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May is Mental Health Month, 'Mind Your Health'The 2006 theme for Mental Health Month is "Mind Your Health." Celebrating May as "Mental Health Month" calls attention to mental health disorders and their ability to be treated. Mental illness can strike anyone. It knows no age limits, economic status, race, creed or color. During the course of a year, more than 54 million Americans are affected by one or more mental disorders. Medical science has made incredible progress over the last century in helping us understand, curing and eliminating the causes of many diseases. However, while doctors continue to solve some of the mysteries of the brain, many of its functions remain a puzzle. Even at the leading research centers, no one fully understands how the brain works or why it malfunctions. However, researchers have determined that many mental illnesses are probably the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. These balances may be inherited, or may develop because of excessive stress or substance abuse. It is sometimes easy to forget that our brain, like all of our other organs, is vulnerable to disease. People with mental illnesses often exhibit many types of behaviors such as extreme sadness and irritability, and in more severe cases, they also may suffer from hallucinations and total withdrawal. Instead of receiving compassion and acceptance, people with mental illnesses may experience hostility, discrimination and stigma. For these reasons, "Mind Your Health" is the perfect slogan. Paying attention to your body and the symptoms you experience is important. Each year May is nationally recognized as Mental Health Month. Local organizations organize activities to promote mental wellness in your community. The Mental Health Association organizes a "Calendar of Events" which lists all of these activities and then distributes between 10,000-15,000 throughout the area. This May, 17 local organizations are participating in Mental Health Month activities. For a complete listing or specific questions, call 721-2910. Take time and always "Mind Your Health." You can help combat stigma and promote mental wellness in Southwest Ohio. You can share your experience with mental illness. Your story helps people understand mental illness can strike anyone and is nothing to be embarrassed about. You can help people with mental illness re-enter society by supporting their efforts to obtain housing and jobs. You can respond to false statements about mental illness or people with mental illnesses. Many people have wrong and damaging ideas on the subject. Accurate facts and information may help change both their ideas and actions. The Mental Health Association of Southwest Ohio is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocacy, education, and supportive services. MHA has a support group clearinghouse of more than 550 local support groups which can be accessed at www.mentalhealthassn.org or by calling 287-8542. MHA's support group clearinghouse is supported by United Way of Greater Cincinnati, grants from local mental health boards and private donations. Liz Atwell is the associate director of the Mental Health Association and an active board member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Cincinnati Chapter. She can be reached at 860-8361 or by e-mail at ematwell@mhaswoh.org. original source: http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060511/EDIT/605110319/1078/Local
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