Stigma Interferes With Treatment of Mental Illness
- Kalani Nikole
- Feb 11, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 19, 2019
1 in 5 adults experience a mental health concern, disorder or condition in any given year.
1 in 25 adults in America live with a serious mental illness.
Half of all conditions start presenting symptoms by age 14.
It takes an average of eight years before someone receives treatment for a mental health condition.
Why?
They are afraid to talk about it because of the stigma surrounding mental illness.
This was how Cathryn Nacario, chief executive officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), began her presentation at the San Diego Rotary Club 33 meeting on Jan. 31, 2019 where over 100 club members assembled at the Liberty Station Conference Center. The murmurs echoing around the room indicated that these statistics were a shock to many.
”Mental health concerns are truly a brain disorder. It’s not something you can will away. It’s not something that can be cured with tough love. It’s not something you can just toughen up and get over,” Nacario explained.
Although, the original topic was creating mentally healthy workplaces, the Q-and-A portion of the meeting shifted the focus to the gravity of the situation facing the county’s youth. Unfortunately, NAMI’s youth programs have run into obstacles implementing services at schools, such as a marked lack of on-campus support from local administration.
Cindy Marten, San Diego Unified School District’s superintendent responded, “We could not be more thankful for what NAMI does here in San Diego. The way you can partner with San Diego Unified is front and center in terms of importance for us.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports: suicide is the third leading cause of death for youths and results in approximately 4,600 lives lost annually. NAMI has resources throughout the nation to help those battling mental illnesses.
"It is OK to ask..."
Nacario explained in her closing, “It is OK to ask if they have a plan to harm themselves... It opens the door for conversation and for them to know they are not being judged and they can speak freely about what they are struggling with.”
After the close of the meeting, several members lined up to speak with Nacario individually. It was clear that her presentation had moved them. The general atmosphere around the room was somber, yet hopeful. Nacario had armed them with information to be able to move forward and make the difference that Rotary Club’s worldwide work towards everyday.
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