STARS

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Mental Health & Importance of Care

Are you experiencing recurrent nightmares?

Do you wrestle with thoughts that are unshakeable?

 Do you feel that many of your behaviors are impulsive?

Do you use alcohol or any other substance daily to help you feel better about the events in your life?

If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned questions:

  • It does not mean you have a mental health disorder.
  • It does not mean you have something inherently wrong with you.

But it is important for you to manage these concerns healthfully for your body. So, what are some ways you can help take care of your emotional and mental health?

From birth most of us are taught to seek medical help when we are sick or in pain – when physical symptoms arise we are taught to go to the doctor.

But how were you taught to manage mental health concerns?

Importance of Mental Health Care

Some were taught to seek therapy; some were taught to discuss these issues with a pastor; some were taught to discuss these issues among friends; some cope by using alternative substances like marijuana or alcohol to alleviate their discomfort.

In order for mental health to improve, it’s important to seek out the care and advice from a medical professional even if you do not have a mental health disorder – taking care of our mental health is just as important as our physical health.

Here are a few tips to bring into your daily life when looking after your mental health:

  • Meditate: Meditation has proven to alter the brains gray matter (contains cell bodies), improve memory, and stress relief.
  • Work Out: Exercise has been researched to improve mental health. Studies have shown it can help relieve stress, improve memory, and help you sleep better.
  • Practice deep breathing techniques throughout the day: Deep Breathing is a form of relaxation that can guard against the breakdown of organ systems. It can help counteract the effects of stress and the chemicals it releases into the bloodstream.

All in all, take care of yourself. If you or a loved one is suffering from some mental health or substance abuse issue. Talk to someone who is trained in the area of your or a family member’s need. After all, nothing from nothing leaves nothing. Just because you have ignored a problem doesn’t mean it has left.

 

Ever wonder how we diagnose mental health issues?

The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) has been called the bible of mental health. Inside, it contains mental health disorders and the many symptoms that describe them. Psychiatrist, psychologist, counselors, and social Workers use this book as a guide to diagnose and understand how mental illnesses can manifest. The book is comprised of research and evaluations from many of the leading professionals in the mental health field. This research spans across many cultures. The DSM acts as a foundation for clinicians to draw upon when working with clients.

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Why Access Matters – Mental Health

Within the last decade, mental Illness has become a popular topic, especially due to the volume of mass shootings that have occurred in the last ten years. During this time, we have witnessed such mass shootings: Jared Loughner (Tucson Shooting), Seung Hui Cho (Virginia Tech Massacre), Elliot Rodger (Isla Vista Massacre), and Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook shooting).

Mental Health has many Disguises

The majority of individuals mentioned were diagnosed with a mental health disorder at some point. Prior to these tragic events, some of the individuals did receive a form of mental health treatment. However, most fell through the gaps and did not receive appropriate and consistent healthcare. This is not uncommon, especially when talking about mental health care. Beyond stigmas that currently exist within the community, affordability and availability of mental health care for marginalized groups, especially those living in poverty or below the poverty line make it easy for people to fall through the gaps of receiving adequate healthcare.

Many tragedies occur within American homes every day, each related to the inadequate care of mental health disorders. For example, domestic violence and substance abuse have been known to create traumatic experiences within the home (see Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)). The key takeaway, when addressing things like substance abuse or domestic violence, is to look at assault, substance abuse, or other maladaptive behaviors as symptoms or mechanisms that perpetuate a pre-existing condition. The lack of care of these conditions leads to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders that can have not only a negative impact on the individual but on family, friends, co-workers, and communities.

We know that treatment options exist. We know what happens when these diseases are not treated. But the important question is how are we preventing maladaptive behaviors and ensuring all people are receiving adequate care?

Adequate Care and Mental Health Care Access

Education is one of the most powerful weapons with which we can equip ourselves to help care for those who need mental health care. We’ve compiled a couple tips for those seeking care for themselves or for a loved one.

