Mental Health, More Important Now Than Ever

How big of a problem is this? 

• Mental illness is a major public health problem which causes vast amounts of human suffering and is estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year. 
• It affects children and adults and, lately, adolescents have been hit particularly hard.
• Over the course of a lifetime clinical depression hits about 21% of Americans. _(3,7)
• Women are affected about twice as much as men. 
• Average age of onset of depression and anxiety is 30 and prevalence decreases after age 55 ₍₃₎
• In a given year 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 kids (6-17) experience a mental health disorder ₍₁₎

What’s different now? 

• The COVID pandemic has brought with it a significant  increase in symptoms of depression, hopelessness and loneliness in the US.  
• Health care workers are particularly affected and have had increasing rates of exhaustion and suicidal thoughts. ₍₂₎ 
• Over the last few years rates of suicide, intimate partner violence, child abuse and substance abuse have all gone up. ₍₆₎
• Per the Word Health Organization the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.₍₂₎
• COVID-19 infection brings its own problems to the table. ₍₄₎
• It’s estimated that at least 50% of the US population has had COVID-19 and we know that the illness itself can have long lasting psychiatric effects. 
• Severe infection with COVID-19 has been associated with a 1.5x increased risk of a psychiatric diagnosis.

One important thing we can do is to help people understand that help is available. The message must be clear: There is no shame in mental illness.  Those who are suffering are not alone. Reaching out to loved ones or your care team is the first step.  

Mytonomy can help

• • Mytonomy leads the industry with quality mental health patient education video content. 
    • Mytonomy’s 50+ videos are comprehensive, easy to understand and engaging. 
    • Four of the general mental health videos which include the PHQ-9 questionnaire and explains the different types of therapists available including EAP.
    • The videos address the shame people might feel about getting help, financial and insurance issues they might encounter, and how to get low cost care.
    • They also discuss how to take psychiatric medications. 
  • Depression - A 22 video depression module contains first-person “patient stories” that viewers can connect with on a personal level and feel less alone.  They provide an overview of  depression, discuss how to recognize the symptoms; and explain the treatments available. 
  • Postpartum is often missed so our mental health library includes Depression During Pregnancy which helps viewers understand why they are feeling what they are feeling.  
    • Patients learn how to identify prenatal and postpartum depression, and learn about risk factors. 
    • The videos normalize pregnancy-related depression and help patients live with the emotions surrounding it. 
    • Patients get an overview of available treatments (which, in turn, have their own videos in the series)
  • Anxiety - 10 videos on anxiety include information for patients about the symptoms and disorder and include information on using the GAD-2 and GAD-7 self-assessment tests.  
  • Sleep and Mental Health content addresses the importance of sleep to mental well-being and the negative effects that lack of sleep have on pre-existing mental health issues.
  • Well-Being - 18 well-being videos are delivered in a gentle and understanding way and offer not only information but act as support themselves. They include actual guided meditations, breathing exercises and coping skills; discuss how food, supplements and CBD affect mental health; and how to care for a loved one living with depression.
    • There are videos on grief and trauma, including grief from loss during the pandemic, and how to handle those feelings. 
    
    

As with all of Mytonomy’s content, patients are encouraged to engage with their care team making a closed loop from diagnosis to prescription and back to the careteam.

During this time of increased loneliness, isolation and mental health struggles we need solutions. 

Mytonomy mental health videos help decrease stigma and shame so patients can feel less alone and feel more empowered to reach out for help.  

Sources

1. https://www.nami.org/
2. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide 
3. https://www.uptodate.com/ 
4. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2008017 
5. https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/social-distancing-domestic-violence.pdf
6. https://time.com/5928539/domestic-violence-covid-19/
7. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2671413