh-Tozer described for care coordinators is exactly what we have been doing for 20 years now with the Department of Mental Health,” said Rodriguez. “We are the key point care coordinators for, not only the mental health piece of our clients’ lives, but also the health related, housing related, you name it, the gamut of what they need. We are the only advocates that they have. We do pull together all the services that they need.”

Rodriguez added that the current employees have established long-standing relationships with community services as well.

Informing the Staff

“It’s important (for the staff) to know that the state is doing webinars on this issue of health homes and part of that has to do with case management, which this letter is referring to. The staff has been invited to attend these webinars,” said Walsh-Tozer.

She added that she had involved case managers and supervisors in the discussions.

“It is my hope that the staff will not only be part of the training but also be interested in moving over and becoming care coordinators,” she said. “They’re very talented and very able to do this job.”

Legislator Philip Soskin suggested that Walsh-Tozer have a meeting with her staff and keep them informed for them to make plans for the future.

“This is very important both to the county and to those individuals who are concerned,” he said.

“We have done that and will continue to (inform staff). We have included staff to the best of our knowledge of what is happening,” she said.

On the other hand, Rodriguez claims were different.

“We did go to our supervisors and asked about what is coming down to the pipe with respect to our services and the heath home services … he is in the dark, from what he tells us,” she said, adding that she and others had to sign up for emails with the NYS DOH for notifications such as the webinars.

“The atmosphere in our department is very tense, chaotic, confusing. The clients have questions. We’re not going to be able to answer those questions because we don’t know what our role is,” said Rodriguez.

The Transition

Walsh-Tozer said that the department is not certain of how long the transition will take.

“It could be a year or it two years, … in the short term, foreseeable future, (we’re) utilizing the case managers who are … very well trained and perform in their jobs very well and they will be transitioned into being—and will remain on county rolls as county employees for a period of time—in their current jobs as care coordinators,” she said.

However, she added that the state is going to “eliminate these positions down the road and create care management positions … to better integrate behavioral health and physical health needs of clients and ultimately, eliminate … undermanaged care.”

Walsh-Tozer added that they just went through two serious layoffs in the department of mental health.

“None of it is done easily.”

At the podium, Rodriguez offered a possible solution to layoffs.

“Monetarily, I don’t know what the reimbursement rates are … with a care coordinator title. I know it’s less (than current salaries), but I know we’re able to carry larger caseloads. So conceivably I would think, we would be able to cover our whole salaries at no cost to the county if our caseloads were increased, which they would be,” said Rodriguez. “There is a whole host of dynamics that I feel that are not being discussed, certainly not within our department.

Another employee, Debra Villar came forward to add that they have done a tremendous amount of research online.

“Their idea of health homes, we’re not against it. It actually sounds like a very viable move,” said Villar. “We’re just very adamant that we would be a huge contribution to that as well and we should be involved.”

“Yes I’m fighting for my job … but by the same token, the division that OMH wants, what the future of the services of mental health is, is what we do now,” said Rodriguez. “I’m a little confused about why we’re being told how to do this. It minimizes the value of what we’ve been doing for 20-30 years.”

Billing

Rodriguez’s letter also spoke of the need for an upgraded billing system:

It seems feasible that the use of computers for billing could be easily be facilitated down in the department of social services building, which is walking distance from our offices.

This may enable us to directly build on the e-net system, another requirement of the DOH program

This would certainly rectify most of the current billing problems. Access to the system … we would be able to find out our clients’ … information vital to our clients

“It’s not something we’re aware that is an issue,” said Walsh-Tozer. “I can tell you that not having computers and electronic medical records is extraordinarily debilitating

Soskin added that although the legislature could not do much on the issue, but they could help facilitate a meeting between administration and employees. He also requested representation at the future meeting from the department of social services and someone from MIS who is knowledgeable about software to upgrade billing technology.

Similar news:

• Warrick Dunn Charities Furnishes Family’s New House
• State concerned about mental health agency
• The Public Eye: $3 million in state contracts yanked from Sacramento mental …
• With reduced funding, Somerset County’s mental health center to lay off staff … – The Star-Ledger
• Mental-health budget cuts loom in York and Adams counties