A Normal Hospitalization

Pop quiz: If I told you that at the end of March, I was hospitalized in the behavioral health unit for three weeks what would your reaction be?

1. She is clearly crazy and should be permanently committed.
2. Her stay was just like any other hospital visit and should be treated with equal care and concern.
3. Anyone with a mental health diagnosis is unstable and can’t be a contributing member of society.
4. Neither myself nor anyone I love is affected by mental health, so why should I care?

I really hope B was your answer. If it wasn’t, ask yourself why. May is Mental Health Awareness month after all.

When I received my diagnosis in June 2004, I wasn’t surprised. For years, I struggled with deep depression and anxiety without treatment. Once diagnosed, I committed to taking my medications, participating in therapy, and managing my condition with yoga and other Eastern medicine techniques as well as mindfulness. A recent turn of events was an unpleasant reminder that while I can do everything right, this unwelcome disease still comes with unexpected twists. At the end of March, I was hospitalized when hyper mania shot into full blown psychosis. My hospital stay was three weeks. Thankfully, I am on a new mood stabilizer and a higher dosage of another med that manages the highs. Now that I have been on these dosages for several weeks, I feel much better.

Over the last several weeks, there have been moments when I was tempted to wallow in shame over my recent hospitalization. However, when I shared this with my provider, she gently reminded me, “You couldn’t have prevented this mania any more than you could prevent an appendix from bursting. This was just like any other normal hospitalization.” I was grateful for the affirmation. It reminded me that my condition is medical – a brain disorder first and foremost.

For nearly fifteen years now, I have worked to be an advocate for all things mental health. I devote posts on this site to educate others who have a diagnosis, as well as to convince others that breaking the stigma surrounding mental health is imperative. Here are just a few reasons why you should care about the state of mental health in 2023.

• 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14
• 160 million people live in a designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area
• 21.1% of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. have a serious mental health condition
• Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year 
• About 2 in 5 people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness (37% in state and federal prisons and 44% held in local jails).
• 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition.
• Additionally, access to care is abysmal for those seeking treatment. In 2020, among U.S adults in nonmetropolitan areas, only 48% of those with a mental illness received treatment and only 62% with a serious mental illness received treatment.

 Now that you have answers to why you should care, I challenge you to spend the rest of this month educating yourself. Go to your local library and check out books on mental health. Two that I recommend: Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf and Crazy – A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley. Some good websites to explore include NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) https://nami.org/home and Treatment Advocacy Center https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/index.php which has a wealth of information including research, podcasts, statistics, and pending legislation with the potential to affect families impacted by severe mental illness.