Jamie Lewis (Host): It's an all too common cycle. Someone who suffers from symptoms of mental illness needs help, but worries too much about the stigma of mental illness to get the help they need, and then maybe suffers more as symptoms grow worse.

Well, Jennifer Redding is a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of behavioral health at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, and she seeks to break the stigmas of mental illness. She joins us today to talk about normalizing the discussion of issues surrounding mental health so people can get the treatment they need.

Welcome to the Live Greater podcast series, information for a healthier you from the University of Maryland Medical System. I'm your host, Jamie Lewis. Hello, Jennifer. Thank you for being here today.

Jennifer Redding: Thank you for having me, Jamie.

Jamie Lewis (Host): I think many of us have a general or a vague understanding of mental health conditions, but we don't always have concrete knowledge of the facts. So help me out, please. What are some symptoms of mental health conditions?

Jennifer Redding: Sure. And I think it's just important to know yourself or know your loved ones or friends. Really what you think about symptoms, it's really something that's just different from who you are, who your loved one is, you notice a change. So, sometimes that can be an increase in sleep. Sometimes it can be a decrease in sleep. Same thing with appetite. Maybe someone is eating more than they used to or less than they usually do.

Another thing would be sadness. So, we all feel sad at different times in our lives and different events. And I don't know about you, but sometimes those commercials really get the best of me. But what I'm really talking about is when sadness lasts for adults, probably a little bit more than two weeks at a stretch. And for kids, it's about a week at a stretch. So if your kiddo, it seems like there's just nothing that can bump them out of that sadness for over a week. That would be relevant symptom.

Other than that a loss of interest in things that typically bring you or them joy, things that you used to like to do, but really don't really help you be happy anymore. And then, another example would be just excessive worry. And I'm not talking about the kind of worry of, "We just had a bad storm last night." And so, "Oh my gosh," I hope the tree doesn't fall on my car, but it's an excessive worry about what could possibly happen.

Host: Right. Okay. So, how are mental health symptoms treated?

Jennifer Redding: Well, I think the first place to start is through connection. And I know that sounds super simple, but that really is one of the most important things that we can do on any given day. We are humans, and we are genetically meant to connect with others. It's what kept us alive back in caveman days. And so, really reaching out to your friends and your family and talking about how you're feeling. You know, if you've been down and you just can't seem to kick yourself out of it, talk to someone about it so that you can feel like you're not alone.

Another important thing to remember is to stick to a routine. Try to get up each morning at the same time. Focus on eating healthy; drinking water, believe it or not; exercising. And if you're like me, I'm not a big exerciser, but even if it's just getting out of your home and walking to the mailbox, just something to cause or create physical activity.

I think what's important to recognize is we all have different things that happen in our lives and we're all going to have perceptually symptoms here and there, but it's when they last longer than like I was talking about earlier, about two weeks if you're an adult, that might be the time where you need to reach out for professional help. And when I say professional help, what I'm talking about is a licensed therapist. Sometimes someone who's not in your family, not in your social network, who has that professional training can really listen to your concerns and help you identify coping strategies that you may have not thought of yet. And if medicine is needed, that therapist can help you navigate and make that decision. But sometimes, talking with a psychiatrist, which is a medical doctor who has specialized in mental health or a psychiatric nurse practitioner, they can really help you make the decision that's right for you.

Host: I've mentioned the word stigma. But as a refresher for listeners, can you please define the word stigma?

Jennifer Redding: Sure. Stigma, what we're talking about today with mental health, is really when someone views themselves or another person in a negative way simply because of a mental health condition. It's that simple.

Host: Okay. Well, in your experience, how can we fight mental illness stigma?

Jennifer Redding: As simple as the definition of stigma is, it's also pretty easy to fight stigma. What I will say is really starting to think about your language. It really does matter. So for example, refrain from using mental health conditions as adjectives. And so, what I mean by that is sometimes we see it on TV or we might even say it ourselves, but someone who may be having mood changes frequently can be described as bipolar or someone who is really particular about a way something needs to be is described as OCD. And so, just those simple sort of things that a lot of people don't even think about can be stigmatizing if you yourself have those diagnoses.

Another thing that you can do to stop stigma really is just talking openly about mental health with your kids, with your family, with friends and your colleagues so that you normalize the fact that we all experience struggles at times with our mental health.

And then finally, just showing compassion, being kind. We don't know what's happening in people's lives and they might put on, you know, a happy face on social media or when they're out socializing, but you would never really know what that person is experiencing. And so, just really trying to be a good human as you see. We see that on Facebook and social media all the time, but there really is something to that.

And then finally, just educating yourself about mental health and mental illness so that you have a good basic understanding of it. If someone does disclose to you that they're struggling, you'll understand it a little bit better.

Host: Okay. Well, for listeners, can you share how to get help if you think you're experiencing symptoms of mental illness?

Jennifer Redding: Sure. One real easy way if you live in or near Hartford County is the Kline Family Center. It is an urgent care walk in center for folks who are experiencing behavioral health or substance use symptoms. It's opened every day, 9:00 a. m. to 9:00 p. m., and you literally walk in without an appointment. You get in front of a licensed therapist. If you need or want to talk to a physician, you can do that as well on Monday through Friday. If you don't live in Hartford County or in the surrounding areas, we have a great phone number that can help you navigate resources, and it's 1-800-NEXT-STEP.

And then finally, if you have insurance, you can look on the back of your card, there's usually a phone number that mentions mental health or behavioral health, and they can navigate some of the providers in your area that accept your insurance. But to make it easy, I would simply suggest the 1-800-NEXT-STEP phone number because they really can help you navigate all over the place.

Host: Let's say that you do wind up having symptoms of mental illness. How can you speak out and normalize mental health?

Jennifer Redding: A couple of things come to my mind. The National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, is a great organization that really is a great advocate for those who have mental illness or those who have loved ones with mental illness. They have a ton of resources. They have drop-in centers in most communities. They put out resource material. And so, that's one place to start.

Another idea would be some community events. A couple that come to my mind, or at least one that comes to my mind, is the Out of Darkness Annual Walk. And it really is to raise awareness about suicide. And so, they do a great bit of outreach. There's usually vendors from different organizations distributing their information. And then, you get to walk around a community or a neighborhood to get some exercise and to walk around with folks that, you know, have similar interests to promote that awareness.

And then last but not least, it's simply talking with your friends and your family members, you know, when you're out and about, if you have kids who play sports. And it doesn't have to be this big event of sharing, but there are opportunities to talk about mental health and even your own mental illness and so, just looking for those opportunities.

Host: These are awesome resources. And in our last few minutes, I'm wondering if you have any key takeaways for listeners.

Jennifer Redding: The main takeaway that I have for anyone listening today who has experienced their own mental health symptoms or is worried about a loved one, is just to remember that you're not alone. We all have mental health struggles, whether we admit it or not. We're human. And so, it's part of our lives.

And again, broken record, you're not alone. There are people who care about you. There are people who want to support you. And the 1-800-NEXT-STEP is a 24/7 hotline you can call. There's also a new initiative throughout the state of Maryland, where you simply dial 988. And so, I just want folks to recognize that they are not alone and there are people that care about them and we're here for you.

Host: Well, Jennifer, thank you for the enlightening discussion about mental health and for all your work in the field.

Jennifer Redding: Thank you.

Jamie Lewis (Host): I'm your host, Jamie Lewis. You've been listening to Live Greater, a health and wellness podcast, brought to you by the University of Maryland Medical System. Find more shows just like this one at umms.org/podcast or on YouTube. We look forward to you joining us again, and please don't hesitate to share this on your social media. Thanks for listening.