It Shouldn’t Be Hard To Talk About Mental Health. Here’s Why

Even in times of extreme adversity, talking about mental health still holds some stigma. It is still far too common for those struggling mentally or emotionally to feel the need to ignore their hardships and put on a brave face. In other instances, those who make the leap to find care may simply not know where to find the help they desperately need, or find themselves overwhelmed by the process of searching for it. This is especially unfortunate as the prevalence of mental issues in the United States only continues to grow, continuing an upward trend set into motion long before being exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The State of Things

While mental health struggles can feel like a secret shame, it’s more common than you might think. According to Mental Health America’s 2021 report on The State Of Mental Health In America:

• 19% of adults are experiencing a mental illness, a figure representing over 47 million people — and an increase of over 2 million people from the previous year.
• Young people are increasingly struggling with mental health: 9.7% of youth — over 2.3 million kids — in the U.S. have severe major depression, compared to 9.2% last year.

Mental health is just like physical health — a key factor of our overall health, one that requires some effort to maintain. By the same token, mental illness, like physical illness, is nothing to be ashamed of. By taking the steps to preserve our mental health, we also do the work of substance abuse prevention, considering the high rate of comorbidity between substance abuse disorders and mental illness. It is necessary work with impact that ripples beyond the individuals in treatment to their families, friends, and broader communities.

Introducing New Era Rehab and Wellness

At New Era, we have always privileged the mental health of our patients in substance abuse recovery and those seeking behavioral solutions. But as our society continues to steadily open up, still reeling from the unprecedented upheaval of the last year, we feel the need to do more.

This Mental Health Awareness Month we’re launching New Era Wellness, a suite of service offerings and resources to help those in need of some extra help while navigating the curveballs life can throw our way. In addition to individual and group therapy, we’ll be expanding our focus to a more holistic picture of wellness by including other disciplines like meditation, yoga, and mindfulness. For the rest of the month, these blog posts and corresponding content on our new social media channels will provide information on how to pursue a more complete understanding of health.

Taking Control

Seeking help for mental illness isn’t always easy. It can mean confronting long-held beliefs about the “kind” of people who struggle with depression, anxiety, or other common mental illnesses, or shedding stigmas you’ve unwittingly internalized. But ultimately, it’s key to showing up for yourself and others, so you can live the life you deserve. There is absolutely no shame in getting the help you need. We hope to be of service.