Advocate Support Blog

Someone Please Call George Bush

If anyone reading this has direct access to President George Bush, I urge you to contact him immediately and tell him that Hurricane GUSTAV will be hitting the Gulf coast sometime between 8 am Monday morning and 8 am Tuesday morning according to the NOAA National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. He can access more detailed information on the "internets" by clicking HERE.

On a serious note, I have seen that evacuations are already occurring and I hope that Gustav doesn't cause any damage and that no one is hurt.

Mental Health & Poverty

I found this video, "UK MEET ON CHILD MENTAL HEALTH IN AFRICA". Africa was the main theme at a medical conference held this month in the UK. Professionals discussed how to best improve mental health treatment of children across Africa.

Poverty causes mental health problems and mental health problems cause poverty. This is as true in Africa as it is everywhere, but Africans have some unique views of mental health symptoms.

African American Mental Health Facts

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, has published facts about mental health for the African American community. I don't really care for the title, but the document contains interesting and important information such as:

Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing.

African Americans are less likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for mental illnesses.

Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability (lost years of productive life) in the North America,
Europe and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of
disability in the world for women and children.

You can read the entire document HERE.

Going Back to School: Resources That Can Help

As the days of summer wind down, kids coast to coast are heading back to school. For parents, teachers, and caregivers, the start of the school year is often exciting, but it can be difficult for kids of all ages. Peer pressure, bullying, and social anxieties can take their toll on kids in hallways and classrooms. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) can help.

Research-based and practical information is available for you as your children transition from basking in the summer sun to zippering up their backpacks to head back to school. Whether kids are starting second grade or senior year, resources are available to keep them mentally healthy and drug free.
Check out what SAMHSA has to offer and make the best out of the back-to-school time for your children.

Family Guide: Back to School

SAMHSA's Family Guide Web site dedicates an entire section to "Back to School" resources. Everything from helping with homework or issues making friends, to dealing with the back-to-school blues is covered.

SOURCE: SMAHSA eNetwork, August 27, 2008

iTunes U

If you have access to iTunes, which you can get for FREE, you have access to a wealth of information which is produced on various topics by colleges and universities. iTunes U is a growing library of video lectures and demonstrations, most of which are completely FREE.

Most of the videos I have watched seem to have been designed as part of a curriculum and the breadth of the material is almost as vast as a semester course list.

To find topics of interest, you can access specific topics, like mental health, anxiety, depression, etc., by conducting a "Power Search" and then entering the topic that interests you.

Below is an introduction to iTunes U from Apple. Feel free to contact me if you need any assistance, and as always, I appreciate any experiences or comments you have.

- Jim Crosson

Who does your Psychiatrist work for?

Does your psychiatrist make you feel that he/she works for you? You should. If you don't, you should bring this up to him/her.

Homeless People Using Drugs?

I just read a post on Mental Health Update, "Homelessness and drug use", which was posted by John Gale this morning.

Here's an excerpt:

"Homelessness and drug and/or alcohol abuse often go hand-in-hand. Homeless people who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely to demonstrate ineffective coping skills, low levels of self-efficacy and to end up in prison. They are also vulnerable to hepatitis and HIV, victimization, sexually-transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, depression and suicidality. A focus-group study of 54 homeless and drug-using people between the ages of 18 and 24 looked into their attitudes to drugs and what they saw as the facilitators of and barriers to good-quality health care. Participants saw substance abuse as a health risk and a barrier to care but also as an adaptive response to psychological pain and survival on the streets."

I am glad that people are studying these issues because they need attention.

It is more than apparent to me that someone who is homeless would abuse alcohol and other drugs.

Homeless people are worried about shelter, the weather, food, bathing, clothes, what little belongings they have, the police, people they encounter, and many other issues. It is extremely stressful to be homeless. They become stuck in poverty and can not see a way out. They begin living moment by moment. Their future prospects, hopes and aspirations begin to fade as the pressures of their situation bear down upon them and eventually they loose hope as they begin the process of acceptance and survival.

Homeless people, like most people, use alcohol and other drugs to reduce stress, escape and to feel better or different.

Why wouldn't they?

