It's World Mental Health Day: Make sure everyone who needs help gets it
Happy World Mental Health Day 2016!
With the way the world and this election is going, we could all use a day to focus on our mental health. Really, a lot more than just one but we'll take what we can get.
Seriously, the idea behind this day is to raise awareness and remove the stigma about receiving mental health. It's not as bad as it used to be but there are still plenty of people who feel seeing a therapist is a sign of weakness. It's this simple...when you're physically ill, do you think twice about calling your primary physician or a specialist? Of course you don't. So why should there be a problem about getting some mental health when needed. There are times when we can all use a little mental tune-up!
One of the biggest problems in the mental health field is funding. It seems everything is deemed more important.
In Illinois, the state legislature and the Governor have not been able to agree on a budget for almost two years. Mental health clinics took a big hit and a lot of them lost their funding. I know of someone who lost his therapist because the clinic didn't have enough money to keep all their patients. When he was referred to another clinic, he found that clinic couldn't take new patients. They were laying off therapists.
That person was me. I was lucky to find another therapist who was taking new patients and did accept my insurance. I was also lucky to find a therapist who took me in when I didn't have much money and really needed the help. Not everyone has that luck. I realize how fortunate I was and I'm very grateful for the help when things weren't looking very good.
I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better. You hear a lot of talk about how Obamacare is going to be reformed and it sounds to me like millions are going to lose their insurance...and with that they'll lose their access to mental health care. As usual, it's the poor and disadvantaged that take a hit when there are cutbacks. It's unacceptable and it needs to stop.
So since I've raised your awareness about Mental Health, how about we take it a step further. Send your representative a quick note telling them how important this issue is and how more money is needed.
It just might save a life...and that's the idea of this day.
My friend Nikki brought this day to my attention. She doesn't need the readers but here's her piece on this topic.
Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.