Portage County sees increase in mental health awareness

Lydia Taylor

Mental health affects over 44 million people in the U.S., which is one in six people, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Despite the statistics, Joel Mowrey, executive director of the Portage County Mental Health and Recovery Board, said everyone experiences a mental illness at some point in their lives, even when they don’t realize it.

“Stress is a large part of mental illness and everyone experiences stress,” Mowrey said. “And sometimes that stress can affect aspects of people’s life.”

Karyn Hall, the director of communications for the Portage County Mental Health and Recovery Board, said there’s been a rise of people seeking treatment for mental illness in Portage.

“We believe since there’s been an awareness to it and letting people know it’s alright to talk about it has made people want to seek treatment even more,” Mowrey said. “We try to help get rid of this stigma that surrounds mental health and let people know it’s entirely normal.”

Mental health illnesses are broken down into two categories: Any mental illness (AMI) and serious mental illness (SMI). NIMH defines AMIs as disorders that “can vary in impact, ranging from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment” whereas SMIs can result in “serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.”

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), African-Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience an SMI than the rest of the population.

The Reporting Public Policy group reached out to NAMI about the statistics, but have not received comment.

NAMI states the most common mental health illnesses for African-Americans include major depression, attention deficit major activity disorder (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They are also at high-risk for suicide.

Although African-Americans are more likely to have an SMI, the population has the lowest rate when it comes to seeking out treatment options — 23.9 percent only seek treatment, compared to hispanics (31) and whites (48.7).

NAMI attributed religious and cultural beliefs, which Mowrey echoed.

“Sometimes it’s just apart of their culture or sometimes, some people don’t realize that what they are feeling is a mental illness,” Mowrey said. “When that happens, they don’t seek treatment because they don’t think they need it, but that’s what we’re here for.”

“We have quite a few programs throughout the county that provide different services depending on what people need,” Hall said.

Services include Coleman Professional Services, which provides individual and group counseling; Townhall II, which also does individual and group counseling, along with detox referrals and residential treatment for women; and Family and Community Services, which provides recovery housing and residential treatment for men.

According to NIMH, young people ages 18-25 have the highest prevalence in mental illness and according to the American Psychological Association, anxiety and stress are the most common mental illnesses in college students.

“Sometimes, especially for students, (stress) can cause them to miss class or do poorly in their classes,” said Mowrey. He said a goal of the recovery board is to make services as available as possible by helping people with payment plans.

“We don’t want anyone to feel like money is a barrier when it comes to getting treatment,” Mowrey said. “We want to make it as easy and as affordable as possible.”

In order to get a student angle, the Reporting Public Policy group also reached out to Kent State Psychological Services to discuss its options for students on campus, but were not available for an interview.

Even though the statistics show certain races and ethnicities may suffer from more mental illnesses compared to others, Mowrey said it’s an issue that’s indiscriminate.

“Mental illness affects everyone, no matter who you are,” he said.