Recognizing Mental Health

Each year, millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition.

In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) on Oct. 4-10, 2020, people across the country are helping others to gain a better understanding of mental illness by raising their voices of lived experiences regarding some of the conditions and symptoms that are most misunderstood. 

Since 1990, when Congress officially established the first full week of October as MIAW, advocates have worked together to sponsor activities, large and small, to educate the public about mental illness.

One in five adults and one in six youth experience mental illness every year, and 50 percent of chronic mental illness begins by age 14. Annual prevalence among U.S. adults, by condition:

• Anxiety Disorders: 19.1 percent (estimated 48 million people)

• Bipolar Disorder: 2.8 percent (estimated 7 million people)

• Schizophrenia: <1 percent (estimated 1.5 million people

• Major Depressive Episode: 7.2 percent (17.7 million people)

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 3.6 percent (estimated 9 million people)

This year Karuna Counseling in Sidney is partnering with community members in recognition of mental illness issues. On Thursday, Oct. 8, Karuna Counseling will host the movie “A Beautiful Mind” 7 p.m. at Fox Theater. On Friday, Karuna Counseling will partner with Daisies and Dragons 6:30 p.m. for a game night at Daisies and Dragons. The event will be held at Daisies and Dragons with tables set up for family-friendly games. On Saturday, Karuna Counseling will again host a movie at the Fox Theater. This time “Inside Out” will be on the screen at 2 p.m., a Pixar production that explains how the mind works. Earlier in the week, the office teamed up with The Well church and Pastor Justin Brown for National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding.

Mental illness is a physical illness of the brain which results in various problems in everyday life, according to mentalhealthyday2020.org. The site says mental illness can be caused by a deformity in brain structure, genetics, experiencing trauma and poor brain chemistry. The website adds mental health and physical health are related, but must be addressed differently. Physical diseases can be confronted with strong willpower, according to mentalhealthyday2020, but mental illness weakens a person.