By Mike McKenna
One of the undeniable facts of life is that, sooner or later, we’ll all be impacted by mental health challenges.
It may be personally—battles we face ourselves or try to help family members go through—or it may be of a more secondary nature, through challenges with a co-worker or a regular at your favorite hangout spot.
Despite the fact that nearly a quarter of all Americans, including children, suffer from mental illness, there are reasons to be hopeful.
And one of those reasons is you.
“We all play a role in this all-important conversation,” Christina Cernansky, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Wood River Valley (NAMI-WRV), said. “Whether you like it or not, or even if you’ll admit it or not, at some point you will be forced to deal with mental health challenges. So you might as well join us in the conversation and help us support individuals and loved ones as they manage their recovery process.”
Studies have shown that mental health issues, like anxiety disorders and depression, are no different than other health issues, like high blood pressure or diabetes. They can be successfully treated. In fact, 80 percent of mental health patients respond to treatment.
It can be hard for most of us to ask for help, or even to ask how we can help. That’s why we’re lucky to have a strong local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI-Wood River Valley is here to help in a variety of ways.
One of the best ways is through their workplace program, which includes a detailed, attainable plan to help companies combat mental health stigma. Untreated mental health challenges are the number one cause of worker disability. This Wednesday, May 15, at noon, NAMI will be putting on a Mental Health in the Workplace event at the Ketchum Innovation Center.
“NAMI provides the resources to help employers and supervisors support their staffs,” Christina said. “We’re lucky to have NAMI in our community.”
Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, NAMI-Wood River Valley is also putting on their annual StigmaFree Bike Ride. This fun, family-friendly bike ride will connect all four local towns and this year it will finish at the ArborFest and Hailey Home, Garden and Outdoor Show celebration this Saturday. With all the fun festivities going on at Roberta McKercher and Wertheimer parks in Hailey, the ride is certain to be a success.
Hopefully, you can take part in the StigmaFree Ride, but even if you can’t, you can still be part of the cure.
As Christina advises, “Reconsider a judgment, reach out to a co-worker, support a friend, begin a conversation—there is much to be done to break down the barriers of stigma and shed the shame, but together we can achieve it!”
To find out more about NAMI, please go to nami-wrv.org or call their non-crisis hotline at (208) 481-0686.
Mike McKenna is the executive director of The Chamber – Hailey & The Wood River Valley. He can be reached at Mike@ValleyChamber.org or by calling (208) 788-3484.