No one would argue that the pandemic, the resulting economic crisis and civil unrest that took place over the past year have impacted the mental health of many Americans. These crises brought on a considerable degree of fear, anxiety and concern in the population at large and among certain groups in particular; such as medical professionals, older adults, people with underlying health conditions, emergency responders and people of color.
Since 1949, National Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May to raise awareness on the importance of mental health and wellness and fight the stigma associated with mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the main organization which sponsors this initiative.
According to the NAMI website, one in five Americans live with a mental health condition. However, not everyone who is affected receives treatment, often because of the stigma attached to mental health. People struggling with their mental health may be in your family, live next door, teach your children, work in the next cubicle, spot you at the gym or sit in the same church pew.
Throughout May, mental health professionals across our nation will host awareness support and advocacy activities that focus on prioritizing mental health. To raise awareness on this initiative, a few behavioral health and counseling professionals from organizations at Redstone took a moment to talk about mental health.
Dr. David Ferguson is the chief of the Behavioral Health Department at Fox Army Health Center. The department’s mission is to meet the mental health needs of active duty personnel, their family members, retirees, their family members, commanders and civilian employees entitled to their services. He and his staff offer a variety of services to beneficiaries, including psychiatry, social work, traumatic brain injury, drug and alcohol treatment and child and mental health treatment services.
Ferguson said it’s important to raise awareness on mental health. Such awareness increases the likelihood people with mental illness, their families, and the services they are in contact with will engage in health promoting and illness preventing actions.
“A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in behavior, thinking, emotion or energy that make it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Without a healthy mental state the rest of our life will suffer. When we have a healthy mental state, our lives are fuller and more enjoyable,” Ferguson said. “The Fox Behavioral Health Department is a great source for getting help. We are fortunate to be staffed with excellent providers who can help navigate people through their mental health journey in a safe environment,”
Garrison Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Charles Barna has the challenge of nurturing the spirit within his organization. He said reaching out to provide religious support during difficult times can be helpful.
“Being a chaplain, I believe that there is a religious/spiritual aspect to one’s life that will strengthen them in times of trials/difficulties,” Barna said. “We are here to help the units on RSA if they want us to talk to their workforce or an individual. The chapel provides pastoral care and counseling and work with the individual from a religious/spiritual perspective. If we cannot help, we get them to someone who can help. We support the Behavior Health Department at Fox.”
Barna said most of issues he deals with when counseling patrons are work related. He believes there are some things leaders can do to help mitigate problems in the workplace.
“Some of the issues that impact employee’s mental health are employers and co-workers not listening to folks with issues, employee not going and getting help, employee doesn’t want anybody ‘in their business’ and employee is concerned about bad things happening to them,” Barna said. “Also there is often a great deal of stigma involved when a person seeks help from a mental health professional. We can remove that stigma with time and education. Leaders should stay in contact with their employees, be knowledgeable about the resources we have at RSA and be the leader and encourage an employee to get help.”
Tim Rolfe, family advocacy program manager at Army Community Service, said it’s crucial that people have the right sources for help. Sometimes individual interaction works. Sometimes it’s necessary for persons to receive support in a group dynamic. His team uses different methods to raise awareness on self-care.
ACS provides training and briefings to help raise awareness, which include new commander briefings, newcomer orientation briefings, couples enrichment, parenting, resiliency, stress/anger management, conflict resolution and child abuse awareness training and playmorning groups. The family advocacy program also offers advocacy support to victims of domestic violence and new parent home visitor support to families who request the assistance.
Rolfe said the pandemic and media coverage of events have challenged our mental health.
“In my professional opinion, social isolation and distancing is currently one of the most impactful issues of our times and a lot of people have struggled with being isolated for so long,” Rolfe said. “Concerns about health and not being able to visit family and friends has been particularly challenging and has had a major impact on overall mental health. Research suggests mental health issues, drug and alcohol use, and family violence have all increased since the pandemic began. Additionally, over stimulation to traumatic or stressful events has been impacting mental health. I believe 24-hour news media coverage and social media sites are the leading causes of recent mental health declines.”
Rolfe stressed how stigmas are also a well-known factor in mental illness.
“Destigmatizing mental health is also key for people who want or need help but are concerned about what would happen if they reached out for assistance,” he said. “As a result, mental health issues often times go untreated, which has the potential of manifesting greater issues and challenges later on. Leaders should normalize mental illness like any other illness and make sure their employees are aware of the many virtual resources available at Redstone. One example is how the ACS family advocacy program. Employee assistance program and Army Materiel Command’s health promotion program manager have collaborated to provide the ‘Healthy Living and Working’ webinar series to the RSA community once a month. It’s a holistic approach to promoting health and mental health by providing virtual trainings on topics such as resiliency training, goal setting, financial planning, proper nutrition, effective parenting, mental health awareness, effective communication, suicide prevention, couples enrichment, anger management, and problem solving.”
Rolfe also works with Carolyn White, employee assistance coordinator at Garrison’s employee assistance program, on the monthly webinar series.
“EAP attempts to take an active role in supporting mental health at Redstone through our individual services and partnerships with local agencies and providers,” White said. “Our program supports the workforce and their families one-on-one through short-term counseling, online classes and connecting them to providers and resources in the community. The free classes are held on the last Tuesday of every month from 12-12:45 p.m. The next class will be held on May 25 and the topic is ‘Mental Health Check Up,’ in support of Mental Health Awareness Month. The class will focus on recognizing signs of mental and emotional health problems, understanding how these problems impact health, relationships and quality of life, learning tools and resources to assist in doing a personal check-up on your overall wellness.”
White said the pandemic brought on new challenges that impact mental health on the installation.
“Local trends have followed national trends in regards to the impact the pandemic has had on the Redstone workforce with significant increases in depression, anxiety and burnout,” she said. “Additionally, relationships have been impacted due to quarantine, with greater numbers of people reporting marital problems and worsening loneliness and social isolation. The value of having conversations about your mental health and seeking treatment for mental health cannot be overemphasized. We learn what is OK from the people around us. The more people share with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers that they’re getting help for their mental health, the more likely someone is to believe it’s OK to do it. Fear of being judged is a major reinforcer for stigma, so knowing it’s safe to seek help because others are doing it decreases that fear.”
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