Posted on March 13, 2021
NBC News
Whether or not you’ve been lucky enough to dodge the coronavirus for the last year, the global pandemic still could be taking a toll on your body, from your brain to your skin. Your body may be suffering effects big or small from the many ways the pandemic has changed our lives — whether it’s from regular fear of contracting the deadly virus, losing loved ones unexpectedly, social isolation, job losses and financial struggles, endless hours Zooming from home or other challenges faced. But for some, the pandemic has had a serious effect on their mental health. Nearly 1 in 4 adults, or 23%, reported drinking more alcohol to cope with their stress during the pandemic, according to the APA’s latest “Stress in America” survey. Overall, 43% of respondents reported at least one of these adverse mental health symptoms, a number that’s about double pre-pandemic figures, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. “Broadly speaking, American mental health overall is worse,” Duckworth said. “We are very social creatures. Human connections are antidepressants, they’re anti-anxiety interventions.” Until it’s safe to be social, Duckworth encourages people to find creative ways to stay connected, such as virtually or by taking walks together outside, maintaining proper distance.
READ MOREPosted on March 12, 2021
USA Today
The number of people seeking help to quit smoking plummeted 27% last year as the public grappled with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report says. Experts said fewer people sought help to quit smoking last year as more Americans struggled with mental health and addiction during the pandemic. About 2 in 5 Americans reported significant mental health symptoms in a CDC survey last summer, said Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. "We know there’s been more relapse with opiates. We know there’s been more relapse with alcohol," Duckworth said. "Smoking is a big challenge for people with serious mental illness and our population represents a significant subset of people who smoke." More than two-thirds of adult smokers reported interest in quitting before the pandemic and most tried to quit in 2019, according to a Surgeon General report released January 2020. But smokers who were interested in quitting might have faced other barriers. Non-emergency doctors’ appointments were canceled during shutdowns and widespread job losses mean many lost access to the employer-provided health insurance plans that typically cover counseling and smoking-cessation medications, said Anne DiGiulio, national director of lung health policy at the American Lung Association.
READ MOREPosted on March 10, 2021
Roll Call
The pandemic exacerbated mental health and substance use challenges for many people. Dawn Brown, NAMI director of HelpLine Services, said the amount of calls over the last year ebbed and flowed, but that at the height of the pandemic, calls shot up as much as 75 percent. Calls about anxiety and depression replaced schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as the hotline’s top illnesses. The expansion of telehealth made it easier for some people to keep up with mental health care. Still, patients with severe mental illness often rely on community support services that weren’t always available. Lawmakers could weigh in on these challenges later this year. Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters last week that expanding the mental health care workforce would be an important focus for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “We were short on that before COVID. We’re really going to be short now,” the Virginia Democrat said.
READ MOREPosted on March 9, 2021
CNN
The feelings Meghan described — shame, fear, hopelessness — are familiar to many who've experienced suicidal thoughts. But hearing her share so openly the mental anguish she experienced is meaningful to people who've contemplated suicide, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. Meghan's admission opens the floor to viewers who've had suicidal thoughts to discuss those feelings with people they trust or pursue treatment, Duckworth said. If one person watches that interview and says, 'I have struggled with this too; maybe I should reach out and get help,' (Meghan has) done another service," he said. In sharing that she's had suicidal thoughts, Meghan, a person who's so famous that she's recognizable from her first name alone, gave a voice to viewers who've thought about suicide, too. "I think it's a message that mental health is a 'we problem,' not an 'I problem,'" Duckworth said of her interview. Meghan's admission also challenges the stigma of having suicidal thoughts, he said, something that many Americans have experienced during the last year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hearing from a well-known figure who they can trust or relate to might put into perspective some of the issues people who've considered suicide face, he said. They may recognize symptoms she described within themselves, which could drive them to discuss those feelings with a mental health professional. "It's like physical pain — you have to attend to it," Duckworth said. "This is a reflection of tremendous emotional distress. (Suicidal thoughts) are the body's way of saying, 'Stop what you're doing.'"
READ MOREPosted on March 9, 2021
Good Morning America: ABC News
Meghan's revelation that she struggled with mental health, spoken in front of a global TV audience of tens of millions, could have a tangible impact on other people facing their own mental health battles, according to Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. "When a remarkable, famous person says, 'I'm getting help,' it raises the definite possibility another person will say, 'If she can join this club ... maybe I can join this club, because I too have felt, whatever the experience is,' depressed, suicidal, overwhelmed," Duckworth said. "I think it's courageous whenever anybody who is in a position to potentially influence others shares a vulnerability." "This is a year that mental health has gone from a 'they' to a 'we' problem. So many people are struggling. So many people are overwhelmed," said Duckworth. "[Meghan] represents a lot of people. These are common mental health problems."
