BELL COUNTY, TX — May marks Mental Health Awareness Month.
All month long, mental health organizations across the country are doing what they can to teach people about the effects of mental illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 percent of people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime.
The leading national public health institute described mental illness as conditions that affect a person's thinking, feeling, mood or behavior.
Doctors shared with Central Texas News Now, it does not matter what age you are, mental illness can hit someone at any point in their life, and promoting good mental health and finding help is the key to prevention.
“Any illness inside the body when you don't treat it, it grows, it gets worse and it starts to compound other areas in your life and that can be more pervasive and destroy things that you never thought would happen such as your jobs, your relationships and your future,” explained Kenyatta Jones, medical director for behavioral health at AdventHealth Central Texas
Jones also shared, when it comes to mental health, communication is important.
The CDC also reported suicide as a symptom often associated with mental illness. It is the 10th leading cause of death in the nation and second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34.
If you or someone you know is fighting a mental illness, there are resources available to assist, and if you visit your local ER, you should be able to find help.
The Behavioral Health Center at AdventHealth Central Texas also has a 24/7 hotline. The number is 254-628-1000.
