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Mental Illness Awareness Week: October 7th-13th
Established in 1990 by Congress, the first week of October is designated as "Mental Illness Awareness Week" (MIAW). According to National Institute of Mental Health, “an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.” Fortunately, if an early diagnosis is found, mental illness is treatable.
Just as diabetes and cancer often are genetic, so is mental illness. Mental illness comes in many forms, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and Alzheimer’s decease. These are all mental, behavioral and emotional disorders.
It’s important to watch for warning signs of mental illness—and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if any become apparent. Below are the different classes of mental illness:
- Mood disorders. These include disorders that affect how you feel, such as persistent sadness or feelings of euphoria. They include major depression and bipolar disorder.
- Anxiety disorders. Anxiety is an emotion characterized by the anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of being ill at ease. Examples include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.
- Substance-related disorders. These include problems associated with the misuse of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and illicit drugs.
- Psychotic disorders. These disorders impair your sense of reality. The most notable example of this is schizophrenia, although other classes of disorders can be associated with psychosis at times.
- Cognitive disorders. These disorders affect the ability to think and reason. They include delirium, dementia and memory problems. Perhaps the most well-known of these disorders is Alzheimer's disease.
- Developmental disorders. This category covers a wide range of problems that usually first begin to make themselves known in infancy, childhood or adolescence. They include autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities. But just because they're all grouped in this category doesn't necessarily mean they share a common cause or that there's a relationship among the disorders.
- Personality disorders. A personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that is dysfunctional and leads to distress or impairment. Examples include borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
- Other disorders. These include disorders of impulse control, sleep, sexual functioning and eating. Also included are dissociative disorders, in which a person's sense of self is disrupted, and somatoform disorders, in which there are physical symptoms in the absence of a clear physical cause, such as hypochondriasis.
Source: Ohio Health
Fore more information and resources:
State and Local Resources
National Resources
Sickle Cell Awareness
Sickle cell anemia is a serious condition in which the body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. The cells become shaped like a sickle, which is shaped like a “C”. They don't actually last as long as normal, healthy, round red blood cells, which leads to anemia. The sickle cells eventually get stuck in blood vessels, which block blood flow.
“Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, sickle cell anemia affects about 70,000 people. It’s most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America (especially Panama), Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries (such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy), India, and Saudi Arabia.”
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sickle Cell anemia is a genetic problem and is not contagious. People with sickle cell are born with two sickle cell genes, one from each parent. If you only have one sickle cell gene, then you have the sickle cell trait. A blood test can show if you have the trait or anemia. Most states test newborn babies as part of their newborn screening programs.
Persons who have Sickle Cell Trait should be aware of the following:
- They are advised against flying in under pressurized aircraft at an altitude above 8,000
feet.
- They are advised against going deep-sea diving of high mountain climbing, due to the
possibility of sickling of red blood cells.
- If they should see blood in his/her urine, he/she should see a doctor immediately.
- Persons should let their anesthesiologist and doctors know their condition if they need
to have any type of surgery.
Resource: The Sickle Cell Foundation
Sickle Cell is treated with medicines, blood transfusions, and other treatments specific to the person’s condition but most researchers say there is no cure.
State and Local Resources
National Resources
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