One in four adults experience mental illness a year.
Jason Davis, Public Information Officer for Lane County Health & Human Services, said Lane County has one of the highest provider-patient ratios in the state of Oregon.
Oregon used to have a reputation of being one of the worst states in caring for people with mental illness. It wasn’t until a few years ago that the state finally developed a plan to establish better treatment facilities.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Davis said, “It’s important to shine the light on the fact that people are suffering from this.”
When it comes to mental illness, prevention is key. Davis said the best way to prevent it is by changing the stigmas that surround it and promoting mental wellness.
Davis said when you’re looking at the development of mental illness, it’s genetic and environmental. He said a leading cause of some mental illnesses can be stress related, which college students suffer from more than others.
“People don’t feel it’s appropriate to seek help when confronted with stress,” Davis said. “Taking care of yourself should happen everyday and if you feel that stress, it needs to be dealt with.”
Suzie Stadelman, University Counseling and Testing Center Outreach Coordinator, said at the University of Oregon there are numerous mental health resources for students. The HEDCO Clinic offers couples and family therapy and provides six free sessions to students. Student Support Services is a college retention program for students who want academic advising and mental health counseling. On campus, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) partners with the Student Mental Health Advocates (SMHA) to give peer support group meetings.
Juan Rivera is the SMHA director. He said NAMI is an important organization because all services are free and people can still continue to go to peer support groups in their hometowns.
“Individuals who don’t seek help because of money or time, are embarrassed and perform more poorly in school,” he said. “Some people don’t notice specific signs and we work on that.”
Not only does NAMI offer peer support groups, but also they provide classes and training about mental illness. NAMI on campus works directly with NAMI of Lane County to insure they’re actively supporting each other and giving people access to these services citywide.
Since it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, NAMI will be participating in a 5K mental health care walk, NAMIWalks, on May 17 in Portland. All of the NAMIs in Oregon will come together to help raise awareness and funds to help keep NAMI programs free of charge for those in need.
There will be a total of six other events throughout the month. A workshop on body image will be on May 13 and with a panel about how mental health affects student lives.
It’s important to raise awareness this month about mental illness because any number of things can happen when it goes untreated.
“It’s based on the individual,” Davis said. “Life is not perfect, it’s unfortunate to have to deal with a mental illness while at college but you have to feel comfortable to seek help and manage it.”