Sept. 7, 2022 – Pooja Mehta began having anxiety and hearing voicesWhen she was just 15 years old.
“I was fortunate to have incredibly supportive parents who insisted that I get professional help. I was very much against the idea, but I listened to them,” says Mehta, who lives in Washington, DC. Mehta was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and auditory hallucinations.
Her parents were concerned about how others would react to her diagnosis.
“I grew up in a South Asian community, and my parents made it very clear that information about my mental illness would not be received well in the community and I shouldn’t tell anyone,” she says.
Beyond a few household members and friends, Mehta, who’s now 27, didn’t share her diagnosis.
She understands that her parents’ advice was for her own protection. But, she says, “I internalized it as self-stigmatization and felt that mental illnessI was ashamed to admit that this is something to be ashamed about. If a patient is not engaged with their therapy or health care treatment, it won’t work very well.”
Mehta had never been to college before she started. Panic attack. She spoke to her friend from the dorm. Mehta was a danger to herself as well as others, so the friend informed college authorities.
“The first time I really told my whole story to people other than the intimate few at home was to a bunch of college administrators at a meeting where I was forced to defend my right to stay on campus and complete my education,” she says, describing the meeting as an “incredibly hostile experience.”
She and the administrators reached a “deal,” where she was allowed to remain enrolled academically but not live on campus. She moved back to her family’s home and commuted to classes.
Mehta was inspired by this experience to speak out against stigma mental illnessHer story and telling it openly. Today, she has a master’s degree in public health and is completing a congressional fellowship in health policy.
Mehta has now shared her story in a book. You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health – With Advice from Experts and Wisdom from Real Individuals and Families,Ken Duckworth MD is the chief medical officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Mehta is just one of 130 people to share their stories of mental illness. The book was written by Mehta as a way to dispel the stigma and educate the general public about mental illness.
Stark Difference
Duckworth says he was inspired to write the book after his own family’s experience with mental illness. His father had bipolar disorder, but there was no “social permission” or permission within the family to talk about his father’s condition, which was shrouded in secrecy and shame, he says.
Duckworth was in second-grade when his father died from a manic episode. His family moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Michigan. He recalled the police taking his father out of the house.
“Something that could move an entire family hundreds of miles must be the most powerful force in the world, but no one was willing to talk about it,” he says he thought at the time.
Duckworth became a psychologist because he wanted to understand his father. psychiatristGet practical tools for helping people suffering from mental illness.
Duckworth had cancer when he was a resident.
“I was treated like a hero, he says. People brought me casseroles when I returned home. My dad was hospitalized for mental illness. There was no cheering or casseroles. It was so stark. My dad suffered from a life-threatening disease that was not his fault. However, society treated him differently. I was motivated to ask, ‘How can we do better?’”
He was driven to find the answer to that question and became the chief medical officer for the alliance.
“This is the book my family and I needed,” he says.
COVID-19’s ‘Silver Lining’
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an estimated 52.9 million people – about one-fifth of all U.S. adults – had a mental illness in 2020. 1 in 6 youth were affected by mental illness. 50% of mental disorders that last a lifetime begin before age 14..
Duckworth states that mental illness has worsened since the COVID-19 epidemic. This is both in the U.S. as well as worldwide. But a “silver lining” is that the pandemic “changed mental illness from a ‘they’ problem into a ‘we’ problem. Mental illness has been experienced by so many people that stigmatization and discussion about it have been reduced. People are now interested in this topic as never before.”
For this reason, he says, “this is a book whose time has come.”
The book includes information on diagnosis, how to navigate the U.S. insurance system, questions about insurance, how best to help loved ones with mental illnesses, practical guidance about how to deal with a variety mental health conditions, as well as how to handle the death or burial of a loved. suicide, how to help family members who don’t believe they need help, how to help kids, the impact of trauma, and how to become an advocate. The book includes advice from experts, doctors, and scientists.
Among the “experts” included in the book are the 130 people with mental illness who shared their stories. Duckworth says that those who have experienced mental illness firsthand possess unique expertise, which is different from the knowledge scientists and health professionals can bring to the table.
Telling their Story
After her confrontation with university administrators, Mehta joined National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“This event prompted me to start a NAMI chapter at college, and it became one of the biggest student organizations on campus,” she says. Today, Mehta serves on the national organization’s board of directors.
She encourages people with mental illness to tell their story, noting that the alliance and several other organizations can “give space to share in a safe and welcoming environment – not because you feel forced or pressured, but because it’s something you want to do if and when you feel ready.”
Duckworth hopes the book will provide useful information and inspire people with mental illness to realize they’re not alone.
“We want readers to know there is a vast community out there struggling with the same issues and to know there are resources and guidance available,” he says.