Tips for those Seeking Care:

  • Mental health is not something you need to be ashamed of or blame yourself for – seeking adequate care from a professional is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family.
  • Do not be afraid to ask questions.
  • Be honest with your healthcare provider. If a medication is giving you adverse symptoms or does not seem to be working, talk to your healthcare provider.
  • Locate support communities – online and/or off.
  • Research different techniques that can be used for support.

Tips for those Seeking Care for a Loved One:

  • Education. Education. Familiarize yourself with what your loved one’s mental health condition entails, its symptoms, and care.
  • Research different techniques that can be used for support.
  • Locate support communities – online and/or off.
  • Offer encouragement to attend doctor’s appointments
  • Meet their doctor or clinician and establish a relationship with them.
  • Learn their treatment plan.
  • Become a member of their support team.
  • Offer your support, love, and care.
  • Rid yourself of any stereotypes or stigmas you might be holding onto when it comes to mental health.

 

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What does recovery look like?

In the past, the majority of articles found discussing what recovery looks like, focused on abstinence and the willpower it takes to abstain from abusing a substance. What is often not mentioned are the behaviors that perpetuate the addiction. In 12-step recovery programs, the concentration of the program is abstinence. A key element is identifying maladaptive behaviors and learning healthy methods to refrain from substance abuse.

Recovery is a journey; a treasure map with the golden chest at the end representing commitment and dedication to your own personal recovery. The map will be made of winding paths filled with many detours and distractions. Yes, those who suffer from addiction have the proverbial peaks and valleys and every cliché that comes to mind. No, it does not always end with a silver lining as in Sandra Bullock’s 28 days. Nevertheless, the journey is similar for those who are suffering. They begin near a similar point and hopefully aspire to commit to a recovery program. For some, the biggest obstacle is admitting they have an addiction. In this line of work, we hear people say things like, “I am not an addict” or “I can quit anytime I want.”

recovery, stages of change ladder

Some people may be ambivalent about their recovery; some may make a New Year’s Resolution – only to quit before the end of January. Some may try easier paths in recovery; they may forego treatment and other evidence-based interventions, saying, “I can do this on my own or I don’t need any treatment.”

These ways of thinking may last for years, months, days, hours, minutes, and even seconds. This may happen multiple times throughout a person’s life – for some once is enough, allowing that person to enter a recovery program, yet for others, it may take a couple times or more.

In our program, Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse (YODA), clients come for a variety of reasons, from court-ordered treatment to parent referral. What does this mean for our young people? This means YODA may not be their first treatment program and it may not be their last.

Which begs a number of questions in the recovery field:

  • How do we know if someone grew or learned from the group atmosphere or the exercises?
  • How do we know if they learned healthy coping behaviors through mindfulness, meditation or the sober leisure activities?

All in all, if we look at follow-up data we may not find encouragement. Relapse statistics after treatment are nothing to celebrate, but they are a reality. This is an indication that our society has numerous individuals scattered along the map of recovery. Some may finish together, and others may finish alone. The take-home message: Everyone struggling with addiction is somewhere on this journey and if you can lend a hand to help them reach the treasure at the end, then do it! After all, it’s easier to finish a journey together than alone.

 

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Andrew Maraniss on Race

The other day I was scanning Twitter and ran across a provocative thread of posts from an attorney, librarian and writer named April Hathcock.

“Ok, friends,” she wrote, “We’re going to stop talking about “diversity & inclusion” when what we’re really talking about is race, racism, and whiteness … We’re going to stop talking about “diversity & inclusion” when what we’re really talking about is queer hate, trans hate, heteronormativity…We’re going to be intentional about the oppression and violence about which we speak. We’re going to be intersectional but also specific … We’ve been using intersectionality as an excuse to use feel good euphemisms. We’re going to stop doing that.”

I was intrigued by April’s reframing of the subject because not only does it appeal to the activists among us, in its specificity it can be used to disarm the cynic who dismisses diversity and inclusion efforts as unnecessary, liberal, PC mumbo jumbo. Let’s get real, April is saying.

