foreign awareness month and 11 alive is working to raise awareness about trauma and the impact it can have on the physical emotional and mental well-being of individuals families and communities so studies show 30 percent of adults are dealing with anxiety and depression and over the last several decades Advocates have been working to end that stigma surrounding getting help including therapy and medication so this month we are learning more about why it's important for people to have as many resources as possible mental health awareness month was established back in 1949 to shed a light on mental health and wellness and recovery from mental illness the mission throughout the month of May is to discuss an issue that many deal with and few talk about during Mental Health Awareness Month the work to break that stigma is at the Forefront that includes starting conversations and letting people know they're not alone but getting that help doesn't always come easily stigma still plays a big role in preventing many people from reaching out especially men studies show women are far more likely to seek help but any gender can feel a wide range of reactions so there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to treating Mental Illness but it's about taking that first step to find what works and Georgia suicide attempts are up among young girls and teenagers particularly black youth so according to the CDC emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts were 50 percent higher among girls aged 12 to 17 during the pandemic compared to before it for comparison ER visits among boys in that same age group for possible suicide attempts increased by just four percent eleven Alive's Jennifer Bellamy explores some of the signs that parents can look for and how to begin that very difficult conversation if your team is in distress I would say the biggest symptom would be isolation I know sometimes as a teen and as a young adult we want to isolate right and especially now we're on our phone it's assigned mental health experts point to the most if you see your child start to pull away it's time to talk some warning signs changes in their behavior um if you've got a kid who's you know into a lot of activities spent lots of time with friends and then you begin seeing them starting to isolate stay in their room more um that's the sign to just check that out page gain started 9-1-1 Saint Jane as a place for young girls to get help she understands she tried to die by Suicide for the first time at 12 years old and coming from that space and being a black woman my parents and myself we were just looking like well who do we even turn to to have this conversation how do we get help she says parents need to know children Express anxiety and depression differently I simply would say hey I don't feel good right my stomach is hurting my headache I have a headache right now I really do not want to go to school my chest hurts according to the Georgia Department of Public Health suicide rates are down across most demographics except in the black community suicide is now the third leading cause of death among African-Americans aged 10 to 24. this is the first time ever in history that suicide rates in the African American Community among any age segment have superseded that of the white population studies show black Americans are less likely to seek and receive Mental Health Care well I grew up in a home where you know it was what happens in our family stays in our family we don't tell other people about problems that we have and historically I think that has been a great barrier for African Americans in seeking help while some issues are starting in school the solutions to this crisis aren't making it home so a lot of schools are implementing the education and the conversation within their school system but the disconnect comes when we're not bringing it home so the parents aren't aware the parents aren't receiving the education Georgia has a new 988 crisis line that the Department of Public Health says is working 10 percent of calls in the first month came from kids under 18. and research shows 93 percent of parents knows it's important to have these conversations but more than half of them need help getting it started so we want to help you out with three tips the first one is to set the stage this includes choosing a time to talk when there are less distractions to help your children focus on the conversation it also means sharing things about your day your thoughts and your feelings children learn by watching us next you want to ask open-ended questions talk to your kids about all kinds of topics not just emotions and behaviors this is going to help create the habit of them feeling comfortable to open up with you and the last thing that's helpful is to to get that conversation started is to be mindful of the timing ask your child if they are ready to talk and if they aren't then ask when would be a good time this is going to help make sure everyone is calm and emotions aren't High and as millions of people in the U.
S struggle with depression studies show black Americans are overrepresented in that number 11 Alive's Don White explains what a local woman is doing to help others who are struggling a therapist is personal for mariba Lewis clearly I've been black all my life and so I can honestly say that growing up I'm from Florida I can't think of anyone who had a therapist for interest in mental health started traveling the world in the military and realizing the one thing everyone wants is to be happy since covet of course now is sometimes even sexy now some people say I have a therapist but there still is a huge stigma related to that statistics show 18 of white Americans seek help for mental health well less than 10 percent of black Americans do other cultures have seen their parents their grandparents go to therapy and it's not taboo you know in the black community if you had a therapist 20 years ago they would have called you crazy CD autistic shows suicide is the third leading cause of death for black men ages 15 to 24. Lewis believes representation of therapists and psychiatrists in the black community is crucial we want to reach out to someone who looks like us and so therefore if someone in the black community starts to seek therapy and they can't find anyone that looks like them then they may stop the process and they may never start it back up again Lewis encourages others in the black community to consider a career in the mental health field mentorship and by that reach out you know if you're thinking about being a therapist reach out we as therapists also we have to do something as well to let other brown and black people know that hey this is actually a real thing and as the temperature warms up many people might be thinking about spring cleaning so not only can a little tidying up make our environment look better it can also benefit our mental health psychologists say Spring and Summer Sunshine tends to give us a boost of energy making it a great time to tackle some cleaning or other projects that we have put off in the winter so checking off items on our to-do lists can also provide a sense of accomplishment so to get started doctors recommend writing down some tasks and coming up with a reasonable timeline to complete them this is important don't try to tackle them all at once you should work at a comfortable pace and don't be afraid to ask someone else for help if you need it experts also say sometimes clutter can be distracting and cleaning that space could help you refocus on other goals and research finds house plants may also be able to help you live a happier and healthier life over the years multiple Studies have looked at the benefits of house plants doctors say bringing a little bit of nature inside may just give a boost to your mental health not just seeing plants that can help reduce stress and improve focus research has really shown that actually touching and smelling plants can affect our mood in a positive way you have DrFlanagan says lower stress hormones can then lead to lower blood pressure so those plants can have a positive impact on your physical health too in the last decade many plants have been pegged as efficient air cleaners these include palms ficuses and peace lilies from TV Fame to VH1's Love and Hip Hop to gaining millions of followers on social media Atlanta's very own reality star Alexis Skye is now opening up about her own mental health Journey while being in the spotlight she says behind her Fame came depression and now she's ready to share she sat down with our Naima Abdullahi you know someone may see you in the spotlight but they may not know your journey they may see you in the Limelight The Glitz and the Glam and have a perception of you for those who may not really know you what would you tell them who is Alexis guy so that is true because people think that because you have this nice car this nice bag or these nice shoes yeah um for me I'm human I'm just like you the way you know Society paints these pictures like sometimes you can have all these things and you really can be empty and not happy but I think I have everything that I pretty much wanted out of life I've gotten it but I just was so empty and the inside and I wasn't happy and I just wasn't things just wasn't working for me or aligning for me I just started praying like I've always been a believer in God and I'm gonna just say this like I've never just put it out there but I just feel like once I had that connection with him I felt like I wanted to share it with the world for women out there who grew up in the social media era where everything on social media feels real for them what advice do you have for them be who you are at the end of the day and I know there's people that look up to me but I guess what is the saying everything that's glitter isn't gold like don't think that just because it looks like I have it together I have it together because I have my days and I might be going through something that you're exactly going through so if you could go back in time and tell 2022 Alexis anything in those darkest moments what would you tell her we'll keep going um keep going because there was times where I just wanted to give up but and I kept going so I would still say the same thing keep going because we tend to you know depression's real and there's different forms of depression so there might be days I might make mistakes right so I want people to know the journey is not just going to be a smooth Road right there's never there's no such thing as a smooth Road it's never linear right and a fifth grader in Cobb County is now a published author his name is takari and his book is empowering students and teachers to talk about their mental health our Cheryl preheim has the story impact isn't about age what's happening inside Varner Elementary is proof they're so incredibly proud takari Tatum is 11.
