HJLR May/Jun 2019

This is not to suggest that any one health problem is worse than another. Nor is it to say that that each person’s experience is identical to another’s with the same physi- cal or mental illness. Instead, the mental ill- nesses listed are just as real and debilitating as other health conditions. An additional challenge to treating mental illness is that some do not know they have a mental illness or how to treat it. Also, accord- ing the National Institute on Mental Health, nearly half of the people with any mental illness meet the criteria for two or more dis- orders, and severity is strongly correlated with comorbidity. State of Stigma in America Unlike a physical illness, such as severe asthma or deafness, in which the symptoms may be more pronounced and treatment readily accessible, the stigma surrounding mental illness and treatment thereof serve as a barrier to treatment. Stigma was first addressed as a barrier to treatment by for- mer U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher in 1999 when he said, “Stigma surrounding the receipt of mental health treatment is among many barriers that discourage people from seeking treatment.” In 2014, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ser- vices Administration showed that only 2.5 million of the 21.2 million with mental illness accessed treatment. They found that stigma is the fundamental barrier to care. In 2018, the National Alliance for Mental Illness stated, “Stigma is toxic to mental health because it creates an environment of shame, fear, and silence that prevents many people from seek- ing help and treatment.” Twenty years later, Satcher’s words continue to ring true. What Can We Do? Combatting stigma is no easy task. In order to create a better social world together, we Bruce Trimble, MA, APR, is the director of business development for The BridgeWay Hospital, a psychiatric facility for children, adolescents, and adults in North Little Rock, Arkansas. An avid mental health advocate, Trimble was appointed by the governor of Arkansas to the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Council in 2015 and served as co-chair from 2015 to 2017. In 2018, he was instrumental in establishing a call center for the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Hotline. must change our behavior, specifically the way in which we communicate, both listening and talking, about mental health. I encourage you to reframe the conversation, become a mental health assistant, become a mental health advocate, be helpful and aspire to be empathetic. We must reframe the conversa- tion about mental health. In the coming months, I will explore each of these risks, as well as potential solutions to the issues of prevalence and access. However, instead of presenting a one-sided column, I also hope to hear from you about potential solutions. MENTAL HEALTH