Mental Health Awareness: What are the signs of mental illness?

Mental illness affects 1 in 5 children and 1 in 8 adults.

50% of us will experience a mental health challenge in our lifetime.

These are significant numbers, and because of them, May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and in South Lake Tahoe, May 10-16 is Mental Health Awareness Week. During a recent City Council meeting, the Mayor signed a proclamation to show the City's support of this significant week.

But what is mental illness? The definition of mental illness according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): A mental illness is a condition that impacts a person's thinking, feeling or mood may affect and his or her ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Here are warning signs according to the American Psychiatric Association:

-Recent social withdrawal and loss of interest in others.
-An unusual drop in functioning, especially at school or work, such as quitting sports, failing in school, or difficulty performing familiar tasks.
-Problems with concentration, memory, or logical thought and speech that are hard to explain.
-Heightened sensitivity to sights, sounds, smells or touch; avoidance of over-stimulating situations.
-Loss of initiative or desire to participate in any activity; apathy.
-A vague feeling of being disconnected from oneself or one’s surroundings; a sense of unreality.
-Unusual or exaggerated beliefs about personal powers to understand meanings or influence events; illogical or “magical” thinking typical of childhood in an adult.
-Fear or suspiciousness of others or a strong nervous feeling.
-Uncharacteristic, peculiar behavior.
-Dramatic sleep and appetite changes or deterioration in personal hygiene.
-Rapid or dramatic shifts in feelings or “mood swings.”

One or two of these symptoms can’t predict a mental illness. A mental health professional should be seen when a person is experiencing several together that are causing serious problems in his or her ability to study, work, or relate to others.

The key to beating mental illness is an increased awareness about what services are (and are not) available. People can and do recover, but early intervention and understanding of the symptoms is critical.

The El Dorado County NAMI office recently participated in the annual planning forum which focused on mental health gaps in the South Lake Tahoe area. They found that education for the community is at the top of the list. Families and caregivers need greater education about the critical role they play in helping with recovery.

NAMI provides free education on exactly that but getting the word out that free support and education exists is a challenge, according to Jeanne Nelson, the South Lake Tahoe lead for NAMI. "It is common for parents and caregivers to comment 'we wish we knew about this training years ago!'" The training helps people understand these are biological issues and providing an empathetic and supportive living environment (without judgement and criticism) is a key ingredient in recovery. You can contact Jeanne at 650-740-5776 or by email at f2fnami@gmail.com for more information.

What is also key is an increased awareness and education across professionals such as school teachers, administrators, nurses and any youth leaders. There is still a lot of stigma out there where many assume teens with bad behavior are simply teens with bad behavior, but it may not be.

There are some excellent programs in larger counties for early intervention. Parents and caregivers in South Lake Tahoe need to be on the look out for signs of first episode psychosis. "Getting early treatment can mean the difference truly between life-long homelessness and a quality life of independence," said Nelson. "Every psychosis can in fact mean permanent brain damage...so we need to treat the psychosis as a stroke and get prompt treatment and then provide on-going management (much like managing diabetes)."

First episode psychosis treatment shows that 85% of individuals that received early intervention treatment have full recovery.

"I genuinely hope to see more health care professionals promoting first episode psychosis treatment in South Lake Tahoe," Nelson said. "There is obviously demand for more psychiatric services in the area given Barton's commitment to hire a psychiatrist."

South Tahoe Now will be focusing on Mental Health Awareness all week with stories on treatment, local situations, and news and information.