Frustrated With Your Mental Health Treatment– Here Are 10 Things You Need Know.

“You may be your own best
(but secret) treatment provider.””
— John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

Since launching mentalhealthjustice.net and our accompanying Facebook Page about ten weeks ago, we have noticed several trends: 

  1. Our community is large and engaged. That's not a surprise but the fact that we already have more than 6,000 members (90% which are regularly engaging on our site) and we're reaching nearly 80,000 people a week (and growing) makes it clear that people are craving substantive information about mental health issues. 
  2. People need and want to "Tell Their Stories." Our program to have you send in your video narratives is off to a great start. Daily people are sending us their compelling, poignant and triumphant mental health stories.
  3. Mental health is an equal opportunity disease. A demographic analysis of our members looks like a map of the United States. Our members are of all races, creeds and political affiliations. Mental health justice is indeed the greatest non-partisan issue of our time. 
  4. Many people continue to be stigmatized and judged because of their mental illness. We hear time and time again that even among family members judgment remains harsh and obstinate. 
  5. Mental health policy needs to be reformed. The way that government and private health care deal with mental illness leaves a lot to be desired. Public and private mental health services are difficult to access, expensive and insufficient. Across the country, law enforcement is poorly trained to deal with mental health issues. While, it is not the duty of law enforcement to solve the mental health problem; it's clearly necessary that law enforcement be better trained for crisis situations involving mental health. 
  6. Finally, many people are frustrated with their mental health treatment, options and progress. There are many complicated layers as to why this is the case. But one things is clear–a lot of people need change and new options. 

We did our research and found this wonderful article by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. in psychcentral.com. The article, which is scientifically reviewed, offers ten great tips to help your recovery. The common denominator? We are always our own best advocate when it comes to our treatment and recovery. I find that fact both challenging, exciting and true!  

Mental Health Justice. No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome. 

                     Dolores Sanchez


I remember when I felt like that. Art explores depression.

Since depression is a subject we have dealt with quite a bit this week, I wanted to post this amazing article on Australian artist Margarita Georgiadis.

After the death of her father she began creating paintings expressing her emotional state. These works are relatable to all of us. If you're like me, you can look at each of these portraits and say, "I remember when I felt like that." 

Enjoy and thank you Margarita. 

Mental Health Justice. No stigma. No judgment. Everyone is welcome. 

Dolores 


Did You Know a Major Mental Health Care Bill is Moving Through Congress?

This week Representative Tim Murphy, a Republican from a district just south of Pittsburgh, joined Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Dallas Democrat in introducing legislation that would comprehensively reform America's mental health care system.  

The good news is that mental health, and how we provide services to those with mental illness, is suddenly the issue du jour in Washington D.C. While I see a lot of good and a few controversial provisions in the bill, I am glad to see Congress talking about our issues for a change. 

Here are 8-things the bill looks to reform in the current system and my comments:

1. More doctors—and less lawyers—will guide mental health. (This just makes sense. Physicians are most qualified to understand service priorities and should run agencies.) 

2. There would be a stricter funding criteria for mental health and addiction programs.                    (This improves quality standards. It may hurt some small providers though.)

3. States would be rewarded for implementing Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) . (AOT has been criticized for being too draconian but sometimes people need their meds and just refuse to take them. Smart to make this a state by state decision.) 

4. It would make crucial information more accessible to parents and caregivers. (HIPPA has flaws and completely restricting anyone from having knowledge of a loved ones mental health history is one of those flaws.) 

5. Medicaid and Medicare would be accepted at larger inpatient facilities. (A minor tweak to current law but a smart one.)

6. It would limit the powers of a national advocacy program for individuals with mental illness. (I have mixed feelings here, I feel like they're may be throwing the baby out with the bath water.) 

7.  If you use Medicare, you will no longer have a lifelong limit of 190-psychiatric hospitalization days. (Another minor but smart tweak to current law.)

8. It would set standards for who qualifies as a “peer” in “peer-to-peer” programs. (This appears to improve quality. Looking at this provision it seems like the devil is, not in the details, but the implementation. This should not freeze out proven advocates.) 

I am by no means an expert on these issues and speak as a patient and advocate. However, I am a lobbyist by profession and I do understand that many times our elected officials don't talk to the people affected by their proposed solutions. Many times, the consequence of that failure is public policy that does more harm than good. 

