MENTAL ILLNESS IS NO SMALL CHALLENGE in our nation. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in a given year in the US, approximately one in five adults experiences mental illness and one in every 25 adults experiences a serious mental illness that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
Of course, after a year (and counting) of COVID stressors and restrictions—repeated surges in case counts, businesses shuttered or shifting to at-home work, in-person learning disrupted, social gatherings forbidden, much of the populace locked down to one degree or another, etc.—the mental health statistics for 2020 and 2021 will likely be even more concerning.
With May being designated Mental Health Month, there’s no time like the present to seek help if you or someone you love is struggling with mental illness and/or considering suicide.
Many organizations and agencies in our community—several of which are advertising their services in the pages of this issue—are poised to provide the professional care and treatment you need to recover. So, don’t wait another day to make the call that could change your life for the better.
Stop suffering in silence! Help is available.
