Mental Health & Oregon’s Crisis
Addressing mental health is so important. So is checking in with ourselves, family and friends, consistently. (And maybe a therapist if you have, or were thinking about getting one.) This is especially true if you are an adult residing in Oregon, according to statistical data on the prevalence of mental illness in the country. According to Mental Health America (MHA), Oregon is ranked at 51, with high rates of mental illness and suicide, paired with “lower rates of access to care”, making a mental molotov cocktail for Oregonians. Of course, there are factors such as trauma, chemical imbalance, genetics, lifestyle influences, amongst others that can affect an individual’s mental health.
Everyone deserves to put their mental well-being first, but that being said, it is not always easy. Sometimes when someone is in the thick of a crisis they cannot verbally communicate efficiently, or carry out the tasks that you believe would essentially fix their problem. This is a sign of mental illness. You do not have to have gone through trauma to experience mental illness, nor do you need to match up perfectly with a list of symptoms. Everyone has their own experiences and their own treatments that work for them. It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor and let them know what’s going on, and from there they can help diagnose or refer you to specialists. Being honest with yourself and those around you can be the most beneficial thing you do for yourself.
What You Can Do
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Look out for these signs that you, or someone you know, are struggling with mental health: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Know-the-Warning-Signs
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Be empathetic to everyone, as you do not know what they are going through.
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Make mental health conversations habitual with the people in your life.
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Don’t forget that you can’t help others without helping yourself first.
***Please talk to somebody if you need help, you are not alone.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/): 1-800-273-TALK for English, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish, or Lifeline Crisis Chat (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/).
Disaster Distress Helpline (https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness): 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish), or text TalkWithUs for English or Hablanos for Spanish to 66746. Spanish speakers from Puerto Rico can text Hablanos to 1-787-339-2663.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) for persons and families facing mental disorders, substance use disorders, or both: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, or TTY 1-800-487-4889.
NAMI Oregon Online Support Groups: https://namior.org/nami-oregon-online-support-groups/
References:
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/ranking-states#overall-ranking
