Posted on June 25, 2021
Mental Health Weekly
For every suicide in this country, there are at least 29 attempts. Heroin addiction and overdose deaths have been on the rise since the pandemic began, which is not a coincidence, given that many people are using drugs as a way of self-medicating to mask mental health issues. During a livestreamed event last week led by The Hill and sponsored by The Hartford, Chris Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford, noted the importance of a stigma-free culture. Swift spoke about The Hartford's partnership with both the NAMI and Shatterproof. NAMI reports that untreated mental illness costs the U.S. economy $300 billion annually in lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover and increased medical and disability costs. Daniel H. Gillison Jr., NAMI CEO discussed the significance of the upcoming 988 crisis line, set to be operational in July 2022. “988 is a transformative opportunity for us,” said Gillison. “The demand to address mental health challenges was tremendous even before the pandemic and has gone up as we are living in isolation and seeing things occur in terms of COVID,” he said. The supply of resources was also limited, Gillison noted. “A lot of work needs to happen,” he said. “On the front end, there are not enough resources to stand it up,” he said. Conversely, Gillison noted, on the back end, it raises the question: Where do you take the person in crisis? “We have to build it up on the back end and build the talent on the front end to provide responses,” he said. “It's going to take all of us talking about it and marshalling the resources to make it a reality,” he added.
READ MOREPosted on June 16, 2021
Mashable
Throughout the pandemic, teens have been a constant focus for mental health professionals, as uncertainty and isolation led to increased depression and anxiety for young people. The ongoing crisis exacerbated mental health concerns, but even without a pandemic, young people make up a uniquely vulnerable population when it comes to mental health, Jennifer Rothman, senior manager for youth and young adult initiatives for NAMI says. "One of the main reasons we really want to reach more young people is that the earlier you can identify symptoms and warning signs of a mental health condition, the better the outcomes," Rothman explains. Schools are a primary source for mental healthcare for young people. They're hubs for information, resources, and counselors, as well as simply spaces to socialize.
READ MOREPosted on June 15, 2021
ABC News Boston
The pandemic is tough, it isolated people and has left many with anxiety and other mental health challenges. In March 2020, life suddenly changed overnight. Now 15 months later, the elimination of pandemic restrictions happened almost as quickly. “There was a huge mental health wave in the pandemic and people aren't light switches,” said Dr. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI. “People aren't that quick to pivot if you've been depressed or traumatized or anxious.” Duckworth said the loss of connection with co-workers and family and friends revealed mental health challenges for some and compounded them for others. “The rate of mental health conditions and substance use conditions essentially doubled during the pandemic from one in five to two and five. At the same time, I think mental health went from becoming a ‘they’ thing to a ‘we’ thing,” Duckworth said. “People have recognized that mental health is, in fact a part of health. And most of us know somebody or have had a personal experience of somebody who struggled with their mental health through the pandemic,” Duckworth said. “Mental health conversations are happening all across the country and they're happening now. They weren't happening two years ago. This is a change and this is an opportunity.” Duckworth says everyone has a bad day or a bad week.
READ MOREPosted on June 14, 2021
HealthDay
A rising number of young Americans, including children, are taking their own lives using firearms, a new study finds. Researchers found that between 2008 and 2018, gun suicides showed an "alarming" increase among Americans aged 5 to 24. The rate among kids under 15 quadrupled during the study period. The study looked specifically at suicide by firearms, and those suicides spiked by 50% among 15- to 24-year-olds. The findings highlight the fact that guns are a public health issue, according to Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. "We know that access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide," Duckworth said. There is also a correlation between U.S. states' gun ownership numbers and suicide rates, he noted. Research shows that suicide rates tend to be highest in states with the most gun owners, and lowest in states with the fewest. Duckworth, who reviewed the findings, said the study provides important information. "We've known that youth suicide is on the rise," he said. "This is looking at the means."
READ MOREPosted on June 12, 2021
Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys Podcast
Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director of NAMI, joined “Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys” an interactive, live Internet talk-radio show that focuses on providing people with tools to enrich and advance their lives mentally, physically, and emotionally. In the episode, Dr. Crawford provides Bipolar 101 with an overview of the different types as well as specific signs and symptoms.
