The workers at Greene County Well being Division is taking psychological well being consciousness to a different stage through the use of movies to let folks know it is OK to achieve out, share their psychological well being story and search assist.
“Final 12 months we did our I-Plan (Illinois Venture Evaluation of Wants),” Greene County Well being Division Administrator Molly Peters stated. “A type of wants was psychological well being consciousness.”
Now, Peters and her workers are working with group members to create a sequence of movies to ship a easy however essential message — should you’re feeling any type of anxiousness, despair or stress, or should you’re having suicidal ideas, it is OK to speak with somebody, whether or not it is a good friend, member of the family or physician who might help you search counseling.
Within the well being division’s first video, one group member merely says, “… it is simple to be complacent with our psychological well being. Points come and go. However, keep in mind, the results you’ve got on family members can typically final without end … do not let your pleasure get in the way in which.”
Peters is hoping the movies increase consciousness of the place folks can go to hunt assist, beginning with the well being division’s web site, however she additionally hopes to emphasise the significance of speaking with somebody.
“The extra folks share, the extra folks might help,” Peters stated, including that potential triggers for psychological well being points vary from substance abuse to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of a beloved one or the lack of a job.
Peters is nicely conscious that individuals might be afraid to inform their story and search help in coping with their psychological well being.
“It takes a variety of braveness” to talk up, she stated. “Greene County is wanting to assist.”
Though the county’s well being division isn’t a psychological well being facility, the division’s web site has sources to assist folks discover help, Peters stated.
A coalition arrange by way of the well being division additionally helps these searching for psychological well being help.
“We’re searching for folks” for the coalition, Peters stated.
One huge step is ending the stigma surrounding psychological well being, Peters stated.
“As folks share, we’re capable of know our group higher, relate to struggles they’re going through, and talk what it’s like for somebody who has skilled residing life with despair, anxiousness or different related experiences that influence our psychological well being,” she stated.
“As we put together to determine our group wants, we hope that individuals share experiences, or sources, that they’ve discovered to be useful in bettering psychological wellness.”
