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Tag: Mental Health Screenings

  • Presidential Candidate Seth Moulton Wants Mental Health Screening To Be Routine

    Presidential Candidate Seth Moulton Wants Mental Health Screening To Be Routine

    Moulton, who served in Iraq, has been open about his own mental health struggles.

    Presidential candidate Seth Moulton wants to make annual mental health screenings part of routine care, both for active duty military members and American high schoolers as part of his plan to prioritize mental health care. 

    Moulton, who served in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps, has been open about his own mental health struggles.

    “There is still this stigma against mental health care,” he said in March. “Post-traumatic stress is very real. I have had post-traumatic stress and I have a lot of friends who have had it. And I have lost two Marines in my platoon since we have been back.”

    Because of his personal experience, he knows how important proper treatment of mental health is. 

    “Post traumatic stress is a great example of a mental issue that is curable,” said Moulton, who currently represents Massachusetts in the House of Representatives. “I know a lot of vets who have gotten through post-traumatic stress, including myself. So we can fix this, but we need to be investing in it and we are not.”

    This week, Moulton formally released his mental health plan. It calls for making annual mental health screenings standard for military service members and high school students. It would also introduce mindfulness training for both of these groups. 

    “Mindfulness training is preventative medicine as pioneered today by the special operations community and other elite units,” Moulton wrote. 

    In addition, Moulton would establish 511, national mental health hotline. 

    “Mental health is a core component of overall health: it strengthens our economy and country,” Moulton wrote. “Serious mental illness costs America up to $193 billion in lost earnings per year, and touches everyone in America directly or indirectly. We must do everything we can to protect mental health coverage in this country, and that means protecting this coverage from the current administration’s efforts to undermine these essential health benefits.”

    Although his plan focuses heavily on service members and veterans, Moulton said that it’s important to remember that mental health affects all members of society. 

    “We must recognize that mental health matters to everyone. We all have personally dealt with mental health challenges, or have a family member, friend, or co-worker who has dealt with them, whether we know it or not,” he wrote. “High schoolers today are particularly at risk; in addition to the traditional anxieties of being a teenager, they face scrutiny on social media and live in a time of school shootings—all of them should get the support and care they need.”

    That starts with talking openly about mental wellbeing. 

    “We need to make sure that we all can discuss our mental health and get whatever help we may need,” Moulton said. “That is why I am telling my own story, encouraging others to tell theirs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can Poor Mental Health Reduce Life Expectancy As Much As Diabetes, Smoking?

    Can Poor Mental Health Reduce Life Expectancy As Much As Diabetes, Smoking?

    Experts were surprised with the findings of a new report on healthy communities.

    A new report says that poor mental health can have as strong an impact on life expectancy as diabetes, smoking and even a lack of physical activity.

    These new findings are part of the Healthiest Communities rankings by U.S. News & World Report in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation.

    The rankings examined almost 3,000 different communities across 81 different health-related spectrums, like nutrition, housing and education, CNBC reports. 

    According to Aetna Foundation President Garth Graham, the link between people’s perception of their own mental health and life expectancy being almost as strong as the link between smoking and diabetes and life expectancy was surprising.

    “I at first wanted us to double check,” said Graham, according to CNBC. 

    In 2018, the link between mental health and life expectancy was not as apparent as it was in 2019, Graham says.

    “We often think about health as the four hours we spend in a doctor’s office a year, but health is about so much more than that,” Graham said.

    Of the top communities in the Mental Health subcategory, the report states, 16 of the top 100 were in Nebraska. Nebraska sees 26 deaths related to suicide, alcohol-related disease and drug overdoses per 100,000. The only state with fewer deaths per 100,000 is New York, at 25. 

    Of the nearly 3,000 communities involved in the report, Douglas County, Colorado was reported the healthiest community in the country. Colorado as a whole performed well, with seven communities making the top 20 results. In those seven communities, CNBC reports, nearly all adults reported exercising, which has been known to improve mental health. 

    Nancy VanDeMark of Mental Health Colorado says that the connection between mental health and life expectancy makes sense, since last year’s CDC data pointed to increased opioid overdoses and suicides—also referred to as “deaths of despair”—negatively affecting life expectancy. 

    VanDeMark adds that it is vital for people to be screened for mental health issues, just as they are for physical health. 

    “We have a screening site on our website so people can go in and complete a number of screenings to see if they’re high risk for some sort of mental health or substance use concern,” said VanDeMark. 

    Colorado resident Kristin Gibowicz says that monitoring her mental health is something she keeps at the forefront of her life. “Just getting out, breathing fresh air and slowing your mind down a little bit, putting your phone down disconnecting,” Gibowicz said. 

    Also worth noting is that among the top communities in the Mental Health subcategory specifically, the report states 16 of the top 100 were in Nebraska.

    Nebraska sees 26 deaths related to suicide, alcohol-related disease and drug overdoses per 100,000. The only state with fewer deaths per 100,000 is New York, at 25.

    In addition to Douglas County in Colorado, other communities in the top 10 overall include Los Alamos County, New Mexico; Falls Church, Virginia; Loudoun County, Virginia; Broomfield County, Colorado; Teton County, Wyoming; Hamilton County, Indiana; Carver County, Minnesota; Delaware County, Ohio; and Howard County, Maryland.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New Jersey May Require Depression Screenings For Students

    New Jersey May Require Depression Screenings For Students

    A new bill aims to address undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues in school-aged children. 

    Some New Jersey lawmakers are taking a stand against undiagnosed depression in youth by drafting a bill that would require annual screenings. 

    According to New Jersey 101.5, if the bill were to pass, students in New Jersey would have to be screened for depression about six times in the time leading up to high school graduation. 

    The bill comes in the wake of a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics, stating that young people should be screened for depression each year. If passed, it would require that public school students in grades 7 through 12 be screened once per year. 

    “Tragically, far too few people that suffer from mental illness actually get diagnosed,” Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), primary bill sponsor and chair of the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee, said at a recent hearing, according to 101.5. “For those who screen positive, information will be sent to the parents and the parents can get their child the care that they need.”

    The screening would consist of a two-question survey and could be given by a “qualified professional” at public schools. By the bill’s definition, this means a school psychologist, school nurse, school counselor, student assistance coordinator, school social worker or physician.

    According to Conaway, parents would have the choice of opting out of the screening for their child, which current laws also allow for other types of physical health screenings. 

    While the intent of the bill is understood, there is still some opposition, according to 101.5. 

    Debbie Bradley, director of government relations for the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, tells 101.5 that the potential passing of the bill would impact understaffing at schools even more. As such, combining the screening with annual physicals is an idea that has been broached.

    “Many of our members suggested that this system be integrated with the current annual physicals that many parents bring their students to,” Bradley said.

    Conaway reiterated the importance of the bill by citing a study that discovered the number of children and teenagers hospitalized for thoughts of suicide climbed more than 100% from 2008 to 2015. 

    If passed, the bill would allow for confidential data collection. The data would be forwarded to the Department of Education and Department of Health, then studied for statewide trends.

    View the original article at thefix.com