READ MOREPosted on June 10, 2021
The Hill
Opinion piece by Patrick J. Kennedy and Daniel H. Gillison Jr., NAMI CEO, on the importance of 988 mental health crisis response and the opportunity to reduce avoidable ER visits; make better use of law enforcement resources; address long-standing inequities; and build healthier, more resilient communities. There’s no shortage of headlines about tragic outcomes for those living with mental health and substance use disorders in this country. Whether addressing rising suicide and overdose rates or fatal interactions with police, at the heart of these headlines is a gross inequity the U.S. has yet to fully acknowledge — the failure to provide a mental health response to mental health crises. This failure is driven by a deeply rooted systemic bias that is evident in the separate and unequal treatment of mental illness. It impacts every facet of society, contributing to tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year and fueling a dangerous undercurrent of stigma. At its most obvious, bias in our health care system is reflected in disparate access to care and higher costs for people with mental health and substance use disorders.
READ MOREPosted on June 10, 2021
FOX SOUL online network
Guests including Sherman Gillums, NAMI Chief Strategy & Operations Officer talk about how common PTSD is in veterans, break down statistics, and talk about PTSD triggers. Tammi and her guests talk about resources and solutions that can help veterans. Sherman highlights the NAMI Homefront and NAMI Sharing Hope programs.
READ MOREPosted on June 7, 2021
Depresh Mode Podcast
Bipolar disorder doesn’t mean that you’re kind of cheerful one day and a little bit glum the next. Those are just moods. That’s not a disorder. The Mayo Clinic says of bipolar, “When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities. When your mood shifts to mania or hypomania (less extreme than mania), you may feel euphoric, full of energy or unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, behavior and the ability to think clearly.” We unpack what bipolar means from the perspective of our friend, Dr. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI, a psychiatrist who also grew up with a father with bipolar disorder.
READ MOREPosted on June 4, 2021
Medscape
On May 25, Jena Hausmann, CEO of Children's Hospital Colorado, in Aurora, Colorado, declared a state of emergency in youth mental health in response to an astronomical increase in pediatric mental health cases, including suicide, which has overwhelmed the institution. From April 2019 to April 2021, the demand for pediatric behavioral health treatment at the hospital system increased by 90%. In Colorado, suicide is now the number one cause of death among youth and occurs in children as young as age 10 years. Christine Crawford, MD, associate medical director of NAMI said that she "commends the CEO of the hospital for making this announcement, because it is outrageous to see what is happening with more and more children with significant psychiatric symptoms who are not getting adequate care." Crawford, who is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, also pointed out that the mental health crisis in youth is not unique to Colorado. "Throughout the country, we've seen these colliding pandemics — inadequate mental health resources for children and COVID-19, which exacerbated the existing mental health crisis," she said. Crawford is "encouraged that we are having more conversations about pediatric mental health, because the pandemic amplified what was already going on and made it impossible to ignore." Policymakers and insurers need to prioritize pediatric mental health when determining allocation of healthcare, said Crawford. "Financial incentives should be provided for hospitals to want to reserve beds for psychiatric patients, and in the outpatient setting, we also need to look at the payment structure of psychiatric visits," she added. Many psychiatrists do not want to accept insurance because of the increased bureaucracy and low reimbursement rates, and families cannot afford to pay out of pocket, "so we really need to look at the insurance issue at a policy level," Crawford said.
READ MOREPosted on June 3, 2021
Associated Press
A few years ago, a star athlete dropping out of a major tennis tournament over mental health issues might have been seen as a sign of weakness. Today, at least for Naomi Osaka’s corporate sponsors, it is being hailed as refreshingly honest. That would explain why so many of them have stuck by Osaka after the four-time Grand Slam champion announced Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open because she didn’t want to appear for the requisite news conferences that caused her "huge waves of anxiety." Osaka, who also acknowledged suffering "long bouts of depression," received criticism by some who say the media events are just "part of the job." But Nike, Sweetgreen and other sponsors put out statements in support of the 23-year-old star after she revealed her struggles. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI, said Osaka’s decision to go public is a positive development for all people who feel isolated. "We are moving from mental health and mental illness as a 'they' thing to a 'we' thing," he said. "These are ordinary common human problems. And I firmly believe that isolation and shame directly contributes to people not getting help. I look at a great athlete, an exceptional athlete, as one potential role model."
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NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “helpline” to 62640, or chat online. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).