MENDED #13 | Mental Health Roundup
The Alliance of Mental Health Providers of Oklahoma represents the largest network of mental health providers in the state. We 📣 advocate for better mental health and substance abuse treatment.
MUST READ 💉 😷 🧠 ❣️ 💔 NEW REPORT "The Impact of COVID-19 on Oklahoma Mental Health" from Oklahoma Healthy Minds Policy Initiative
Key Takeaways
Both anxiety and depression increased dramatically, with Oklahoma rates during some periods of the pandemic reaching nearly four times higher than in 2019.
Oklahoma suicides increased 8% to 10% in 2020, and rural areas had a 27% increase.
Overdoses are back to 2017 levels and rising, as more than 2 years of improvements in the death rate have been erased so far. Fentanyl and substance use under age 25 are among the drivers.
Telehealth increasingly has been used to help ensure access to behavioral health services, and for people with commercial insurance, telehealth has become the top method for accessing mental health services.
Access remains challenging for many, and just as many people with a perceived need for therapy do not receive it as receive it. Workforce challenges will continue to pose a barrier to meeting behavioral health needs.
💜 September is Suicide Prevention Month
“We can all help prevent suicide. Every year, the Lifeline and other mental health organizations and individuals across the U.S. and around the world raise awareness of suicide prevention during September, National Suicide Prevention Month.”
📰 Journal Record’s Hamilton: Mental Health Crisis Apparent in Oklahoma
“You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma? Not when it comes to mental health.
“Last year 883 Sooners died by suicide, a 10% jump over 2019, according to Oklahoma Watch. Let that sink in … 833 of our neighbors died in despair, no longer able to cope with life. Heartbreaking.”
📺 OETA, Well Beings To Host “Oklahoma in Crisis: Identifying and Preventing Teen Suicide”
OETA and Well Beings, the public media campaign to address critical health needs in America, announced that they are hosting a free virtual event and discussion on youth mental health.
❣️ 'We need to get rid of the stigma.' Grieving families gather for OKC vigil on overdose awareness day
“With drug overdose deaths on the rise in Oklahoma and across the nation, loved ones of those lost to addiction are leaning on one another for support while calling on lawmakers to increase treatment options and continue lessening the stigma through criminal justice reform.”
👮🏾 Local Councilwoman Nice To Host Discussion on Future of OKC Community Policing
Click the link above to check out the 8 broad recommendations, many of which hit on mental health.
🎖️ The Oklahoman: Viewpoint: Together, we can help prevent veteran suicide
“Our behavioral health providers and suicide prevention care coordinators at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System can get you the support you need.”
⛏️ Virtue Center breaks ground on new, specially-designed facility
"I come from a family that has massive and long struggles with addiction and mental health,” Clark said. “I remember having nights where parents wouldn’t come home. I remember finding liquor bottles and hiding them, because I knew that was what made my family different, and I didn’t understand it. But I know that I’m not the only little girl that grew up in a family like that.
“So, it’s so exciting and so important that we support work like [the Virtue Center’s], because if my mother wouldn’t have gotten help, I would not be standing here in front of you today..." —Norman Mayor Breea Clark
Related Tweets
📈 OCPA Claim: “Medicaid Benefits Prove Overstated”
“The 2013 report also found that Oklahoma’s Medicaid-expansion population ‘has a higher prevalence of serious mental illness, serious psychological distress, and substance use disorders than both the national low-income, uninsured population as well as Oklahoma’s current Medicaid population’ But the services most often provided to Medicaid-expansion enrollees to date suggest those groups are not accessing treatment for drug addiction and associated mental illnesses through Medicaid…” —Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Related Tweet
💼 In Case You Missed It: Integris Gave Away Kits To Help Reverse Opioid Overdoses
On International Overdose Awareness Day, INTEGRIS was the host of a drive-thru free naloxone kit giveaway.
😔 Moore parents charged in methadone overdose death of 6-year-old son
“Unfortunately, we're seeing this happen all too often where there's negative outcomes when, when kids are able to get their hands on unsecured pills inside the home. And so we just, we just stress for parents to safeguard their medication, and if they don't need it anymore, to make sure that they safely dispose of it,” bureau spokesman Mark Woodward said.
🖤 But, What Is Grief, If Not Love Persevering?
“If you are enduring grief, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. You are not alone. And please especially be aware of the mental health of those youngsters around you as these times are very tough for them.”
😶🌫️ The rise of Zoom dysmorphia
“Time spent on the ‘funhouse mirror’ of video-conferencing calls has resulted in a distortion of our self image.”