My purpose in posting about the Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act is to start our mentalhealthjustice.net community discussing this bill. I am interested to hear everyone's perspective. Perhaps, we can even have an impact on the bill as it moves through the house Energy and Commerce Committee. 

There are several members of the committee, with which, mentalhealthjustice.com has a relationship. If we can generate some realistic ideas for amendments, we will approach those members and ask them to add those changes to the bill.  

You have the experience. You know what the problems are. Together, let's try to solve them.  

I am looking forward to your thoughts. Mental Health Justice. No Stigma. No Judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores. 

 

 

 

Daphne's Story

Daphne Wallis is a wonderful, creative and courageous woman. A dedicated mother and a talented musician from Booneville, Mississippi. She's also overcome the challenges of a lifetime of mental health illness. 

Her video is on the long side :14 minutes but well worth the viewing. Daphne tells her story with such a straight forward narrative and gentleness that you'll, no doubt, want more once she's finished. 

Daphne you are the first member of the public to "Tell Your Story." We are so glad you did. Congratulations. 

Mental Health Justice. No Stigma. No Judgment. Everyone is welcome.

, , ,

Remembering Robin Williams, Preventing Suicide.

, , ,

It has been a year since we lost Robin Williams to suicide. He was one of the greatest comedic talents of our modern age–from Good Morning Vietnam to Good Will Hunting to The Birdcage–he made us chuckle, snicker and sometimes cry. So many us feel like we knew Robin Williams. He just had that rare charisma and gentleness.

Still, he was an intensely personal and insular man. To honor his memory and bring greater awareness to Severe Depression, the illness from which I suffer, we dug up a nine-year old National Public Radio interview with Robin Williams. 

The interview is funny, frantic and fantastic!  However, I can feel the pain of Severe Depression in his tone and cadence. At thirty minutes into the interview, he discusses mental illness. I will leave up to your interpretation as to what you think of his answer to questions about mental illness. However, it's clear to me, Robin Williams suffered with Severe Depression for a long, long time.

In honor of the great Robin Williams, please post the logo of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on your FB page and other social media. 

Remember suicide is 100% preventable.

Mental Health Justice. No Stigma. No Judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores 





How should we talk about mental health?

“Banishing the stigma attached to mental health issues can go a long way to facilitating genuinely useful conversations.”

”
— Vikram Patel, Mental Health Advocate

I love TedTalks. The site provides people with non-political and non-ideological views on so many issues–including mental health. I was sent this TedTalks article by a friend of mentalhealthjustice.net and I immediately knew I needed to share the wonderful insights of Ted Talks contributor, Thu-Huong Ha. 

In her piece, she asks the question, "How should we talk about mental health?" Ms. Ha then goes on to point out what we all know to be true–the great majority of people simply don't know how to talk about mental health, period.

She offers some straightforward recommendations about how society (RE: All of Us!) can change the mental health dialogue. I find all of her suggestions spot on:

  • Avoid correlations between criminality and mental illness.
  • Do correlate more between mental illness and suicide.
  • Avoid words like “crazy” or “psycho." 
  • Don’t define a person by his/her mental illnesses.
  • Separate the person from the problem.
  • Humor helps, so relax and laugh about your issues it may help solve them.
  • Sometimes the problem isn’t that we’re using the wrong words, but that we’re not talking at all.
  • If you feel comfortable talking about your own experience with mental health, by all means, do so.

The last two suggestion speak to one of the main reasons we have started the "Tell Your Story" campaign on our Mental Health Justice Facebook Page. By telling our stories, we can begin to slay the twin dragons of stigma and judgment. 

Here's my story:


This is my story. Now tell yours.

 

Yesterday, we launched our "Tell Your Story" campaign. We did so by posting a six-minute video detailing my personal history with mental illness. Since then, we have received dozens of questions about our campaign. I want to take some time and answer them.

  • We recommend a video between 3-5 minutes. However, that is not a hard-and-fast rule. So, please just speak from the heart and send us your story.
  • I was fortunate to have a team of communications professionals assist me with my video. But please, we are not concerned with quality. A video taken with your smart phone is fine with us. 
  • We will not post videos that are pitching products or services.
  • We are advocates, not mental health professionals, physicians or psychiatrists. Please read our disclaimer to learn more. 
  • We are getting a lot of videos sent and a lot of requests. We will post everyone's video, as long as the parameters of our disclaimer are followed. Everyone's story is important and everyone is welcome. Please be patient. 
  • Yes, we will be launching a visual arts and poetry campaign. We are excited to launch those campaign but will not be posting anyone's art or poetry until next month. So again, please be patient. 
  • Yes, it's okay to speak about your spirituality in your video. But please be respectful of others beliefs. if we believe a video is proselytizing we will not post. Remember everyone is welcome–Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, Pagans, atheists etc. All we demand is everyone be respectful of others beliefs and experience and not be judgmental. 

