Let's Erase the Stigma Educational Foundation
        Philippe Fontilea, Founder
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        Phil@LETS.org

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Often, when people think about “mental health” they associate this with those with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. However, mental health is more than that. It is a healthy balance of mental and emotional well-being that includes how a person thinks, feels and acts as one copes with life. An individual’s mental health helps to determine how they handle stress, relates to others and affects the choices they make.

Numerous factors play into a person’s mental health. How is your life physically? Are you exercising? Eating healthy? Sleeping well? Are you drinking, using drugs or smoking more than usual? How is your life spiritually? Are you taking time to connect to a higher power? Are you taking time for yourself to reflect on your day? Are you allowing yourself the time to focus on how you are feeling? Are you saying yes to people or things when you really want to say no? Are you challenging yourself to be intellectually stimulated? All of these factors play a role in our overall mental health and well-being.

When the balance is lost, a mental illness may be the result. Mental illness is a biological brain disorder that can disrupt a person’s feelings, moods and thoughts and can cause an inability to relate to others. It is far more common than cancer, heart disease, arthritis or even diabetes. Mental illness is not something that can simply be controlled by willpower. It is not determined by a person’s strength or weakness, neither by their character, intelligence or their success in life.

Mental illness is an equal opportunity disease that affects individuals regardless of their age, gender, race or socio-economic status. Individuals both diagnosed and undiagnosed with mental illness are those around us — our neighbors, our friends, family and co-workers.

If you do believe your mental health is not at an optimal level, take heart; you are not alone. More than 54 million Americans will struggle with a mental health challenge this year, including 6 million young people. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Seeking advice or treatment for a mental health concern is no different than seeking a doctor’s care for a physical health concern. It’s all an essential part of your overall health and well-being and can dramatically improve your quality of life.

This month is Mental Health Month. Take the opportunity and ask yourself where you are on the mental health continuum at any given time. Various life circumstances move us up and down this continuum throughout life, and good self-care should include a regular assessment of the factors contributing to your own mental health. By doing this, you can maintain a healthy and balanced emotional health.

If you would like help with rebalancing your mental or emotional health, seek help by finding a professional who specializes in mental health concerns. There are also numerous online mental health assessment tools that can be utilized by searching for online mental health assessments. Early intervention and treatment increases the chances for maximum recovery and can return an individual to the healthy balance they once had. Studies have shown the most effective treatment for most mental illnesses includes a balance of medication and therapy. Help is out there. Treatment works.

SHEA HAURY is director of Adult Behavioral Healthcare Services at The H Group in West Frankfort.

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Mental disorder hospitalizations up 19% in 2011

The number of active-duty troops hospitalized for mental disorders rose 19 percent in 2011, to 21,735, up from 18,250 in 2010, according to a Defense Department morbidity report released Monday.

The statistics mean that for the second straight year, mental disorders have supplanted pregnancy as the number one reason active-duty personnel are hospitalized.

From 2006 to 2009, pregnancy-related conditions and childbirth were the top reasons service members were admitted to hospital.

But in 2010, mental disorders — mainly adjustment diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and episodic mood disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder — were associated with more hospitalizations among the active-duty component than any other medical condition.

And the trend continued in 2011.

“Together, these two conditions accounted for 15 percent and 17 percent of all hospitalizations of males and females (excluding pregnancy) respectively,” according to an Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center report released Monday.

In 2011, there were nearly 100,000 hospitalizations for 17 major categories of illness and injury, according to the report.

Pregnancy-related conditions and delivery accounted for 19,722 hospitalizations in 2011.

Ranking third on the list was injury and poisoning; according to center data, nearly two-thirds of the 12,741 hospitalizations for these categories were battle casualties. One in seven injuries or poisonings were reported as “intentionally inflicted,” which included not only suicide attempts, fights and assaults but also harm by enemy weapons.

Hospitalization for injuries and poisonings were higher among men than women, and of the “unintentional injuries,” the most common reason for hospitalization among men was a fall, complication of medical or surgical care or a gun or explosive device; among women, common reasons were complications of medical procedures and poisonings.

Hospitalization rates were more than two times higher for females than males, but pregnancy and deliver accounted for roughly 58 percent of all hospitalizations of females.

The rate of hospitalization for conditions not related to pregnancy was 30 percent higher among females than males.

In a reflection of which services have borne the brunt of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental disorders were the leading cause of hospitalization in the Army and Marine Corps, while pregnancy and delivery-related conditions accounted for more hospitalizations in the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard than any other category of illness or injury.

The study authors pointed out that the increase in the number of mental health hospitalizations does not necessarily mean that more personnel are developing behavioral health problems. Instead, they said, the increase in hospitalizations could reflect a growing awareness and understanding of mental health disorders among service members, their commands and family members, and a greater willingness to seek help.

“The recent sharp increase likely reflect the effects of many factors, including: repeated deployments and prolonged exposure to combat stresses; increased awareness and concern regarding threats to mental health among unit commanders, service members and their families; increased screening for and detection of mental disorders after combat-related service and other traumatizing experiences; and decreasing stigmas,” the authors wrote.

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