Can you honestly say that you wouldn't?

Mental Health Patients Die Prematurely!?

In a story written by Ed Yeates for KSL Television & Radio, Salt Lake City UT, on August 18, 2008, the headline reads, "Statistics show many mental health patients die prematurely".

People undergoing treatment for mental illness are dying prematurely in epidemic proportions. The stats are so alarming, Utah is adopting new monitoring guidelines to redefine the definition of wellness and recovery.

Dr. Joseph Parks, with the Council of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, said, "It's a shocking number. It's 25 years earlier than the general population."

"The majority of deaths are due to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or stroke or respiratory illness. The majority of deaths are not due to suicide," he said.

One reader commented: "Did they ever stop to think that if you are not healthy in general causes early death, maybe these people that are mentally unhealthy may also happen to have other problems making it more likely for them to die early. I just think this is more natural than they are trying to make it out to be."

Another responded to the first comment: "Agreed. I don't want to write people off, because people are someone's son or daughter, husband, wife, father mother. But it seems like nature has a way of cleansing itself of diseased organisms, and this may be one of those ways. If I am born with a certain genetic disease that will shorten my lifespan, that's terrible, but it's the way nature strengthens a species. Until medicine learns to actually cure the underlying genetic material so that it is not passed on to future generations, medicine will simply be allowing many more diseases to permeate the whole species. I know it sounds harsh, and I hope that soon we will be able to cleanse terrible diseases out of the gene pool. But that's simply the way nature has always done it and does it today in just about everything."

UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!

As someone who has had daily contact with many individuals, with many different types, and varying degrees, of mental illnesses over the past 20 years, I am quite certain that people with mental illnesses aren't genetically predisposed to die 25 years before everyone else.

The real contributing factors are:
1. Poverty
2. Long term effects of some Psychotropic Medications
3. The U.S. health care system, lack of coordination of care, difficulty accessing services, etc.
4. Public apathy

Let me know what you think and what your experiences are.

I will be following up on this issue over the next few weeks.

NAMI Survey

NAMI is conducting a survey of individuals living with serious mental illnesses and their family members.

Help NAMI understand the real world experiences of individuals who need public mental health services.

NAMI is working with TeleSage to conduct an online survey to learn about how well states are providing publicly funded mental health services.

The survey:
• is available online through September 30, 2008;
• takes only about 10-15 minutes to complete;
• is completely anonymous (NAMI will have no way of identifying you or your family member);
• was created in partnership with TeleSage, a leading independent survey technology company.

The results of the survey will be summarized and incorporated into the NAMI report, Grading the States 2009, which will be released in early 2009.

To participate in this survey, you must be 18 years or older and have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness or have a family member who has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness (for example, schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, etc.)

Click here for more information and to begin the survey.

Know someone who might be interested in participating? 
Please forward him/her this post and help NAMI distribute this survey far and wide.

Maryland Disability Law Center

Every State has a protection and advocacy agency that receives funding from the Federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMS). These Agencies are mandated to protect and advocate for the rights of individuals with mental illnesses and to investigate reports of abuse and neglect in facilities that care for or treat individuals with mental illnesses.

In Maryland, the Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC) is the designated Protection and Advocacy agency. They are a non-profit legal services organization which is mandated to advance the civil rights of individuals with disabilities.

My staff and I have referred numerous clients to the Maryland Disability Law Center to address many different types of legal issues. They are one of the most valuable resources our client's have at their disposal. I can't recall our staff or client's ever having anything but a professional and positive experience with their staff.

Maryland Disability Law Center offers services relating to:
Housing
Maryland Medicaid
Special Education
Community Inclusion
Transportation
Social Security
Employment
Voting
Abuse and Neglect
Students In Sports
Resources for Other Legal Issues

Contact them or visit their website for more information.
Maryland Disability Law Center
The Walbert Building
1800 North Charles Street, 4th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-727-6352
Toll-free: 800-233-7201
TDD: 410-727-6387
Fax: 410-727-6389
Internet: www.mdlcbalto.org

Visit CMS HERE to find the designated Advocacy and Protection for your state.

Please share any experiences you have.