What IS “Mental Illness” Anyway?

Depression has been called the “common cold” of mental illness.  Statistically you have a better chance of experiencing depression at some point in your life than not.  Yet depressed people still hide their Prozac due to the stigma of mental illness.  But if every body’s got it, why does the stigma remain?  Answer: BECAUSE we continue to hide it.  If everyone “came out” about depression, we would likely be relieved to discover we are not only not alone but that the minority is the people who have NOT been depressed.  So the various levels of depression have been outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) - does that mean anyone diagnosed with depression is “mentally ill”?  There are plenty of diagnosis in the DSM-IV that would hardly seem so including Nicotine Dependence, Caffeine-Induced Anxiety Disorder and Primary Insomnia – to name just a few.  Most people could be diagnosed with some thing at any given time.  So where is the line of “mental illness”?  Careful how you answer.  If your answer indicates it’s all-or-nothing you might have a case of “stinkin’ thinkin’” and be diagnosed with Cognitive Disorder (not otherwise specified).  Or if you don’t answer all, you might be diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or perhaps a communication disorder (depending on your body language). 

This tongue-in-cheek discussion about mental illness is offered to hopefully get you to think about and answer the question for yourself.  The most important distinction comes from inside of you.  Or – are we just “crazy”?

The Stigma of Mental Illness

According toWebster’s dictionary, stigma is “something that detracts from the character or reputation of a person, group, etc.”   People do not choose to be mentally ill anymore than someone  with a medical condition chose that.  Would you criticize someone for having cancer?  Unfortunatelypeople with mental illness are not afforded the same compassion.  The National Associatoin of Mental Illness (NAMI) has established a presence in each state.  The good, dedicated people of NAMI Utah are on the front lines fighting the stigma of mental illness.  They come to schools, board rooms, auditoriums – any place where they can raise awareness.   They have groups and classes to support and educate – most of which are FREE.   NAMI is made up of people suffering from mental illness including depression, bipolar and various forms of schizophrenia.  Though they themselves have been ridiculed and discriminated against due to their mental illness, they arrive not in anger about the indignities they have suffered.  Rather, these heroes of mental illness arrive armed with grace, dignity and education.   If you have any questions, they are more than willing to take your call and answer any questions you might have.  Their number is 801-323-9900 and their web address www.namiut.org

Mental Diagnosis: Nobody Likes a Label

No body likes a label.  Mental health professionals do not like them any better than those they diagnose.  You would never hear a professional telling how happy they are that they got to label someone with a diagnosis.  However, we ask you to look at diagnosis from a different perspective.  The act of diagnosis is in effect because the mental health model is based on the medical world.  Doctors look at symptoms, make a diagnosis and treat based on that diagnosis.  If doctors called everything the same thing – let’s say “the flu” then regardless of whether a patient came in with a gapping chest wound, the sniffles or a jaundice look, the doctor said “You have the flu” then the patient would not be treated quickly or efficiently.  Because of the diagnostic process, they are able to identify symptoms, make the diagnosis and act swiftly.  So, it is not the issue of diagnosis.  It is an issue of stigma.  The issue of stigma will be addressed in a future entry. 

Thank you for reading.

Salt Lake Mental Health – for Professionals

Salt Lake Mental Health wishes to acknowledge the hard work of today’s mental health professionals.  There are many different capacities that helping professionals aid people along their path of mental health and/or substance abuse issues.  It calls for a great deal of training, care and dedication to live a life of service. 

It is our hope that we can make the journey of Salt Lake’s helping professionals a little easier.  We will provide articles, links to journal entries and direct where they might find best practices for various diagnosis.  We also wish to create a sense of community in which professionals may link with others of their ilk to help each other and those they service.  We will provide website, literature and media references.  We will also provide a list of agencies in the valley with information regarding employment, including the point of contact. 

Look for the “For Professionals” tab on the main page of the website upon launch (currently slotted for July 1, 2009).

Mission Statement, Salt Lake Mental Health

Our mission is to connect people with the services they need.

Until now, there has been no unbiased centralized place to find anything and everything you might need regarding mental health and/or substance abuse.  There are many wonderful services being provided in the valley that go unused simply because people do not know how to find them or even that such services exist.  We are changing that.

About Salt Lake Mental Health.com

This is where you will be able to find everything you might need regarding mental health and substance abuse treatment in the Salt Lake area.  This includes easy-to-search up-to-date information that has been verified for:

• Therapy at all levels of care
• Groups
• Classes
• Calendar
• Articles
• Overview of the entire mental health and substance abuse system!
• Special section just for professionals

Anticipated launch date is: July 1st

Workshops

One-time workshops, lectures and events come and go before would-be patrons even knew they were there!  Helping keep you informed about upcoming opportunities is one of the reasons SaltLakeMentalHealth.com has come into existence.  You will find these events on our calendar.

List of Providers

Our team is working hard to collect, verify and organize an easy-to-search list of ALL providers of mental health and substance abuse in the Salt Lake area.  This list will allow you to search for help with a wide variety of specialties at all levels of care.  You will also be able to search by geographic area, insurance, and language.

Overview of the System

Overview of the mental health and substance abuse system.  The System is enormous, complicated and difficult to understand – even for people who are IN The System.  It includes therapists in private practice, clergy, the legal system, non-profit organizations, etc. etc. etc..  It is overwhelming!  It is especially so for those who are new to it – especially if it was not entirely their choice to be there.  Someone who gets a DUI may suddenly find themselves in a drug and alcohol class at the intensive outpatient level of care and not even know what that means.  A parent may suddenly be attempting to navigate The System after their son or daughter attempted to hurt themselves.  Those experiences would be difficult enough without feeling like a tiny cog in a very big machine.  It is for these reasons, SaltLakeMentalHealth.com will feature an overview of The System that will be offered in an easily understandable way.  Not only that, it will presented in more than one way – all in an effort to help you and the professional to better understand the lay of the land and make easier your experience with The System.

Groups

 There is an amazingly wide array of groups offered in the Salt Lake valley.  From autonomous groups (i.e. Alcoholics Anonymous) to therapy groups run by individual providers or large companies, like Valley Mental Health.  Thus far, our team has gathered information on over 700 groups in the valley!  We have verified the information to ensure it is accurate and built it into an easy-to-use search engine.  So, if you were looking for a 12-step meeting in your area that speaks Spanish, you could find it quickly and easily.