Let’s talk about mental health — without the sugarcoat

Jacob DeMenna, MD

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“How are you, really?” is the question Jacob DeMenna, MD and other behavioral health professionals are asking in an effort to break down the stigma surrounding mental health. To learn more, find resources and hear personal stories, visit behavioralhealthinfo.org.

Simple questions often get simple answers. “How are you?” can be quickly dismissed with a reply of “OK.”

But that certainly is not always the case, and we often hide the fact that we’re not OK. When we are honest with the answer, are we ready for it? Be it from ourselves, or someone else? Why is it so hard for us to speak honestly about how we feel?

As a physician specializing in mental health with Valleywise Health, I have seen how hard it can be for people to acknowledge when they are struggling. Mental illness still carries a weight of stigma that physical illness does not.

If you break your arm, you go to the hospital with the knowledge your condition will be understood and you’ll receive appropriate care. But if you are overwhelmed with anxiety, battling depression or hearing voices you don’t understand, seeking help suddenly becomes complicated.

Many battle with shame, fear and misinformation as they seek help. These barriers can be as powerful as the illness itself. The reality is stark: most people struggle in silence for more than a decade, 11 years, before getting help.

That must change.

At Valleywise, we provide care to some of Maricopa County’s most vulnerable individuals, many of them facing serious mental health challenges. We are the largest provider of court-ordered inpatient psychiatric care in Arizona, and we have expanded outpatient services to meet rising demand, including First Episode Centers, which help teens and young adults in the early stages of psychosis manage their illness and refocus on their goals in life. But we cannot do this work alone.

Destigmatizing mental health is not just about providing treatment, it involves everyone approaching the conversation differently. That is why we’re encouraging people across our communities to be more open, more compassionate and more honest when it comes to behavioral health. Those stories you will see are shared by real people sharing their experiences and giving us the confidence to ask for help and reminding us that your brain deserves the same care as your body.

We want you to ask those hard questions. We want you to check in with your loved ones. Most of all, we want you to know it is OK to not be OK.

Mental illness is common. It is treatable. And it is nothing to be ashamed of. But stigma can delay — or stop — someone from getting the care they need.

Let’s move the topic of mental health out from hushed conversations and into the open. Let’s talk about it. Let’s normalize it. Let’s care for ourselves and each other — without judgment.

Let’s make space for honest conversations and honest answers.

Editor’s note: Jacob DeMenna, MD is medical director of Valleywise Integrated Behavioral Health at Valleywise Health, which has locations throughout the greater Phoenix area. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.