With Mental Health Month rapidly approaching in May, it’s an excellent time to look at mental health and how it impacts our lives, our friends, our families and others.
You might be surprised to learn that an average of 123 suicides are committed every day in America and are on the rise. Suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.; there were 47,511 suicide deaths in 2019, and there were an estimated 1.38 million attempts during the same year. It is estimated that 10.3 million Americans harbored serious suicidal thoughts last year – a 450,000 increase over the previous year. And these numbers only reflect reported data.
Over 191 individuals will also die from a drug overdose in a single day, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Suicides and substance abuse are serious outcomes from mental illness, and they should not be ignored. An estimated one in five people (approximately 45 million Americans) now live with mental illness.
Despite these alarming statistics, there are resources for those living with mental illness and for those who may need to help someone with mental health issues.
One such course is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training. With over a million people already trained, the course offers information on assessing the risk for suicide or harm, learning the common signs and symptoms of mental illness and substance abuse, how to interact and connect with a person in crisis, how to administer naloxone in the event of an opioid overdose, and much more. This training helps employers, first responders, faith leaders, teachers and anyone who may come in contact with someone struggling with mental illness.
“Most of us would know how to help if we saw someone having a heart attack—we’d start CPR, or at the very least, call 9-1-1.,” writes MHFA, “But too few of us would know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack or if we were concerned that a friend or co-worker might be showing signs of alcoholism.”
The Mental Health First Aid course makes it easier to start conversations about mental health and substance abuse through improving understanding and providing action steps. MHFA teaches people to “safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental illness or substance abuse disorder (SAD).”
When more people are able to start a dialogue, more people can get the help they need. Mental Health First Aiders can even save lives. (www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org)
The course will be offered via Zoom web conference on April 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To register, email [email protected].
Comment
Comments