I came across this organisation online.

They promote screening of Mental Health Issues. The issues they work with are as follows:

• Depression (including treatment options), bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder
• Alcohol (including treatment options)
• Eating disorders
• Suicide

Nowhere on this site does Schizophrenia appear.

Although this illness is more common than realised, it seems that yet another organisation pretends it isnt an issue nor of importance, enough to accept it and work toward screening.  

Here is how they profile themselves:

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH) is dedicated to promoting the improvement of mental health by providing the public with education, screening, and treatment resources.

SMH pioneered the concept of large-scale mental health screening and education programs in 1991, with its flagship program, National Depression Screening Day (NDSD). SMH programs—provided both in-person and online—educate, raise awareness, and screen individuals for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol use disorders, and suicide.the premier provider of mental health screening programs

After looking through the site, I just felt the need to give them my personal opinion and question why they didnt see any importance in showing awareness and importance of Schizophrenia, so i sent an email :

Hope you like my interpretation of how I look upon Stigma of Mental Health but more importantly Stigma of Schizophrenia!

But I`m a little confused as to your organization and its role ......

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH) is dedicated to promoting the improvement of mental health by providing the public with education, screening, and treatment resources.

Is the basic statement you make when describing your aims and actions within society.

also

[Quote]

Info & Facts

Learn more about mental health from these useful fact sheets:

    Depression (including treatment options), bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder

    Alcohol (including treatment options)

    Eating disorders

    Suicide

What concerns me is that you decline to include any information in regard to Schizophrenia AT ALL?

Oh and you also forgot OCD too.

I am a paranoid Schizophrenic and have lived with it for 40 yrs. I am now 46 and I manage it very well with medication and learning to keep what may be detrimental to me at arms length and all that is good and positive is embraced.

If you seriously represent Mental Health, why do you decline from including schizophrenia as part of what u aim to achieve for all society?

I find it frustrating and disappointing when I look for organizations like yourselves and the input and importance of schizophrenia seems like someone said " Oh, lets not go there, i mean it could open a can of worms"

Yes I`m schizophrenic with a edge of paranoia included. But I am also an intelligent and articulate woman who is pretty switched on on most aspects of mental health, not just my own illness but most mental illnesses.

I understand that you may say, well there are so many different diagnosis`s in MH and we would never have time to provide any kind of service or resources if we included them all.

Maybe you might find what i am about to say slightly insulting although hand on heart it is not meant to come across that way at all,

I am sick of the media hype on a certain number of mental illnesses that are starting to come across as a "New Trend" its fashionable to have Bi-Polar, many stars have spoken openly about it, as have many spoken about their secret eating disorders, OCD and how they have fought depression and come out of it a stronger person... In the UK everyone talks about Bi-Polar and what stars have said they suffer with it, David Beckhams, apparently has OCD, and Ruby Wax talks about her struggle with depression.. Oh your angle on Depression- are we talking Just Depression or Do you mean Clinical Depression?

Your organization comes across as referring to a list of mental illnesses that if i can see, probably many other people will notice , all the illnesses you list, are treatable and can be overcome literally.

Which if you promote your site with its information and what differences you can help make toward people suffering from an illness on your list, and to which, nearly all can be treated and how people can go back to leading normal almost ..lives and get life back on track..

As I'm a Anti-Stigma Activist for MH and schizophrenia in particular, when i find sites like this ..it dis-heartens me and i feel that yet again societies leaders in providing help, resources and answer questions for many, they have let those of us with schizophrenia, down.. Ive known a room to immediately empty when the word schizophrenia is said out loud.

I believe if you are going to provide a Mental Health service by making resources available and information on listed issues, along with further links, your goals and how your organization plays a vital role in society in helping people overcome mere acceptance issues on how they are, and those who need to understand why and how someone in their family is suffering from depression, and what they can do to help ..etc...all this...

Then you seriously have an obligation and a certain duty  and acknowledge that there are if anything more need and support to many people out there suffering and not receiving appropriate and adequate care in their community, feel isolated and alone suffering in silence for fear of repercussions from those living around them.

Please understand that I felt the need to explain my feelings on your organization and that i truly feel that a lot of organizations fall short of providing a total enterprise almost and a source of mental health in reality showing statistics and information on all the different illness of mental health and how they aim to approach and support MH in its entirety and for once ACKNOWLEDGE THE SERIOUSNESS OF HOW GOVERNMENT HEALTH SERVICES ARE FAILING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE WHO ARE IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS Situations that if dealt with properly in the first place they would have never been in the state in current times

thank you for reading my message to you, i understand if you find it a kinda `Rant` at times, but its just my passion to try change how the world treats, understands gets educated and help all service users and those who need to be ¬IN THE SYSTEM in order to be treated. All i know and understand is that one thing for sure :

Stigma kills.

yours sincerely

Leona Jones.

I hope I get a positive reply from them sometime soon, fingers crossed!

h