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One recent afternoon, I found myself
sitting across from a woman from Clifton’s Little Rocky Run
neighborhood. This woman looked the part of the typical Northern
Virginia suburban mother of several children: she was charming,
intelligent and dynamic. I could imagine her racing her children
back and forth to and from soccer games and attending PTA meetings.
She reminded me of the many other suburban mothers I had encountered
while growing up in Centreville during the 1990s, and the
conversation, which focused on the pressures of life, resembled many
others I had with friend’s parents over dinner tables. The
difference in this situation was that we were on Inova Fairfax
Hospital’s fourth floor, the home of psychiatric unit. I was there
visiting another patient. This woman had come voluntarily, after
deciding that pride, avoidance and denial were no answer to the
depressions, the dangerous manic highs and other mood disturbances
she had felt over the years.
Listening
to this mother and wife who had been recently diagnosed with bipolar
disorder got me to thinking of the benefits of preventive care through
screening for mood disorders and other psychiatric illnesses at a
time when psychiatry is under assault from everyone from Tom Cruise
to critics of government spending.
In Northern
Virginia, a mental health care crisis has begun. In a November 2004
article in The Washington Post, health officials warned that the
recent and planned closures of psychiatric wards and hospitals in
the area could result in “longer waits in emergency rooms, more
mentally ill patients in jails and fewer options for very
troubled—and occasionally dangerous—people.” While I do not
subscribe to the Post’s hyperbole about the “very troubled” or
“dangerous” nature of most psychiatric patients, I do believe that
two of the steps that can be taken to reduce the need for
psychiatric hospitalization are early screening for psychiatric
illnesses and support groups for the 22 percent of Americans over
age 18—that's one in five—whom the Archives of General Psychiatry
and the National Institute for Mental Health say suffer from mental
illness.
When talking with the woman at Inova Fairfax, I
could not help but think she would have been better off if she had
been screened for a mental illness at an early age, especially now
that most psychiatric disorders can be effectively treated, although
not cured, through medications and psychotherapy. On the
preventative care front, on Oct. 6, in conjunction with National
Depression Screening Day, clinics in Alexandra, Arlington, Falls
Church and Sterling all provided free mental health screenings.
Dr. Anne Esquivel, a Centreville psychologist who
specializes in counseling and coaching, calls mental health
screening “a proactive approach,” adding that, “the earlier
depression is identified, the more quickly treatment can begin and
hence help the individual return to a quality of life they desire.”
She points out that the advantages to mental health screening are
“that individuals have the opportunity to assess their symptoms and
speak with a trained mental health provider about their symptoms at
no cost.”
Dr. Esquivel adds that “another advantage of
depression screening is that often individuals who do not view
themselves as being depressed because they have felt that way for so
long and think feeling that way is normal” get the opportunity to
realize that there is something that can be done to help them feel
better.
I know that, when that mother and wife leaves Inova
Fairfax after a few days, she is going to need the support of not
only a psychiatrist but that of her family, friends and community.
As a part of that, awareness about mental illness is an important
element of the equation.
Since the beginning of the year, my
mother, Frances Blair, and a licensed therapist, Mike Kachura, have
been working on starting a bipolar support group—based in
Centreville but for anyone in the region—for those with bipolar and
their loved ones. I would encourage all those who have bipolar
illness and their loved ones to get in touch with the support group
through my e-mail address below. What you will find, perhaps to your
surprise, is that, while bipolar illness can be painful and
traumatic, there is a community of survivors out there who are some
of the most talented, creative and intelligent people I have
met.
There is something to be said, I believe, for the
connection between moods, madness, intelligence and creativity.
There is also something to be said, as someone who is bipolar, for
survival through the shared knowledge of a support network and the
simple comfort of knowing that you are not walking this road alone.
Jayson Blair can be reached at jayson@jayson-blair.com .
For more information, visit http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org |