Kansas City’s mental health community launched Mental Health Month today with a single objective: to encourage everyone in the metropolitan community to talk about mental health.
During a 1-hour event at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, Marsha Morgan, COO of Truman Behavioral Health and the president of the Metropolitan Council of Community Mental Health Centers, urged everyone to be as comfortable discussing their mental health as their physical health.
“If you feel a cold or a fever coming on, or even if you’ve just been diagnosed with heart disease, chances are pretty good you’d feel comfortable telling a spouse or a colleague,” Morgan said. “But not everyone is comfortable talking about the emotional distress they’re having, or about how they’ve been feeling depressed or anxious.“
The need for having this conversation is great. Left untreated, mental illness exacts an enormous human and economic toll. Suicide remains one of the top 10 causes of death in the nation, and, according to a study conducted by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, the economic toll of untreated mental illness in metropolitan Kansas City is $624 million.
The event featured speakers who drew attention to the different approaches individuals can take to start their own conversations about mental health. Former Chiefs player, Anthony Davis, spoke about his experiences living with depression and the important role friends and family play in helping people with mental illness recover. Other topics included: suicide awareness, the impact of trauma on mental health, Mental Health First Aid, and a new initiative called “Text, Talk, Act,” a way to prompt conversations about mental health among teens and young adults. Also speaking at the event were representatives with the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition, which crafted the “It’s Ok to Talk” message as part of an ongoing campaign to fight the stigma associated with mental illness.
Today’s event kicked off a month of activities that will be taking place throughout the metro. For a calendar of those events, go to http://www.mentalhealthkc.org/news.
For more information about mental health in the area, visit:
Metropolitan Council of Community Mental Health Centers: www.mentalhealthkc.org
Mental Health America of the Heartland: www.mhah.org
Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition: www.itsok.us
Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City: www.hcfgkc.org/costs-untreated-mental-illness
– Story from Mark Wiebe, director of public affairs, Wyandot Inc.