National Mental Health Month

By County of San Diego Health and Human Services

....Health Officials Encourage People with Mental Health Problems to Seek Help;
County’s Access and Crisis Line is (800) 479-3339

...San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) officials are reminding people that the County offers treatment programs for those with mental health problems to help them lead healthy, normal lives.

...“A person’s mental health is key to leading fulfilling, healthy, and productive lives,” said Alfredo Aguirre, Deputy Director for HHSA’s Mental Health Services Division. “We want to remind people that they are not alone. We are here to help.”

...Mental health problems are more common in adults with 26 percent of people 18 and older—about 58 million—suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder. Furthermore, about six percent of adults suffer from a serious mental illness.Continued

Making Mental Health Services a Priority

Pamela B. Smith, Director, County's Aging & Independence Services

....Imagine being physically frail, with no family still living or available to help you. How tough would that be to cope with your day-to-day activities? Now imagine you also have a mental illness, such as debilitating depression or paranoia. Would you even seek help?

Nearly 20 percent of older adults experience some significant symptoms of mental illness. Most of those, about two-thirds, suffer in silence, without the treatment that could potentially improve the quality of their lives.

Aging & Independence Services has the Senior Team, which is made up of licensed social workers and psychiatric nurses who are dispatched to evaluate older adults who may be having a mental health crisis. The Senior Team members ...Continued

Alzheimer's is Not a Normal Part of Aging

...Alzheimer’s is a progressive and degenerative disease that attacks the brain destroying the brain cells and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior such as inability to control bodily functions, difficulty in learning, impairment of judgment, and personality changes, loss of language skills, and it is the leading cause of alzheimers and dementia. The disease is so severe that it increasingly interferes with an individual’s daily functioning.

Recent studies suggest that Hispanic/Latino individuals are at a three times greater risk of developing dementia due to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases – including stroke and diabetes. Currently, there are more than 42,000 Hispanic elderly adults in San Diego County, and with an estimated one in ten over age 65 with dementia, there are currently more than 4,000 Hispanic families coping with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. Aggravating this problem...Continued

Having an IMPACT on Depression

Pamela B. Smith, Director, County's Aging & Independence Services

....Depression is not a direct result of aging, however, physical problems and losses that might befall us as we get older can spark emotional trouble. Likewise, mental and emotional difficulties can manifest as physical problems.

A patient might go into the primary doctor and say, “I’m tired all the time,” but the patient doesn’t tell the doctor he or she is having problems with stress, anxiety and depression, says Dr. Jürgen Unützer, a geriatric psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Washington. So the emotional root of the physical problem may never be treated.

...Older adults are generally not forthcoming with their doctors when it comes to mental health problems. They focus instead on physical symptoms, says Dr. Unützer. Some patients don’t even think of their doctor as treating anything but physical problems.

Dr. Unützer was the lead researcher in the largest treatment trial for late-life depression, which followed 1,801 depressed, older adults from 18 diverse primary care clinics across the United States. Half of the participants were enrolled in a depression treatment model called IMPACT. After a year of treatment in the study, IMPACT patients were more than twice as likely as patients in usual care to report at least a 50 percent reduction in depressive symptoms. Continued

The Parkinson's Journey and The Help Along the Way

By The Parkinson's Disease Association of San Diego

....No one knew how long Raquel had been hiding her symptoms. She was afraid of what was happening, since she had seen her brother and sister experience the same physical changes. When it was no longer possible to hide her symptoms, Raquel decided to make an appointment with her primary care doctor. Her doctor referred her to a Neurologist, a doctor that specializes in movement disorders; and when the doctor saw Raquel’s shaking tremor, he confirmed that she had Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s physical symptoms include resting Tremor (shaking of hands or feet), rigidity of the spine, slow movements and development of a stooped posture.

After Raquel was diagnosed, she became embarrassed about letting others know what she was going through, so only family members knew she had the disease. Raquel became depressed about her prospects, which is fairly common following a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Parkinson’s disease is caused...Continued

Mentoring Foster Teens to Independence

Pamela B. Smith, Director, County's Aging & Independence Services

...Each year, approximately 4,000 youth in California “age out” of foster care, meaning they exit the child welfare system simply because they reach the age of 18, not because they have been returned to families or adopted.

After leaving the system, 70 percent of youth report they would like to attend college, but fewer than 10 percent of those who graduate from high school enroll in college. Nationwide, only 46 percent of foster youth even complete high school. Nearly half of former foster youth experience homelessness within 18 months of emancipation and a quarter are incarcerated within two years. In the County of San Diego, multiple initiatives are changing these statistics in a positive way and supporting a former foster youth graduation rate 30 percent above the average. Continued

Salud+HealthInfo is for information and educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal medical attention, diagnosis or hands-on treatment. If you are concerned abut your health or that of a child, please consult your family's physician or health provider immediately and do not try to diagnose yourself.

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