January 13th, 2023

Welcome to My Blog

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez from Unsplash

​Hi! Welcome to my blog. One of my favorite things in the world is writing, so I thought why not start a blog? This is going to be a space where I write down my thoughts on different topics, especially mental health. I want this to be a space where people feel less alone, where they can feel like there is another person out there who understands part of their experience. For too long, there has been stigma surrounding mental health, and my hope is this blog will help dispel some of that stigma a little, and encourage open discussions about mental health. 

I wrote this piece below about the need for reform in the mental healthcare system. I hope you enjoy it, and that it makes you think about what we need to do to make the system better for everyone. 

Call to Fix Today’s Mental Health Care System
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Today in the age of the pandemic, mental health is a hot topic. More people than ever are struggling with their mental well being. How do these people, though, get the help they need? Psychiatrists and psychologists are out there, but not all are accessible to everyone.

There is a division in our society of who can afford and access mental health care. Therapists and psychiatrists aren’t cheap. If you don’t have insurance, your ability to access care is limited. If you do have insurance, you are limited to those in-network. Many therapists are out-of-network. In my personal experience with therapy, which spans about 25 years, I’ve been treated by a handful of therapists, and the best ones have been out-of-network. I’ve been with my current out-of-network therapist for about 6 years, but prior to her, my therapy journey has been a negative one, with the extreme of one particular therapist acting in unethical ways, such as making the therapy sessions about her, to the less extreme of another therapist not providing me with the appropriate tools to help me manage my anxiety. 

Therapy, also, isn’t always accessible for certain groups such as the elderly. Some reasons elderly people struggle with mental health include facing the transition from retirement, coping with new medical conditions, and facing mortality and the loss of loved ones.  Elderly people also might develop conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer's, and experience mental health issues as a result. These people don’t deserve to be overlooked. They struggle with mental illness just like the rest of us, yet they are often left untreated because of lack of access and assistance.

Primary care physicians might prescribe elderly patients an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, but this does not solve the problem. Most people can’t just take a pill and feel better when it comes to mental health. A combo of therapy and being monitored by a licensed psychiatrist are what should be done. Unless an elderly person, though, has someone to help him or her find these professionals, they are unlikely to know where to begin to search. Finding them is also an issue in itself. A lot of therapists might not be specialized in treating elderly patients, especially those with memory issues. How does losing memory affect mental health? Is this person’s depression a side effect of dementia or a lifelong issue? 

How does the homeless access mental healthcare? If you’re living on the streets, where are you supposed to turn to for help? So many people are left untreated because of our flawed mental health care system. We need to do better. Much progress has been made in recent years regarding talking openly about mental health, and working to stop the stigma that has historically surrounded the topic. But we need to take it a step further and realize, just as our healthcare system is flawed, so is our mental healthcare system. Everyone deserves equal access to quality psychiatrists and psychologists. None of us should feel alone in our mental health struggles.