“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57
Care Ministry – Strengthening Emotional Health
Mental Health Resources
According to MentalHealth.gov, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.”
Some Common Mental Health Conditions include:
Anxiety
Stress
Bipolar
Schizophrenia
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Alcoholism
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Eating disorders
Depression
Personality disorder
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Mental Health Community Organizations
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
They advocate for and support people who suffer from a mental illness and work to education the public to end the stigma of mental illness. They also offer a few different support groups.
Grace Alliance
They offer faith based support groups for people with mental health and their peers.
HOT MHMR (Heart of Texas Region Mental Health Mental Retardation Center)
They provide support services to individuals and families coping with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, developmental delays, and emotional conflict. Some services they offer include: crisis hotline, mental health case management, mental health rehabilitation and counseling, and medication coordination.
Texas Health and Human Services – Mental Health and Substance Abuse resources
This government website starts with some different phone numbers or hotlines to Get Help, some useful phone apps, and some print and social media material to learn more about Mental Health. There is a tab that is solely on resources and it breaks it to more specific programs or searches like the Mental Health Services Search (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/mhservices-search/) where you can search by county.
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
This government website a good overview of different substance abuse and mental health conditions and describes the different treatments that can be used to treat them. It has a Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locatorthat pulls up a nice map with different places and explains what type of services they offer when you click on them. Another treatment locator they have is more specific to peer support groups, which links you to a webpage more specific to your mental health condition.
Facts and Statistics
Facts and Statistics (from NAMIwaco.com)
- Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.-43.8 million, or 18.5%-experiences mental illness in a given year.
- Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13-18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8-15, the estimate is 13%.
- Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.
- Just over half (50.6%) of children aged 8-15 received mental health services in the previous year.
Resources and Mental Illness
- NAMI Mental Illness Facts and Numbers
- There’s no shame in taking care of your mental health– Sangu Delle
Sangu Delle talks about his experiences with mental illness and the stigma behind the term “mental illness.” He talks about how his experience with a friend and how it has caused him to start to fight back against the stigma. Click here for the article. - What’s so funny about mental illness?– Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a comedian who suffers from a mental illness. She uses humor to talk about how we receive sympathy when we get a disease of the body, except when it comes to a disease of the brain. She also addresses the stigma of mental illness. Click here for the article. - A new understanding of Mental Illness– Thomas Insel
Thomas Insel discusses how early detection has reduced the number of deaths from heart disease by 63% over the past few decades and proposed the question of if it would be possible to do the same with mental disorders. He also addresses the importance of reframing mental disorders. Click here for the article. - Autism – What we know (and what we don’t know yet)
Wendy Chung talks about Autism Spectrum Disorder and what is known and what is not known about it. She also looks at the importance of early detection and new technologies that would be beneficial. Click here for the article. - A talk of mental illness – from the inside –Elyn Saks
Elyn Saks is a Legal Scholar who suffers from Schizophrenia. She shares her personal stories of suffering from it and how medication and therapy has helped. This is a good video to see how people with severe mental illness live their lives. Click here for the article. - Is your church Healthy for people with Mental Illness? – 3 ways your congregation can embrace those with mental disorders– Michael R. Lyles
This article talks about three steps that a congregation can take to embrace mental illness. The author Michael R. Lyles talks about mental illness in relation to the Good Samaritan. Click here for the article. - National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a hotline that people can call anyone who is going through a hard time, who is depressed or needs to talk or thinking about suicide can chat with counselors that are there to listen and support. They also have an online chat program where you can do the same. This website also includes a section where people can learn about how to prevent suicide. Click here for more information.