READ MOREPosted on March 8, 2021
BBC World News
For a live on-camera interview, Dr. Duckworth, NAMI CMO discusses the impact of Meghan speaking openly about mental health and suicide ideation. He discusses overcoming barriers to mental health care such as shame regardless of your situation or privilege. Mental health issues are part of the human condition and by Meghan sharing her experiences it may encourage others to discuss their own feelings with people they trust or to seek treatment.
READ MOREPosted on March 8, 2021
NBC News
The candor Meghan Markle displayed while discussing suicidal ideation during her interview with Oprah Winfrey helped open the door for conversations about race and mental health, experts say. A combination of celebrity platform and the universal trauma of a pandemic have likely contributed to the impact of Meghan’s interview statements, said Dr. Christine Crawford, NAMI Associate Medical Director. “I think what has been the major tipping point was that more people now than ever before have actual firsthand experience as to what it's like to sit with significant depression and anxiety, and to have that in the context of people talking about mental health more, especially through social media,” Crawford said. “I’m incredibly encouraged by this.” Meghan’s comments about her struggle appeared to be mindful in that she understood her words could help further normalize conversations about mental health, particularly for women of color, Crawford said. It is important for women of color to see that even those who appear strong, successful and happy on the surface can be emotionally drained and feel that their mental health is unsupported, Crawford said. “To see these two individuals who are highly accomplished and successful, and especially one who is revealing what they've been going through ... to just see that on full display really just goes to show that even though you can carry the label as a strong Black woman you really have no idea as to what the truth is,” she said.
READ MOREPosted on March 5, 2021
Today.com
COVID-19 has tested us in many ways. Here’s how to determine if talking with a professional might help. There’s little doubt that a lot of people are struggling to cope right now. And it's not hard to see why. People are facing a lot of challenges: anxiety about getting sick, losing loved ones, grief over lost experiences, social unrest, unemployment, hunger and so much more, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO. “What we have is a full-blown mental health pandemic as well.” Not to mention nearly everyone’s in-person social lives and human interactions and connection have been limited in some way during the pandemic, Duckworth added. Your therapist’s role is to focus on you and what you’re going through and dealing with and has training to help you better understand how to cope and can be honest with you without fear of hurting a friendship. You’re not signing your life away just because you make an appointment with a therapist. Some people are looking for a long-term relationship when it comes to therapy. For others, one to three sessions of therapy can really help, Duckworth explained. Every provider has a unique personality, too, that may or may not suit you, Duckworth said. It’s okay to tell your therapist he or she isn’t a good match. People in your life whom you trust can be really helpful in pointing you in the right direction or recommending providers they’ve worked with, Duckworth said. Or start with your primary care provider.
READ MOREPosted on March 5, 2021
CNN
For many in the AAPI community, just leaving home requires a new routine and a mental shift that prioritizes survival. It's coupled with a subtle fear, wondering if they or a loved one will become the next victim. While Covid-19 may be raising the xenophobic flames right now, racism against Asian Americans is not new. Dr. Doris Chang and her team are currently studying the Asian American experience during the pandemic in combination with the protests over George Floyd's murder. Their goal is to ultimately promote alliances and solidarity with Black Lives Matter and immigrants' rights groups. But her initial findings reveal disturbing figures for her own community. In her survey of nearly 700 Asian Americans across the country, 16% reported being deliberately coughed or spat on. And 24% reported workplace discrimination while 14% said they had been barred from an establishment like a shop. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, members of the AAPI community are the least likely to seek help of any racial group. In 2019, the organization claims, only 23.3% of AAPI adults with mental illness were receiving treatment. To help raise awareness about mental health offerings for AAPI individuals, NAMI has listed a number of resources specifically designed for Asian Americans.
READ MOREPosted on February 27, 2021
INSIDER
Amid the mental health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, people with OCD are experiencing unique difficulties. The pandemic has led to 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression, an increase from the one in ten adults, according to Kaiser Family Foundation research. Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI CMO, told Insider: "We have certainly seen an increase of anxiety disorders at NAMI. There's also been a big leap in people with germ phobias being provoked by COVID-19." Hand-washing to prevent the coronavirus' spread is particularly tough for suffers from contamination OCD, a sub-type of the condition. After years of being told to stop washing their hands to control their condition, the new message to wash their hands to prevent COVID-19 can be mind-boggling.
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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).