June’s history as Pride Month spans three presidential administrations, and its evolving official title reflects society’s developing views towards the LGBTQ+ community.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton first declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, and later, President Barack Obama changed the title to be more inclusive, naming June as LGBT Pride Month. This year, President Joe Biden has extended the reach even further by declaring June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The stress frontline healthcare workers experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond has been well documented.
However, less well-known is the effect the pandemic is having on a different group of frontline healthcare workers: mental health professionals.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our mental health is becoming well-known.
In a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 40 percent of American adults reported symptoms of anxiety and depression due to pandemic-related stressors. Social isolation, job loss, added parenting stress and general upheaval can all explain the added pressure.
Many factors are driving the awareness of mental health in the United States, ranging from the launch of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to the mental health implications of the current COVID-19 public health crisis.
However, we still have a ways to go before mental health is treated equally with physical health.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now that can upset the most balanced of equilibriums.
COVID-19 has caused widespread illness and economic hardship, as our country also goes through ongoing social change and national introspection.
And, then, of course, there’s the election.
Catastrophes, including public health emergencies such as COVID-19, affect mental health, both at the individual and population levels.
Indeed, people experience a wide range of mental health issues during and long after emergencies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a continued effort to make healthcare more affordable and accessible, Beacon Health Options has partnered with Walmart on the opening of their second Walmart Health center, located in Calhoun, GA.
Beacon Care Services, a subsidiary of Beacon Health Options, will provide behavioral and mental health care, including individual, couples, group and family counseling to consumers, aged 6 and up, to address mild-to-moderate mental health issues.
There are several critical factors that have contributed to the rising demand for crisis services: reliance on emergency departments and law enforcement as the de facto crisis system, high suicide rates, stigma around mental illness, inadequate access to behavioral health care, and a relentless opioid epidemic.
As part of our ongoing, in-depth look at that those factors, today Beacon Lens will focus on suicide.
Anna was one of the most talented and creative people I had ever known, and just about everyone who met her felt the same.
Anna was sadly successful, as she was in everything, in ending her life. . . .Unfortunately, the story of a Beacon Health Options employee’s friend is not unique or unfamiliar to many people. Often, the friends and families of people at risk for suicidal behavior disorder have no idea of that risk.