Thank you everyone for the great response to our "Tell Your Story" campaign. I am convinced that the only way to end the stigma and stop the judgment is for all of us to tell our stories.

Dolores

 

 

Ending mental health stigma starts with us.

I found this editorial in the Denver Post. It was written by Candie Dalton. Her son is schizophrenic. In the piece, she pleads for an end to mental health stigma. Surprisingly, her arguments are made by asking us to see severe mental illness through the eyes of Robert and Arlene Holmes, parents of Aurora theater shooting suspect, James Holmes. A tough but worthy read. I have posted some of my favorite quotes. 

“According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness, one in 17 Americans live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. One of these 13.6 million people might be someone you know and love. ”
— Candie Dalton
“The stigma associated with mental illness is so pervasive that those who live with it don’t talk about it and their families feel ashamed. Imagine if we did that with cancer.”
— Candie Dalton
“Schizophrenia affects one in 100 Americans, but have you ever seen a news clip about a person with schizophrenia who lives a happy and successful life?”
— Candia Dalton

Mental Health Justice. No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores

"Support Our Troops," is more than a platitude.

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE:

As you may know, there are several FB Pages that mentalhealthjustice.net tracks in order to share information and provide whatever support we can for the different mental health issues for which those pages advocate. One of those pages is Military with PTSD. 

I read this story on the Military with PTSD Page and was moved to tears and righteous indignation.

When we as a society say, "Support our Troops" it means so much more than supporting U.S. military efforts. The more important meaning of "Support our Troops" is to support our veterans when they return from war.  So many have seen death and suffering in ways we cannot imagine. 

It is our moral duty to provide affordable housing, quality schooling and accessible health care for veterans, especially for those suffering from PTSD. If you read this story, I am sure you will agree, that there is no one at fault but a broken Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care system. 

It is the position of mentalhealthjustice.net that there should be a separate department, with earmarked funding,  within the VA that collaborates with other providers and focuses solely on providing quality hands-on service to PTSD patients, If that were the case this tragedy would have never happened. 

Some people may say that we can't afford that type of treatment for those who suffer from PTSD or for that matter any mental illness.. But it is the position of mentalhealthjustice.net that we cannot afford either fiscally or more important morally to ignore the epidemic of veterans suffering from PTSD.  

Mental health justice. No stigma. No judgment, Everyone is welcome.

Dolores 

It's time to TELL YOUR STORY: Almost!

I believe the only way our society will ever overcome the stigma and judgment, attached to mental illness, is for all of us who have endured this disease to tell our stories–openly and unabashedly. 

When we launched mentalhealthjustice.net some two months ago, our plans were to immediately make this site available for anyone who was willing to tell their story. The response to our message of mental health justice has been amazing and overwhelming.  Managing that incredible response has slowed our plans for the launch of our TELL YOUR STORY campaign. 

However, the mentalhealthjustice.net team has been working hard to prepare for the campaign and the program will launch some time next week. With the risk of being too mysterious, I will be revealing more details about our campaign and how you can TELL YOUR STORY over the next few days. 

I am very excited about the upcoming launch. I am equally moved and humbled with everyone's participation in our movement toward mental health justice. 

No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores. 

 

Are you Socially Anxious? You're Not Alone.  

Abraham Lincoln, Johnny Depp Kate Moss, Emma Stone, Zack Greinke, Kim Basinger, Scarlett Johannsen, Adele, David Beckham, Leann Rimes, Jennifer Lawrence, Olivia Mumm, Barbara Streisand, John Steinbeck, Whoopi Goldberg, Charles Schultz all suffered from some form of anxiety disorder. The list goes on and on.  

It's hard to tell if everyday people, like me and you, have a more difficult time dealing with social anxiety disorder or other mental illnesses than famous people. However, I do believe there is an important lesson to be learned from famous people who have overcome mental illness– particularly Social Anxiety Disorder. They succeeded. They made an impact–in professions where public perception and social interface is integral to success. In short, they overcame the extreme anxiety related to what others thought of them.

