MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS & ADVOCACY

Channing Downing and JJ McGinnis

United States Statistics

■ Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.

■ 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.

■ Half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Despite effective treatment, there are long delays—sometimes decades—between the first

appearance of symptoms and when people get help.

Source: (https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers)

Wyoming Mental Health Statistics

■ The national average is 12 suicides per 100,000 people. Park County, WY had 12 suicides per its 30,000 people in 2012. (Source: Casper Star Tribune)

■ The C.D.C. reported last year that Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the nation, almost 30 deaths per 100,000 people in 2012, far above the national average of 12.6 per 100,000. (Source: New York Times)

■ Of Wyoming’s approximately 500,000 residents, close to 20,000 adults live with serious mental illness and about 5,000 children live with serious mental health conditions. (Source: NAMI)

Mental Health Stigma Causes and Effects■ What is stigma?– An attempt to label a particular group of people as less worthy of

respect than others■ What can stigma lead to?– Inadequate insurance coverage for mental health services – Fear, mistrust, and violence against people living with mental illness

and their families. – Family and friends turning their backs on people with mental illness – Prejudice and discrimination– 2/3 of all people with diagnosable mental illness don’t seek treatment

Source: http://www2.nami.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentFileID=5148

Our Story…

Our Project Goals■ Engage more students in Mental Health Awareness week

■ Facilitate more open conversations

■ Spread education that mental illness is like any other illness

■ Bring in a special guest…

Neil Hilborn

■ Diagnosed with OCD at age 11

■ 2011 College National Poetry Slam Champion

■ Poem OCD went viral in 2013

■ OCD Poem Preview