In 2014, I published a book called STRONG INSIDE, a biography of Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Wallace played at Vanderbilt University in the late 1960s, and as he made history on the basketball courts of the Deep South, Wallace feared for his life. He’d ask himself what’s the worst that could happen, and in his mind, he imagined being shot and killed somewhere like Starkville, Mississippi or Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he was routinely harassed by fans with threats with lynching or castration. Back on his own campus in Nashville, Wallace was kicked out of a white church, his best friend was addressed by the N-word on his first day of English class.

A few months ago, I converted STRONG INSIDE into a young readers’ edition, aimed at kids 10 and older. With concern over the sensitivities of some readers (or more accurately, their parents), I debated how much of the derogatory language to keep in this condensed version of the book. In the end, I opted to keep all of it. The truly offensive thing, I decided, would be to whitewash history and let the racists off the hook by sanitizing their words, and in so doing minimizing the hostility and discrimination Wallace encountered and so courageously overcame.

So, I appreciate that this isn’t international diversity day. It’s the International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination. And this year’s theme isn’t “Celebrate (Insert Diverse Name Here) Culture Day.” Rather, the theme is “Racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration.”
This is the kind of real language April Hathcock was calling for. And a reminder that sometimes being careful about the language we use means telling it like it is, not cleaning it up.

About the Author

Andrew Maraniss Headshot Andrew Maraniss is the New York Times-bestselling author of STRONG INSIDE. The original, adult version of the book received the Lillian Smith Book Award for civil rights and the RFK Book Awards’ Special Recognition Prize for social justice. The Young Readers edition has been named one of the Top 10 Biographies for Youth by the American Library Association’s Booklist.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @trublu24, and visit his website at www.andrewmaraniss.com

Strong Inside Cover
Order his book!

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What You Need to Know After Treatment of Addiction

yoda-header-1

Addiction does not just disappear when treatment ends.

I have had the privilege to witness many newly released clients from substance abuse treatment facilities. Usually they will step down to an intensive outpatient treatment facility. At the time of their release, many clients are excited. They sound extremely positive, with a positive outlook on life. Most feel it is one of the greatest days of their life. It is a “high” (albeit non-substance induced). Nevertheless, it can be described as a “high”.

For many, they have just abstained from their drug or drugs of choice for a significant amount of time. The fog of their addiction at that time is lifting. They are no longer speaking, acting, or behaving under the influence of their drug of choice. In addition, while in treatment, they were given a variety of tools to aid them in their recovery. For some, this involved 12-steps programs of recovery, mindfulness meditation, individual, and group therapy. The deluge of information, as well as personal care,can be helpful to the client. Not to mention the escape from their previous setting; a setting that involves family and life stressors along with negative peers who encourage substance abuse. All in all, life is good.

However, when consistency does not occur, the aforementioned reasons for success within an inpatient facility can be the biggest precursor to a RELAPSE.

What am I saying? Most people don’t leave treatment and return to a different setting. Primarily, they enter the same situation that they left upon their treatment admittance. Yes, they are armed with different tools and resources. However, their time is cut short. They have more responsibilities. They have to work. For some, they have children, or other responsibilities that need attention. Time for meetings or self-care begins to become scarce. Triggers from previous substance abuse begins to becomes more evident. At that point, it may be only a matter of time before a relapse happens. This is not a blog meant to scare but to inform.

Relapse prevention is possible! It requires real attention, energy, and planning. The more a client can plan after treatment the better. The more a client’s social support system is involved with their recovery the better. There is strength in numbers and the more help a client has to fight the disease of addiction the better. Just because treatment has ended does not mean the steps end. We have to work the steps every single day. While relapse can happen, it is important to remember to keep working the steps.

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STARS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, culture, religion or creed, socioeconomic status, language, age, sexual orientation, or national origin. No one shall be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any of STARS’ programs or activities. STARS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This agency is funded, in part, by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Tennessee Department of Education and by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. This project is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.