We’re here to remind you that it’s OK to not be OK. In fact, it’s more normal than you’d think. While everyone struggles with mental health differently, approximately one in five adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a given year. That’s 43.8 million people who understand what you’re experiencing and have been in your shoes.
To talk about mental health and why it’s completely OK to not be OK all of the time, Healthy Me PA sat down with Adam Miller, therapist and director of the outpatient center at WellSpan Philhaven in Lancaster.
“When people realize that they aren’t the only one dealing with mental health problems—that they aren’t the only person who is struggling right now—it takes away a major barrier for seeking appropriate treatment,” Miller said.
There are many factors that might keep a person from seeking medical help for mental health.
“Generally speaking, mental health problems are probably the most isolating problems that a person can deal with. Some of them create the natural tendency to draw inward and limit your contact with other people when you are struggling with things like depression and anxiety,” Miller said. “When you’re feeling hurt on the inside, it’s much more intangible, and it takes people a certain amount of overcoming self-denial about needing help.”
The thing is, it’s completely OK to need help. We all do from time to time. When you let your mental health problems go, they can have a ripple effect into all aspects of your life.
Miller mentioned that when you’re struggling with symptoms of a mental health problem, it makes it really difficult to take care of your physical health.
“We know, for example, that depression and anxiety have a negative impact on our eating and our sleeping habits, and that it makes it that much harder to get out and exercise and socialize with other people,” Miller said. “It makes it less likely that someone is going to take care of their chronic conditions such as diabetes or a heart issue. And it makes it difficult to get out and make it to a medical appointment with their physical providers.”
Additionally, poor mental health makes people more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol, and those have profound implications on physical health, as well.
“In terms of the impact of untreated mental health issues on a person’s day-to-day life, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that every aspect of our lives is touched by our mental health,” Miller said. “From our work life to what we do for fun, from our relationships to our faith and spirituality—all are impacted by our mental health.”
Conversely, all of those things are positively impacted when you’re doing well and feeling mentally healthy.
We asked Miller what he would say to someone who is hesitant to seek help for the mental health issues they’re struggling with. He said these three things:
- I would try to convey to them that there is no shame, there is no embarrassment, in asking for help when you feel like your problems are too big to solve on your own.
- If going into a medical clinic and asking for help from a stranger seems too overwhelming right now, I’d tell them to talk to a close friend or family member that they trust, so they can get their experience out there and see if it’s as scary as they thought it was going to be to talk about it.
- I would also encourage people to talk to their family doctor, if they think what they are experiencing is more than just a low mood or normal worries and stressors and it’s impacting their functioning. It’s absolutely worth it to have a conversation with a medical provider that they already have a relationship with.
Despite the history of the mental health stigma, people are seeking help. While it is estimated that only half of the people struggling with their mental health seek treatment, the trend is on the rise.
“In the last few years, celebrities and movie stars have been coming forward talking about mental health struggles they’ve had, which is a really interesting cultural moment we’re living in, where these things that were kept secret for so long are coming out in the open,” Miller said. “And I think it is encouraging people to seek help for the first time.”
Miller and his colleagues have seen the increasing demand just in their facilities.
“Our combined mental outpatient clinics saw 50,000 patients this year, primarily in Lancaster and Lebanon counties,” Miller said. “We have significantly expanded since last fall, and our numbers have skyrocketed. We provided over 1,500 services in just the month of April.”
WellSpan Philhaven has 54 programs in six counties in central Pennsylvania with a staff of more than 1,100 professionals.
Miller has had many instances that have reminded him how meaningful his job is.
“I’ve always been intrigued by hearing people talk about themselves, their story, and I consider it a great privilege to enter into that story and be a part of someone’s turning point—to be a resource for somebody who is trying to make better decisions and make their future better than their past has been,” Miller said. “When somebody comes in and they don’t see hope, and a few months later you can see a glimmer of hope in them for the first time in a long time, it’s a really powerful moment.”
Although Miller is often brought into someone’s story in what that patient may consider a low point in life, he gets to see firsthand the healing and the success possible for people who have been struggling with mental health.
And there’s hope for you, too.
“If someone is struggling with the idea that it is OK to not be OK, I would hope that they would be able to recognize that everybody struggles from time to time. Whether or not your issues rise to the level of a diagnosable disorder, if you live on Earth long enough there are certain issues that you’re going to have to deal with. Things like family stressors, transitions in life, changes in your health status, loss of a loved one—those are all going to come up sooner or later for you,” Miller said.
“And it doesn’t set you apart. It just means that you are human and you’re living life. They are all appropriate times to seek additional help when you need it.”