Shhh...Mental Illness: The Silent Disease

Fast Facts (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14

A friend sat in the middle of our fraternity house library surrounded by multiple objects that to him represented a safe place. Talking to him only gave the clue that something was severely wrong. Several of us had to carry to a car to get him to the hospital, where at age 20 or 21 he was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Things didn’t change much from there. People tried to help, but he couldn’t hold a job or focus long enough to accomplish anything. Fortunately, his parents could care for him, but as I saw him through the years, it brought back how important our mental health is.

Many things can bring on disruptions in our mental health, and many of us have seen this in our young with covid and our culture in general. When I was selling disability insurance in the 1980’s, the trends were showing that depression would be one of the top disabilities by 2020. Here’s a report from CBS News in 2014:

“Today's teenagers are 38 percent more likely to report problems with memory compared with their 1980s counterparts. They are also 74 percent more likely to have trouble sleeping and twice as likely to have seen a specialist for mental health issues. Contemporary college students in the study were 50 percent more likely to admit that they felt overwhelmed, while adults were more likely to say that they were restless sleepers, had a poor appetite and that, on top of that, everything else was an effort. All of these issues are often manifestations of depression.”

Yes, mental health is a silent disease that doesn’t need to be. No shame should be connected to it. Openess, is what will help. In this past year, Harry Miller of the Ohio State Football team. Set aside playing to work on the anxiety and depression that ate at his soul. He has become a hero, in my opinion, to taking on this “silent” disease. Hear the words of Dr. Phan of the OSU Psychiatry Dept.:

“Harry is not only an embodiment of resilience, but also a champion of resilience. His story shows how there is help out there – treatments that work – and that help can really be transforming.”

Dr. K. Luan Phan

Chair, Ohio State Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Please don’t wait. And for all of us struggling with this or not, please pray for those struggling to come forward and give themselves a chance and for others to be helpful, not hurtful.