Health Department Urges Mental Health Awareness This Holiday Season
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[January 02, 2025]
 As
the holiday season brings the joy of peace, giving, and love to most,
sadly, many people will continue with their year-round struggle
combatting mental illness or depression. Adverse life experiences such
as physical or emotional neglect, the death of a loved one, the fading
family structure, family illness, drug and alcohol abuse are just a few
factors that can lead to ongoing trauma, depression, and mental illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from
2019 to 2021, the percentage of adults who received mental health
treatment increased from 19.2% to 21.6%. In 2018-2019, 13% of children
age 3-17 had a diagnosed mental or behavioral health condition which
clearly indicates mental health is a concern.
Identifying signs of negative mental health in a loved one is a
significant first step in addressing early intervention to help those in
need. Such signs include depression and anxiety. Depression is when one
experiences a sad mood or irritability which lasts most of the day,
nearly every day for at least two weeks, and interferes with normal
everyday functioning. Signs of depression include, but are not limited
to, loss of interest in fun activities, sadness, irritability, sleeping
disturbance, eating too much or too little, lack of concentration or
memory, always feeling tired, guilty, worthless, helpless, or thinking
about suicide. Signs of depression may also be physical which could
include commonly experiencing aches, pains, headaches, or stomach
problems that do not improve with treatment. Anxiety disorders can also
go hand in hand with depression. People with anxiety disorder may
struggle with intense and uncontrollable anger, fear, worry and/or panic
which can interfere with daily living.
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If you or a loved one is under emotional stress, experiencing
depression or anxiety, having thoughts about injuring oneself or
committing suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be
reached by dialing 988 to provide counseling, support, and
connections to needed resources. Other suggested resources include
your local healthcare or behavioral health provider, a spiritual
leader in the faith community, or reaching out to a friend. For life
threatening situations requiring emergency medical services, you can
call 911.
The Logan County Department of Public Health supports behavioral
health awareness by urging everyone to recognize the symptoms of
poor behavioral health and to reach out for assistance to help those
in need. For additional information regarding behavioral health and
where to get assistance, you can contact the Logan County Department
of Public Health at 217-735-2317.
[Logan County Dept. of Public
Health]
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