News to Know, Mental Health Matters, Scam Alert & Feeling Curious

What’s your response to the question “how are you”?  Do you reply “fantastic”, “I am well, thank you for asking”, “great” or something in a similar vein? But is your response really how you feel?

Based on data from numerous surveys, many people across all age groups are not feeling “great”, even with the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror. Consider these startling findings:

• More than 25% of American adults are depressed, a 10% surge from nearly a decade ago, according to the latest Gallup poll.
• Around 47% of adults under age 30 report “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless,” and 24% have had thoughts that they would be “better off dead,” or of hurting themselves in some way at least several days in past 2 weeks.
• Nearly 86% of children ages 9 to 13 years old report worrying, with 37% worrying once a week or more.
• In the past year, 63% of employees took a Mental Health Day in the past year. But 44% of them gave their employer a reason other than mental health for taking the day off, fearing a negative response from their employer.

May is Mental Health Awareness month, a designation that was started in 1949 by Mental Health America. The goal of this annual campaign is to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health conditions and increase access to affordable, quality mental health services. The stigma around mental health and treatment is starting to change but more work is needed. Far too many people from all walks of life hesitate to seek help or even talk about their mental health. Untreated mental illness can a myriad of other problems such as substance abuse, unemployment, legal and financial problems as well as heart disease and other medical conditions

Be sure to check out Mental Health Matters for more information on addressing mental illness!