The Rowan County Chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness will host an art exhibit at the Rowan County Public Library for the entire month of October. The exhibit is part of the annual Mental Illness Awareness Week. The theme for this year is “Making Dreams a Reality.”
Mental Illness Awareness Week takes place October 13-19 and is an opportunity to learn more about serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. One in four adults experiences a mental health problem in any given year. One in 17 lives with serious, chronic illness.
“Many people in our community are directly affected by mental illness,” said Peggy Mangold, president of NAMI Rowan. “The good news is that treatment does work and recovery is possible.”
On average, people living with serious mental illness live 25 years less than the rest of the population. One reason is that less than one-third of adults and less than one-half of children with diagnosed illness receive treatment.
“The U.S. Surgeon General has reported that stigma is a major barrier to people seeking help when they need it,” Mangold said. “That’s why (Mental Illness Awareness Week) is so important. The art exhibit is a way of showing people with mental illnesses are more than just their diagnosis. They are creative, thoughtful, and very capable people. We want people to understand mental illness and join a dialogue in our community. The more people know, the better they can help themselves or help their loved ones get the help and support they need.”
When mental health care isn’t available in a community, the results often are lost jobs and careers, broken families, more homelessness, more welfare and much more expensive costs for hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes, schools, police and even courts, jails and prisons.
Mental Illness Awareness Week will also include a healing service to be held in the chapel at the Salisbury VA Medical Center at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17 and a Celebration of Success luncheon at 11 a.m. to recognize people who have made the most impact on the mental health community and people who have made the most progress in attaining their goals. Dr. Chris Watson will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon. Watson is a licensed psychologist in North Carolina and has been employed at the Salisbury VA Medical Center since 1993. He received his undergraduate degree from NC A&T State University in Greensboro and his graduate degrees from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Learn more about mental illness support, education and advocacy at www.nami.org.