Mental Health Awareness Month: Catching Conditions Early is Key
By: Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service – ND
BISMARCK, N.D. – May is Mental Health Awareness Month and North
Dakotans are spreading the word about this stigmatized health issue.
Attention is focused on children this week, which is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
Carlotta McCleary, executive director of Mental Health America of North Dakota, says at any given time, one in five young people have a mental health condition, showing just how common this issue is.
She says mental health issues should be treated like other chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
“We need to get to people when they are in the beginning stages of their
disorder,” she stresses. “Mental health is the only chronic health
condition where we are waiting to stage four of the disorder before
we’re doing anything.”
McCleary says folks should have a conversation with their primary care
provider if they feel they are experiencing a mental health issue.
Her organization is holding an event at the Ramada Inn in Bismarck on Saturday to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.
Another issue related to mental health is suicide. A report from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds North Dakota had
the country’s largest increase in suicide rates – 57% – between 1999 and
2016.
McCleary says it’s the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 24 in the state.
However, she says stigma on this issue and other mental health conditions is a big barrier.
“Oftentimes, it’s a stigma that causes people to delay in getting help
and getting treatment,” she states. “The stigma also is associated with
the lack of funding sometimes around a particular issue.”
McCleary adds that up until this legislative session, North Dakota
lawmakers weren’t properly funding the issue, saying the state was in a
“mental health crisis.”
But McCleary praises legislators this year for supporting things such as
community-based services, crisis response and early intervention.
