Fighting the stigma of mental illness…

For additional videos and information, go to:

www.bringchange2mind.org

Change a mind about mental illness. Save a life.

See more of Producer/Director Ron Howard’s ground-breaking videos fighting the stigma of mental illness at www.bringchange2mind.org

Mental Health America launched a new, interactive website called Live Your Life Well, where you’ll find tools to live a more balanced, healthy life, information about stress and wellness, personal success stories, a gratitude stream and much, much more.

Go to Live Your Life Well and see for yourself. Chances are, you’ll find lots of information to help you live a more healthy, balanced lifestyle.

The Fall 2009 issue of NAMI Beginnings magazine is now available in a downloadable format. Focusing on the integration of primary care and mental health screening, this is a must-read publication for almost everyone. Check it out and share it around!

For more about NAMI, visit their website or follow them on FACEBOOK.

Small Ideas That Make a Big Difference

Start making a difference.

Every individual can take action to help solve homelessness.

Here are five small things you can start doing now:

Make eye contact: Say hello - greet homeless individuals the same as you would a friend or colleague.

Give small supplies: Instead of money, give Ziploc bags of toiletries, socks, food or grocery coupons. Keep a supply in your car.

Donate clothes: Give your gently worn clothes to a local homeless facility.

Watch your mouth: Don’t call people experiencing homelessness “bums,” “transients,” or even “the homeless.” They are still people first.

Volunteer: Work directly with people experiencing homelessness.

Bust the stigma and share stories: Feeling support and being part of a community is empowering to those struggling with a mental illness. By listening to others or by sharing personal experiences, you help to break the silence that keeps people from being open about their illness.

Special acknowledgment and thanks to TAKE PART- The Soloist.

How to Live a Long, Happy Life

* Be very outgoing.

* Learn how to manage stress.

These two common traits were found in the children of people who lived to 100, and longevity runs in families.

“We have observed that these appear to be really important traits that set the children of centenarians apart from other people the same age who may not age as well,” said Dr. Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study focuses on older people and their family members, and has tracked the health of children of centenarians as they age, trying to uncover the common denominators of longevity.

Perls and his colleagues looked at 246 children of those who lived to 100 to see if they, now about age 75, had common personality traits. Five personality traits were identified, evaluated and compared to published norms. They were: Neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

The researchers found that the offspring of centenarians were more extroverted than the published norms. That means “they are quite social, establish important friendships and view these friendships as ’safety nets,’ ” important sources of help when needed, Perls said.

Those studied scored lower than the norms on neuroticism, which enables them to manage stress very well.

Women in the study also scored high in agreeableness, a trait that leads to more friendships. The men in the study scored no higher in agreeableness than normal, and men and women scored average levels for openness and conscientiousness.

As for the exact relationship between personality and longevity, “we are relying on scientific literature to understand exactly what it means,” Perls said. For instance, he said, it makes sense that scoring lower in neuroticism — and handling stress well — would contribute to a longer life, because stress has been shown in scientific studies to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Other research has found social ties to be important to an older person’s health.

“We really found that the offspring of centenarians, in their 70s and early 80s, are very much following in the footsteps of their parents,” Perls said. “They have 60 percent reduced rates of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.”

But what to do if you aren’t naturally outgoing and aren’t good at handling stress?

You can get better at each.

Not naturally outgoing?

Make a point of trying to be more outgoing. Travel more, engage others in conversations, join groups with common interests, volunteer.

You don’t handle stress well?

Read all of the stress management posts on this and other sites, and figure out what will work for you—then DO IT!

And take the Life Expectancy Calculator at Living to 100.

You may learn some new tricks to improve your quality of life.

*More on this topic can be found online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

As rates of depression and anxiety increase in older adults, health-care providers are searching for more effective methods of treatment. Since most elderly people already take prescription drugs, many PCPs want a non-pharmaceutical alternative.

New research may have discovered the solution in an old therapy model.

Melinda Stanley, a professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, found that people over age 60 who were treated with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) had less worry, fewer depressive symptoms and improved general mental health at the end of the study compared to people who received biweekly telephone calls from their health-care provider.

“This kind of treatment (CBT) can be useful for people who have anxiety, and it can help them learn how to manage it better,” said, Stanley.

“Many older adults are not…thrilled with the use of medications for anxiety. Many times, they’re already on medications for chronic health conditions, and they may be afraid of side effects. This is a non-medication treatment option,” she noted.

The study included 134 people with an average age of 67. All were being treated in primary care for anxiety. Half of those involved in the study participated in cognitive behavior therapy with experienced therapists. They had up to 10 sessions of CBT over three months that included relaxation training, problem-solving exercises, behavioral sleep management, cognitive therapy and education and awareness training.

