Understanding the reality of mental illness
Dr. Michael Finegan of Peninsula Mental Health Services says “We need to be talking about it more, taking it out of the closet and not having shame.”
Millions of Americans live with mental illness and three out of four of those people say they are stigmatized for it.
“All human beings at various times have anxiety, sadness, anger. It is the degree to which it interferes with our social occupational functioning where we need to address it,” said Dr. Finegan.
He goes on to tell us that many people do seek professional help but there is a large percentage of people that don’t. That reason is more then likely because they fear being cast as different or incapable of performing their duties as a parent, employee, or even significant other. Maryland’s National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in five adults in the U.S., which amounts to 43.8 million people, experience mental illness in a given year.
Some of the most common conditions include, ADHD, Anxiety, depression, autism, eating disorder, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress. But Salisbury University’s behavioral heath and integration of pediatric primary care supervisor, Amanda Hill, says most of these disorders start during early development.
“Implied behavioral analysis is one of the best treatments for children who have autism however we have one on the shore and she just started down here within the past six months and before that families had to go across the bridge for treatment and often wait times were up to a year and sometimes even longer,” said Hill.
Although there is clearly a need for more specialists, Amanda’s program at SU puts interns in pediatric offices throughout the eastern shore to work directly with the child’ doctor and the family. She adds that if mental illnesses are treated early on they do not have to be long lasting. The most important first step is addressing the problem.
If you or a loved one are interested in seeking more information about Amanda’s program, you can reach her directly at aghill@salisbury.edu or (43) 859-4038. If you are looking for general information about mental illness please visit: http://www.nami.org/
