Editorial
“Make The World Go Away,” an old Eddy Arnold song, was heard on a local radio station by this writer on his way home from work one day this week. While the sentiment expressed in the song may have been a lament about a love gone wrong, the title effectively captures a feeling many of us are having about a world that is seemingly out of control.
War, or something like it, is going on in Iran, Ukraine, Lebanon and Gaza, among other places around the world. Violence motivated by hate such as occurred in a Mosque in San Diego on Monday is all too common in the U.S. Varying reactions to these dreadful occurrences, often colored by politically polarized views, exacerbate the senselessness of what’s happening in the world today.
Against this backdrop, many of us are experiencing a war within our minds in the form of mental illness. This affliction affects a significant portion of the population and touches the lives of nearly everyone in some fashion. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and our intention here is to bring awareness to a pervasive malady – to convey the message to those who are suffering from it that they are not alone.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, more than 51 million adults in the United States, or about one in five people, are experiencing some form of mental illness, with anxiety disorders being the most common affliction. Nearly a third of y oung a dults a ges 18 to 25 have a mental illness. Forty percent of high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with 20 percent having considered suicide.
Sadly, only about half of those suffering symptoms of mental illness are seeking help. Help is available locally through Rockbridge Area Community Services. The phone number is (540) 463-3141 and website is https://www. racsb.org/. The crisis hotline is 1-855-222-2046. Treatment is available for depression, anxiety and complex conditions like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. RACS offers a full spectrum of mental health services – individualized care, therapy, psychiatric evaluations, medication management and crisis intervention.
If mental illness is affecting you or someone close to you, it’s important to have a conversation about it. By learning and sharing, we can help each other and end any stigma associated with it. It’s really not any different from a physical illness and shouldn’t be regarded any differently. Talking about it – bringing it out in the open – can make a world of difference to those suffering and those affected by it.
The Rockbridge Area Prevention Coalition is holding an event this Friday, May 22, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at Jordans Point Park in Lexington, to bring the community together to create greater awareness about mental illness. There will be a mental health walk, children’s activities and family games. Community resource tables will be available. Concessions will be provided by CHEFS Catering.
We don’t want to “make the world go away.” We want to embrace it and all of its many challenges. We can do this by becoming more aware of mental illness, by seeking out help when we need it, by extending a helping hand to others we encounter who need it.