The other half received standard primary care, and they were called biweekly to ensure their safety and provide support if needed. Both groups were told to call the therapists if their symptoms worsened.

Response rates in the CBT group were much higher– 40 percent compared to 22 percent — versus the usual care. Worry severity and depression reduced more in the CBT group, and overall mental health improved more in the CBT group, based on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.

This is good news, and much less expensive than long-term medication management. As managed health care evolves, we must look to both innovative and tried-and-true treatment approaches.

Help eliminate stereotypes and myths about people experiencing homelessness and mental illness.

Watch the gallery above, courtesy of TAKE PART- The Soloist, and then send it to five friends.

Below are additional myths and facts that aren’t in the video gallery.

Myth: Homelessness has declined dramatically in recent years.
Fact: The criteria through which the government defines homelessness can change as often as these surveys are taken. Sometimes people living in cars, or staying with their relatives are considered homeless; sometimes they are not. Therefore it is not always an equal comparison to the previous count.

Myth: Mental illnesses are brought on by a weakness of character.
Fact: Mental illnesses are a result of the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. Research has shown genetic and biological factors are associated with schizophrenia, depression, and alcoholism. Social influences, such as loss of a loved one or a job, can also contribute to the development of various disorders.

Myth: Children do not experience mental illnesses.
Fact: A report from the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health showed that in any given year 5-9 percent of children experience serious emotional disturbances, which can result in mental illness.

Myth: Homeless people will probably always be homeless.
Fact: The length of homelessness varies from person to person. Many spend years on the streets and then are able to get permanent housing.

Myth: Psychiatric disorders are not true medical illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. People who have a mental illness are just “crazy.”
Fact: The fact is that brain disorders, like heart disease or diabetes, are legitimate medical illnesses. Research shows there are genetic and biological causes for psychiatric disorders, and they can be treated effectively.

Do you struggle to get a good night’s sleep?

Do you toss and turn, frequently awaken, or rise in the morning still feeling fatigued?

If so, you have more on the line that just a long, tired day. Your overall happiness may be at stake.

According to a recent Finnish study, people who have difficulty getting a good night’s sleep are three times as likely to be dissatisfied with their lives later on.

While poor sleep and life dissatisfaction each show a strong tendency to be inherited, they do not share the same genetic roots, according to Dr. Tiina Paunio of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki. This suggests that something about sleeping badly in itself affects “the brain, emotions, and mood.”

Past studies looked at the relationship between life dissatisfaction – as reflected in feelings of well-being and mental functioning — and sleep quality, but none looked at how the two are associated until Dr. Paunio and her colleagues surveyed a group of 18,631 same-sex twins in 1975 and again in 1981.

In 1975, 9 percent of the study participants reported dissatisfaction with life, and were likely to be dissatisfied in 1981. However, their sleep quality did not deteriorate over this period. However, the people who slept “rather poorly or poorly” in 1975 were more than twice as likely to be dissatisfied with life in 1981.

The researchers adjusted for all of the variables including health problems, smoking and drinking habits, and physical activity levels, finding that poor sleep independently tripled the likelihood of life dissatisfaction.

They seem to have proven that poor sleep quality may lead to an overall dissatisfaction with life.

So if you’re sleeping poorly, figure out why and make the necessary changes.

Your future happiness may depend on it.

Few of us can imagine being unable to distinguish between thoughts, fears and reality.

Few can fathom hearing voices or seeing people and things that simply don’t exist.

Even fewer can relate to perpetual noise coming from within.

But these are facts of daily life for the millions of Americans diagnosed with schizophrenia.

As the blockbuster film starring Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx as “The Soloist” opens in theaters across the country, media outlets are offering rare and much needed coverage and insight into the realities of living with schizophrenia. One excellent article written by CNN’s Madison Park is excerpted below.

“The intrusive voices popped into William “Bill” Garrett’s head. “They’re coming for you,” the voices told the 18-year-old. “Find somewhere to hide; they’re going to get you.”
In the film, “The Soloist,” Lisa Gay Hamilton and Jamie Foxx play Jennifer Ayers-Moore and Nathaniel Ayers.
3 of 3 They told the Johns Hopkins University freshman that his father had poisoned the family dog, his sister had injected crystal methamphetamine into his pet lizard and his grandmother had put human body parts into his food.

As schizophrenia took hold, the Maryland teenager became lost within his own mind and had to leave college after winning a full, four-year scholarship.”

Read the entire CNN story here.

I hope you’ll read Park’s article and send the link to others in your circle.

If you haven’t seen “The Soloist” see it soon. Tell your friends, take your neighbors. The elimination of stigma and discrimination begins with enlightenment. Let’s shine the light.