Now, it's incumbent on all of us ordinary people to create a society where everyone is welcome and people's essential being is what's famous and not their mental illness.  

Mental Health Justice. No stigma. No Judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores 

KNUCKLEHEAD OF THE YEAR NOMINATION: TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT

Texas Governor, Greg Abbott thinks mental illness is mind control. He was swayed by arguments from a group founded by the Church of Scientology.

Texas Governor, Greg Abbott thinks mental illness is mind control. He was swayed by arguments from a group founded by the Church of Scientology.

I want to be very clear. Mentalhealthjustice.net is a non-partisan site where EVERYONE IS WELCOME. That means conservative, moderate, independent and liberal folks. As someone who worked for twenty five years as a lobbyist for a teachers' union, I know how partisanship can tarnish an important issue. So, whether you're from Los Angeles, Dallas, Wichita, Jacksonville, Milwaukee or Bangor–mentalhealthjustice.net is a place where you and your mental health stories and opinions are welcome.

However, as we all know, sometimes politicians can say some ridiculous thing. Then to boot they take ridiculous actions based on those irrational beliefs. In those cases, we need to hold politicians accountable regardless of their party affiliation. Such is the case of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Last week, Abbott vetoed a mental health bill because he was convinced by a fringe group that there in no such thing as mental illness and psychiatry is "mind control." 

Really!

The bill was pretty straight forward. It gave emergency room doctors the ability to hold patients, experiencing a severe mental health crisis, for up top four hours. The time would be used so mental health professional could evaluate the patients' risk factors. That would significantly reduce suicides and other violent acts committed during a mental health crisis.

That just makes sense. But apparently not to Governor Greg Abbott. So, for his ridiculous proposition that mental illness is not real, mentalhealthjustice.net nominates Abbott for the Knucklehead of the Year Award.

Congratulations Governor the nomination is well deserved!

MENTAL HEALTH TRUTH OF THE DAY

If we do not stand up against the stigma attached to mental illness, it will never go away. If we do not say, "Look at the log in your eye before you judge the speck of my mental illness," people will continue to judge.

Mentalhealthjustice.net was created as a place where we can all fight back against the discrimination and the misunderstanding related to mental health illness. That can only happen by telling our stories and educating people that mental illness is a disease like any other illness. 

Please join us by letting your friends and family know about our site and Facebook Page. Have them like it, share it, comment on our posts and invite all their friends. 

Mental health justice. No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome. 

Dolores

The Americans with Disabilities Act Turns Twenty-Five & Mental Illness Matters More Than Ever.

Today, July 26th, 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (‪#‎ADA‬)!

This groundbreaking civil rights law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.

Here is a great story about the dramatic protest that led to the ADA's passage 25 years ago. 

Often overlooked is that the ADA covers mental as well as physical disabilities. I know from personal experience with my mental illness that to this day employers act illegally in the face of this law by discriminating in the workplace. We created #MentalhealthJustice.net because we know the fight continues to remove the barriers that remain.

Despite the continuing struggle, on this anniversary, we pause to give a heartfelt thanks to all the advocates who lobbied for the law, retired Iowa Senator Tom Harkin who championed the ADA through Congress, and President George H.W. Bush who signed the ADA into law. Now. it's incumbent on all of us to make sure our society and institutions respect mental illness as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

Mental health justice. No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores

, ,

The LAPD: Getting It Right. We Need to Give The Mentally Ill Treatment, Not Jail Time.

, ,

I want to introduce you to Lt. Lionel Garcia. He was the lead officer of the the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD), Mental Evaluation Unit for seven years until he retired this last April. The unit's officers are trained by LA County Mental Health Care experts the proper intervention tactics for cases involving mental health issues.

Most often those suffering from mental health disorders will call and ask police to intervene in a situation.  And very often, that call for help results in a collision of law enforcement and the mentally ill that has been historically unfavorable, if not tragic. But with the right training, Lt. Garcia's former unit has been able keep incident arrests to 8.5%. That's remarkable and deserves our attention and praise! 

Please listen to the NPR segment on the unit and read the article. As law enforcement, across the nation (often justifiably),  receives scrutiny for their intervention tactics–it's nice to highlight a department that's getting it right.