This brief review from Canada piqued my interest because while we tend to read a lot about addiction, one of the points of view we don’t get enough is from the addict.
From their book description, I thought it might interest the many readers who struggle with addictions themselves or know someone who is dealing with them now.
It’s been trialed in several areas, sending out a mental health team instead of the police to respond to certain kinds of calls. Typically calls that involve a mental health crisis, addiction, etc. What we didn’t have yet were real studies to show whether this was having the desired effect. It’s early, but this is promising:
There are a ton of links from there. What I found unique about the page is that they are tackling the issue from two different perspectives. One, how journalists should write about mental health and people dealing with mental illnesses or PTSD from traumatic events, and secondly, how to take care of their mental health as they cover war, disaster, etc.
Both are important topics, and I would love for anyone, from professional journalists covering a war to a blogger writing about mental health or sharing a story of trauma, to consider them. Please consider how we cover trauma and mental health, and how we make sure to take care of ourselves in the process.
The hard work is developing the proper resources for people who need help after the immediate crisis. That costs money. Money that a significant number of people in the US will balk at paying because it goes to “other people.” These are the same people who balk at paying taxes for schools when they don’t have kids or at higher insurance premiums, let alone the taxes necessary for things like Medicaid, that pay for people who “made poor health decisions.” So, rather than stand up to that kind of thinking, many politicians at the state and local levels will go along with that. They won’t even attempt to provide funds for mental health services.
Some will even go so far as to say those services are just propping up “weak” people who need to get over those issues.
At the end of the day, while we can point to the number of people who talk about mental health and are supported for talking about it, we cannot say we’ve eliminated the stigma associated with it until we all put our money where our mouth is and provide the help that people need.
Until then, I’m afraid that many people will learn lessons the hard way, that it’s easy to write off funding resources for “other people” until you or someone you love winds up being one of them.
I like the suggestions. I’ve used some of them, including “Are you sure” and sharing my struggles. It depends on the situation and the relationship I have with the person. A good friend, my spouse, someone I feel comfortable with already? I’m making sure they are OK when I suspect they might not be. Someone I work with or don’t have that kind of relationship with, and maybe I share a bit about my struggles or offer to listen if they need someone to talk to.
Any of the suggestions can work or not work. The important thing is that maybe that extra question lets someone know they are not alone, which can make all the difference.
As the article below points out, you create a plan so that everyone involved knows what to do in a crisis. Because when you’re in a mental health crisis, that is not the time to develop a cohesive plan and make the best decisions.
Do that ahead of time. Share the plan. Identify the people you trust to act on your behalf, and let the plan be your guide in what to do. It is in everyone’s best interest.
