Clear mind | May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Posted on April 26, 2022
April showers bring May flowers — so goes the saying. The end of April also brings about the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month.
While the mental health crisis in America has received more attention in recent years, it remains an underlying issue, having taken a back seat to any number of concurrent crises like health care, drug addiction and the climate crisis.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fracturing of normalcy that came with it, put strain on the mental health of many — students and those in adult care, to name a few — and again highlighted our failings on the issue.
In Maryland, according to data collected by LendingTree, 19% of people have a diagnosed mental illness — 9% of those were not able to receive care and 6% of those do not have insurance.
Despite the unfortunate percentages, Maryland ranked second in states with the best mental health-related health care.
According to Mental Health America, approximately 50 million Americans suffered mental illness in 2019 prior to the pandemic.
The federal government has taken some steps to address aspects of the mental health shortcomings in various aspects of American life. In November, U.S. Rep. David Trone, who represents Maryland’s 6th District, saw the Confidentiality Opportunities for Peer Support (COPS) Counseling Act he sponsored signed into law. The legislation created peer counseling and confidentiality standards for first repsonders to talk to someone and seek support.
In our Appalachian region, the mental health crisis and the cascading crises that stem from it are no secret. We’ve been smacked by the opioid crisis — and remain in the midst of it. And the drug crisis in America is intertwined with the mental health crisis. Deaths from addiction are sometimes termed “deaths of despair,” which comes from Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, who were seeking to understand rising death rates among Americans.
Awareness alone isn’t enough, but it is a start. To destigmatize seeking mental health help is a key first step in the process. Once it’s out and in the open, honest and helpful solutions can be pursued.
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