WEST MICHIGAN — Severe Mental Illness (SMI) affects over 6% of people in the U.S., and affecting over 1/5 unhoused people in the country. Females can be more prone to SMI, with other factors like age and support affecting individuals as well.
The National Institute for Mental Health says SMI is “a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that results in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. It includes conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression”.
Dr. Diana Bitner is the Co-founder of True. Women's Health, and she says there are resources in West Michigan that can help. The Sheldon House focuses on building community, offering treatment and employment opportunities for people with SMI. Mental health can be difficult to treat, with barriers including:
- High cost of care, lack of insurance coverage
- Shortage of mental health professionals (only 49% of U.S. counties have a psychiatrist)
- Social stigma and embarassment
- People with SMI do not realize they need care
- Transportation and logistics to get care or medication
People with SMI benefit from learning copings skills like communication, work skills, and how to function in a community, and The Sheldon House provides members with tools for the future.
What can we do to stay mentally healthy ourselves? Dr. Carver from the University of Miami published the COPE Score in 1989, a study developed with the survivors of Hurricane Andrew, scaling how people cope with hardship. Some used blaming, complaining, focusing on negativity. Others used distraction techniques like television, music, drugs, alcohol or other addictive behaviors. The study found the more successful participants used hope, belief, work, asking for help, and discipline to cope with hardship.
People who cope do three things well:
- Believe they deserve to be happy
- Build and keep a healthy support network
- Ask for help when needed and participate in finding a solution
Take a look at what activities or strategies you use when you are stressed. Dr. Bitner recommends looking honestly at your coping strategies, and while you may not have been shown good skills, it's never too late to start and learn.
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