“GET OUT AND SAY IT LOUD”

As we have entered into this beautiful month of May, we at Visionary decided to spread the word about the wellbeing of the individual’s mental health. Mental illnesses affect 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children each year. People struggling with their mental health may be in your family, live next door, teach your children or work in the next cubicle.

However, only half of those affected receive treatment, often because of the stigma attached to mental health. Untreated, mental illness can contribute to higher medical expenses, poorer performance at school and work, fewer employment opportunities and increased risk of suicide.

A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behaviour, energy or emotion that make it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Research is starting to uncover the complicated causes of these diseases which can include genetics, brain chemistry, brain structure, experiencing trauma and/or having another medical condition, like heart disease.

The two most common mental health conditions are:

Anxiety Disorders – More than 18% of adults each year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (panic attacks), generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobias.

Mood Disorders – Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar depression, affect nearly 10% of adults each year and are characterized by difficulties in regulating one’s mood.

Visionary founder Sherry Gonzalez believes that “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”. So, we at the Visionary help the families or individuals whom relationships are affected, through our Family services. Our advocacy services provide a medium to suffering people and help them in providing much needed help such as:

Home and shelter issues; Veteran’s medical disabilities; Social security and disability assistance; Social welfare assistance; Child support and child care assistance and Elder care abuse and assistance.

So, if you or your loved one is suffering from mental illness there is one advice that Visionary wants to make is “GET OUT AND SAY IT LOUD”. If you are having any such issues do share them with your partner, parents or doctor, being quite is of no solution. At last, we at Visionary hope by this we can break the stigma made-up in the mind of individuals about Mental Illness.