Posted on June 3, 2021
Newsweek
Tennis star Noami Osaka's decision to withdraw from the French Open because of the anxiety she experiences from press conferences has started a broader discussion about mental health, not only for professional athletes but for everyone after a year of enduring a pandemic. A survey from the CDC and the Census Bureau found an increase in the numbers of adults with anxiety and depression. The study found that the percentage of adults with symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5% from August 2020 to February 2021. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI, told the Associated Press that Osaka's decision to publicly discuss her mental health is a positive sign to others who are struggling. "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 contribute to people not getting help. I look at a great athlete, an exceptional athlete, as one potential role model," Duckworth said.
READ MOREPosted on May 31, 2021
USA Today
Although Bialik doesn't remember meeting host Alex Trebek, who died last November following a battle with pancreatic cancer, she recalls his cameo appearance on "Blossom," her 1990s NBC sitcom. Q: And you've selected the National Alliance on Mental Illness as your charity. (A donation matching the cumulative winnings during a star's turn as guest host will be made to their selected organization.) Why did you pick that charity? Bialik: I've been involved with that charity as a client, as it were. They provide support not only to individuals living with mental illness, but to their families as well, to give support to help people get through understanding that the family member is struggling or hospitalized or living with a mental illness. And started a mental health podcast, and so that's really been where most of my time and energy has been (directed), helping get the word out about organizations like NAMI that provide support.
READ MOREPosted on May 28, 2021
AppleTV+ Oprah/Prince Harry documentary
Dr. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI is featured in multiple segments of Oprah and Prince Harry’s documentary series on mental health and mental illness challenges including the link above to a brief NAMI twitter clip. Dr. Duckworth discusses how engaging with helping others, participating in education programs and trying to change the mental health system through advocacy can change the dynamics and empower people to become an agent for change.
READ MOREPosted on May 28, 2021
Yahoo! Money
The way employers view mental health may have changed for good after the pandemic, according to experts, as more Americans suffering from stress, anxiety, and isolation reached out for help. Last year, the volume of calls to the helpline manned by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) jumped 70% over 2019, while one-third of employers reported an increase in requests for information about Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that provide mental health services, according to Clayton. While 1 in 5 people struggle each year with a mental health condition, according to NAMI, many are reluctant to reach out for help — especially from an employer — because they feel a stigma still remains. "Company culture starts from the top down," said NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr., noting executives should model behavior that reduces that stigma and prioritizes mental health, while employers provide access to adequate mental health service. Not only because younger generations are beginning to demand it, but because it is the right thing to do, he said. "It is good for their workers, and it is good for business."
READ MOREPosted on May 26, 2021
Our Weekly: Los Angeles
The police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck has been convicted of second-degree murder. However, that conviction will not bring Floyd back to life. It is also extremely troubling that several other Black men and women have died similar traumatic deaths since Floyd struggled to tell the world “I can’t breathe” while calling out for his mother with his last breath on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020. On Tuesday, one year after Floyd’s untimely and unsettling death, The Kennedy Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine, The National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Hurdle hosted a virtual symposium to discuss Black mental health. Before George Floyd’s death, mental health was often a hushed and shunned topic in the Black community. That sentiment is an ongoing struggle after Floyd’s death, mental health advocates said. Participants in the symposium included Dan Gillison, CEO of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Dr. David Satcher, the 16th U.S. Surgeon General, and mental health researchers Dr. Harold Neighbors and Dr. Norman L. Day-Vines. Neighbors and Day-Vines shared observations from their co-authored George Floyd Report, which focused on mental health and the subsequent trauma in the Black community.
READ MOREPosted on May 25, 2021
POPSUGAR
How do we cope with racial trauma and the mental health effects of racism, a full year after the murder of George Floyd? In the past year, there has been so much media attention on police brutality against black people and hate crimes toward people of color. It's stressful and overwhelming, and understandably takes its toll on our collective mental health. On this week's episode of How 2 Deal (video embedded in article), model and actress Corinne Foxx is joined by Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director of NAMI, to help you figure out the best way to navigate these hard times.
READ MOREPosted on May 20, 2021
SHAPE
Before Peloton instructor and NAMI Ambassador Kendall Toole beamed into millions of homes, packing her classes with pop-punk playlists and words of encouragement, she revealed she grappled with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The 28-year-old fitness expert, who released her second Mental Health Awareness month-themed ride on the streaming fitness platform last week, is now fully opening up about her mental health journey. "We all have a story hidden beneath what we choose to share with the world," she said. "It's powerful when we let others in to see the truth — and frankly, it helps end a stigma. We need to talk about mental health because if we continue to brush it aside, it continues to be misunderstood and more shrouded in secrecy. It's time for this conversation to come to light." After experiencing suicidal thoughts, Toole moved home and sought therapy, where she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. She was already facing OCD, something she'd been battling since the age of 11. For those looking for resources on mental health, Toole — who says, "acknowledging 'I am not at my best right now and I need some support,' is just plain courageous" — recommends visiting the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
READ MOREPosted on May 20, 2021
Healthcare Finance
Amazon announced it is providing mental health benefits to all of its full-time employees, as well as to their family and household members. Amazon has launched Resources for Living, a single starting point to access confidential in-person or virtual mental health counseling, with three sessions per person, per topic, available. Amazon said it would fund up to 24 million counseling sessions a year for its U.S. employees. Access also includes a self-paced app that offers computerized cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness resources. "It is critically important that employers like Amazon evaluate and expand their programs and put a more significant focus on the mental health and mental well-being of their employees, especially as we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to re-enter the workplace," said Daniel H. Gillison Jr., CEO of NAMI. "Employers bear a responsibility to ensure access to and provide adequate mental health services to their employees. It is good for their workers, and it is good for business."
READ MOREPosted on May 20, 2021
Success is a Choice Podcast
Jennifer Rothman is the Senior Manager for Youth and Young Adult Information, Support, and Education for NAMI. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. In the episode, Jennifer discusses what are some of the misconceptions of mental illness, signs and symptoms of mental illness, how we can best help our students and resources available for those experiencing mental illness.
READ MOREPosted on May 19, 2021
ABC News
LGBTQ youth of color and transgender and nonbinary youth have a greater risk of suicide than their peers, especially if they have experienced discrimination, according to a new Trevor Project survey. For the first time, the cross-sectional survey, which had nearly 35,000 respondents between the ages of 13 and 24 across the United States, included data on suicide risk as it relates to race and ethnicity. That data shows "concerning" disparities in suicide risk for LGBTQ youth of color and transgender and nonbinary youth, Amy Green, VP of research at the Trevor Project. The survey found that 42% of respondents seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. For transgender and nonbinary youth, it was more than half. Among the respondents, 12% of white youth attempted suicide compared to 31% of Native/Indigenous youth, 21% of Black youth, 21% of multiracial youth, 18% of Latinx youth and 12% of Asian/Pacific Islander youth. For Dr. Ken Duckworth, CMO of NAMI, that data point showed "big opportunities for people to make a change in their own lives for the people they love." "Clearly, there's a lot of mental health sequelae of not being in an affirming home," he said. "Thinking about how you approach things within your own family — it's a powerful message because 2 out of 3 families apparently aren't meeting the needs of people who are responding to this survey. That's a lot of families." LGBTQ youth with at least one accepting adult in their lives were less likely to attempt suicide, according to Green.
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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).
