Budget cuts to services for mental health, people with disabilities alarm patient advocates
June 6, 2020May 25, 2020
By Andy Miller
Reporter Newspapers
https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2020/05/25/budget-cuts-to-services-for-mental-health-people-with-disabilities-alarm-patient-advocates/
“The safety net is stretched to the max.’’
Judy Fitzgerald, commissioner of the agency that oversees mental health and substance abuse services, gave that stark assessment in January to state legislators who were considering budget cuts to her department.
Now, even deeper cuts are on the table.
Georgia’s budget plans of just a few months ago have been overturned by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
more » Read MoreHow nurses can combat mental health stigmas during COVID-19 and after
May 26, 2020
By Rose Kennedy
AJC
https://www.ajc.com/news/how-nurses-can-combat-mental-health-stigmas-during-covid-and-after/zTUkA9bQ8ecAht1ngLTI7K/
Every nurse encounters mental illness in the course of a working day, even those who don’t work in psychiatric or mental wellness settings. In the coronavirus pandemic, mental health issues are even more prevalent, both in medical staff, the patient pool, and the general public.
And the stigmas long associated with mental illnesses only complicate a patient’s ability to seek or receive effective treatment,
more » Read MoreGoogle Partners With NAMI To Create An Anxiety-Disorder Self-Assessment
5/28/2020
NAMI
https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/NAMI-News/2020/Google-Partners-with-NAMI-To-Create-an-Anxiety-Disorder%C2%A0Self-Assessment
Today, in partnership with NAMI, Google has launched an anxiety self-assessment tool. When people in the U.S. look up information about anxiety on Google, they will now have access to a clinically-validated questionnaire called the GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7) that helps evaluate a person’s level of anxiety. After taking the questionnaire, Google will point users to NAMI’s resources.
Anxiety disorders can present in a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms.
more » Read MoreThe Evolution of the Mental Health Movement
Jun 1, 2020
By Jessica Walthall
NAMI
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2020/The-Evolution-of-the-Mental-Health-Movement
As we enter a new decade, it’s important to remember that early NAMI pioneers were up against a society that didn’t understand, let alone talk about, mental illness. People with mental illness and their families were left in the dark, afraid that sharing their experiences could negatively impact their careers, relationships and lives.
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, NAMI advocates had little to work with when it came to spreading awareness.
more » Read MoreBeginner Pilates Mat Class 5/27 7pm Online
Pilates is a mind, body, and spirit practice with benefits that include improved posture, better coordination and balance, increased lung capacity, improved concentration and focus, increased body awareness, stress management, and injury prevention. Mat work is a great choice for everyone from Pilates beginners to advanced students because the exercises not only can build in difficulty, but every exercise can be modified to decrease or increase the level of challenge. Practicing Mat Pilates helps build a strong,
more » Read More‘You aren’t alone in this’ | Crisis hotlines need volunteers to help in extremely high COVID-19 call volume
May 9, 2020
By Maddie Ray, Atticus Investigates, Savannah Levins
11 Alive
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/crisis-hotlines-across-the-country-need-volunteers/85-9612c163-abf3-4076-808c-173a262537e7
Calls to the U.S. Disaster Distress Helpline were up 1,000 percent last month.
Other crisis hotlines across the country are also experiencing a skyrocket in call volume. They are in need of more volunteers to help answer the phone lines.
Hotline call-takers nationwide are experiencing another effect of the pandemic.
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