On February 6, 2002, Matthew Goodman died due to an alleged abused committed by mental health practitioners. His awful story starts when he was diagnosed with autism when he was still a toddler. When he was nine years old, Matthew was put under a residential program run by Bancroft Neurohealth Inc.

Goodman died at a nearby hospital due to acute respiratory distress, pneumonia and blood infection. His parents alleged that excessive use of restraints and improper medication when he was still at the mental health institution caused the weakening of his immune system. Further, his parents cited evidence that Matthew was put in restraints for hours at a time or, worse, even overnight. They also cited medical report showing the lost of 23 pounds by Matthew in his last six days.

An official investigation concluded that Matthew had been abused and neglected a month before he died. However, the investigation said that the mistreatment he received at the mental health institution did not cause his death.

People with severe and relentless mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder also bear a greater physical burden; they are at increased risk for obesity and chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and nicotine dependence. Serious mental illness is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality; these patients die an average of 25 years earlier than the average individual due to higher rates of medical illness than can lead to premature mortality.

These gloomy statistics inspired Ken Jue, MSW, CEO of Monadnock Family Services in Keene, New Hampshire to start the In SHAPE program. “What we’re trying to do is prevent premature death of persons with serious mental illness,” says Jue.

Research shows that people with schizophrenia and other psychotic and mood disorders who exercise three times a week for approximately 4 months lose weight, gain cardiovascular fitness, and experience less depression and fewer psychiatric symptoms. But few programs exist to help people with SMI maintain healthier lifestyles; for example, fewer than 20% of people with schizophrenia engage in regular exercise, and approximately 40% are completely inactive. In SHAPE is one of the few wellness and prevention program for individuals with SMI that seeks to fill this void.

Due to greater understanding of how many Americans live with mental illnesses and addiction disorders and how expensive the total healthcare expenditures are for this group, we have reached a critical tipping point when it comes to healthcare reform. We understand the importance of treating the healthcare needs of individuals with serious mental illnesses and responding to the behavioral healthcare needs of all Americans. This is creating a series of exciting opportunities for the behavioral health community and a series of unprecedented challenges Mental health organizations across the U.S. are determined to provide expertise and leadership that supports member organizations, federal agencies, states, health plans, and consumer groups in ensuring that the key issues facing persons with mental health and substance use disorders are properly addressed and integrated into healthcare reform.

In anticipation of parity and mental healthcare reform legislation, the many national and community mental health organizations have been thinking, meeting and writing for well over a year. Their work continues and their outputs guide those organizations lobbying for government healthcare reform. .

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY

Lomas (2009) carried out a survey with at least 283 mental health professionals of which half of them were nurses.  Evidence from the research showed that even though 80% of the participants were in support of the idea that sexual health promotion was a vital part of their role, only 30%, representing less than half the participants regularly discussed sexual health with mental health patients, (Lomas 2009).   A revelation also made by Lomas (2009), survey suggested that 92% of respondents had no clue that people with schizophrenia were at an increased risk of contracting HIV than the general population, 72% were not even convinced that they were more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviour.   From the participants, 14%  felt uncomfortable discussing sexual health issues with mental health patients, gay and lesbian issues was a very uncomfortable topic for 13% of them.  This queries whether mental health nurses are well equipped to promote sexual health, (Lomas 2009),

Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any worse, more banks went under. More countries are declaring economic crisis. It seems that the world’s financial problems are bound to get worse. Even if you do not have considerable investments in various banks, I am sure that you are feeling the stress that results from these economic upheavals. I sure am. I am just an average person, with a little savings, an insurance plan, and a retirement plan. I also have my day to day expenses, which seem to be getting bigger and bigger while my wages do not change at all. And I bet that many of you are in the same boat.

Lately, I have been finding myself unable to immediately sleep at night. Normally, I clear my mind of everything as I lie in bed. Lately, though, it gets harder and harder. My financial problems just seem to pop up every time. Like this particular expense that I have been dealing with for the past week – I have to continue paying some people I hired for a home improvement project. It is actually depleting my hedge fund! Then I forgot that my insurance payment is due this week – and I am not getting money till the week after. If you are in a similar situation, I am sure you can understand how this is bothering me at night.

Does so-called “positive thinking” have any real effect on a woman’s mental health and physical health? Can a change in your thinking actually change your health? The answer is yes, according to a scientific study at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study found that those who responded optimistically to adversity lived longer those who responded pessimistically to adversity.

Adversity and stress visit us all on a regular basis. A quick test of your own current state of optimism is the reaction you have when reading the above paragraphs. Some people gain hope and confidence from the news. Others feel helpless and shake their heads while muttering something negative. We all see both reactions in life and unfortunately the negative thinking seems to be more common.

Parade magazine reports that in a recent survey, 250,000 women said the number one problem they face every day is stress. One way to face stressful challenges and overcome them is to think optimistic thoughts about how you plan to rise above the situation and solve the problem. Imagine yourself victorious.