Stigma Keeps Many Teens from Getting Mental Health Treatment

Workers Fear Stigma of Seeking Mental Health Care

SATURDAY, Jan. 30 -- Fears about losing status at work and about confidentiality are among the main reasons that many American workers are more hesitant to seek treatment for mental health issues than for physical health problems, according to a national survey released this week by the American Psychiatric Association.

More than 40% of the 1,129 respondents said their employer was supportive or extremely supportive of their workers seeking care for health concerns. However, the online survey also found that barriers persist for workers who said their workplace is unsupportive of employees seeking treatment, especially for mental health concerns.

Help fight stigma and raise public awareness of the mental health needs of
veterans-- in People magazine! NAMI leader Matt Kuntz, who is featured in the latest
NAMI Advocate cover story (http://www.nami.org/obama) , has been nominated to be one
of People magazine's "All-stars Among Us." Earlier this year, he was selected to
ride President Obama's inaugural train as an "ordinary American" who has done
"extraordinary things."

Many Teens Hide Their Depression Due To Stigma

Stigma Keeps Teens From Depression Treatment

 

In the study, which included 368 teens and one parent or guardian of each teen, half of the teens had been diagnosed with depression. The teens and the adults were asked to rate possible barriers to depression treatment, including cost of care, concerns over perceptions of others, difficulties making appointments with a doctor or therapist, constraints due to time and other responsibilities, not wanting family members to know about the depression (asked of teens only), the unavailability of good care and simply not desiring treatment.

  IN the YouTube video, Liz Spikol is smiling and animated, the light glinting off her large hoop earrings. Deadpan, she holds up a diaper. It is not, she explains, a hygienic item for a giantess, but rather a prop to illustrate how much control people lose when they undergo electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, as she did 12 years ago.

An alternative approach to mental health care is one that emphasizes the interrelationship between mind, body, and spirit. Although some alternative approaches have a long history, many remain controversial. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health was created in 1992 to help evaluate alternative methods of treatment and to integrate those that are effective into mainstream health care practice. It is crucial, however, to consult with your health care providers about the approaches you are using to achieve mental wellness.

Self-help

Many people with mental illnesses find that self-help groups are an invaluable resource for recovery and for empowerment. Self-help generally refers to groups or meetings that:

• Involve people who have similar needs
• Are facilitated by a consumer, survivor, or other layperson;
• Assist people to deal with a "life-disrupting" event, such as a death, abuse, serious accident, addiction, or diagnosis of a physical, emotional, or mental disability, for oneself or a relative;
• Are operated on an informal, free-of-charge, and nonprofit basis;
• Provide support and education; and
• Are voluntary, anonymous, and confidential.