The State Of Mental Health In Mississippi

As Mental Health Awareness Month ends, we have said much on the challenges, the scientific gains and the impact brain diseases have on the individual and their loved ones. From this mental health practitioner’s point of view, the two 800-pound gorillas in the room are: denial and the stigma of mental illness. Denial is a primitive, albeit useful defense mechanism which protects us from an overwhelming loss or mental pain. The problem comes when we become “stuck” in denial and lose our way. “If you are in it. you can’t smell it!” repeats several times a day in the course of Fair Park Counseling’s assisting patients. Next, the stigma of mental illness contributes to patients delaying, or avoiding mental health treatment. Fear of being called “crazy” or “insane” by others causes many individuals needing treatment to isolate themselves, become suspicions of others, and fosters feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. We must take this issue much more seriously when 25% of the population struggles with mental health issues during a life’s course. This fact led us to looking at and researching how Mississippians are affected by Mental Health Issues. Let’s see where Mississippi stands in the Mental Health index from the standpoint of the world’s largest data aggregator, Google. On Sunday, May 26, 2019 we went into Google Trends to look at Mental Health Searches as recorded by Google over the past 12 months. The trends we discovered were startling, to say the least. We concluded this week that we had to share this information with the public. Mississippi fluctuates in rank between Number 9 and 10 in Search Interest for the Term “Mental Health.” For once we are not number one in a high stigma category. We still have much work to do though. This high interest in searching the term “Mental Health” from within the State of Mississippi caused us to dig deeper to see if we could learn more about the searches related to mental health in our State.

Here is what we discovered. The rate of searches, or search volume for Mental Health and related searches has been increasing since January of 2019. As we dug deeper, we found some alarming statistics which we have detailed below.

4 Mental Health Related Searches that have increased over the past year.

1. Searches for “Therapist Near Me” have increased by 110%.
2. Searches for “Mental Health Facility Near Me” have increased by 110% as well.
3. Searches for “Mental Health Therapists Near Me” have increased by 100%.
4. Searches for “Mental Health Counselors Near Me” have increased by 90%.

In the Tupelo, Columbus, West Point Region (which is how Google breaks down our region) there are approximately 182 searches every month for the term “Depression.” What the breakdown does not answer are the following questions.

• Are these unique searches vs multiple searches by the same people?
• Are these searches done by someone suffering from depression or family members looking for answers.
• Most importantly, if the searchers suffer from depression or have family members that suffer from depression, have they sought out the help they need for themselves or their family members?

Are you a Mississippian, who has been searching for answers to Mental Health Related issues?

Have you searched Google for answers to Mental Health problems for yourself or a family member?
Are you one of the people in Mississippi who has been searching for a “Therapist Near Me,” “Mental Health Facility Near Me,” “Mental Health Therapists Near me,” or Mental Health Counselors Near Me?”

If so, we want to encourage you to pick up the phone and at least explore the opportunity of getting help for yourself or your loved ones. As we noted earlier, denial will cause you to get stuck and lose your way. We also noted that there seems to be a stigma attached to mental health issues.

Fair Park Counseling assures you, our compassionate therapists and counselors are here to help you battle, defeat, and overcome the mental health issues that hold you back from being the best version of you possible. We understand discretion and promise to protect your privacy.

Fair Park Counseling offer the following Outpatient Mental Health Services in Tupelo, MS.

1. Mental Health Assessments
2. Assessments and Referrals
3. Depression Counseling
4. Loss and Bereavement Counseling
5. Trauma Counseling
6. PTSD Counseling
7. Alcohol & Drug Services and more

Call Fair Park Counseling today to start your journey to Mental Health Wellness. There is a reason that Fair Park Counseling is “Where Amazing Happens!”

In most cases wellness is truly achievable. In the rare case that we may not be able to help you as outpatient treatment, we can guide you to trusted, local inpatient services that hold the highest standards. We highly encourage you to get a local assessment and referral instead of trusting your mental health to unvetted, out of state “agencies” found online that prey on your pain and do not deliver results.

In conclusion, let us, in the most loving and vigorous way possible, become disruptors of the status quo. We can challenge misguided beliefs and encourage those suffering from mental health issues to seek treatment. Hope is possible.