Hello,

This month blogger Paige Boggs and I will be holding an event on Facebook to help raise awareness for Mental Health. If you can’t make it, that’s okay. I will be sharing valuable information for those who would like to learn more about mental health.  https://www.facebook.com/events/348600185325125/372232296295247/

Mental health is so incredibly important. My hope for this event is to spread awareness to more people so they understand mental illnesses. It is very important, and sadly, over the years I have spoken to so many people regarding illnesses and found that so many think mental illness isn’t real. They believe it’s all in the person’s mind. This is definitely not the case.

Did you know…

In 2012, there were an estimated 9.6 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) in the past year.

Some interesting stats regarding mood disorders… Approximately 20.9 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder. The median age of onset for mood disorders is 30 years. Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

Awareness for mental health is slowly becoming important, but it needs to be treated as physical heath. Both come hand in hand and both are crucial.

I remember in 1999, there was a school shooting in Columbine, CO. I’m fairly certain you all have heard or remember the event. Of course, this was not the first school shooting at all. When I read about it and the incredible book by Dave Cullen, I learned so much about the two boys who were responsible for the tragedy. Both had a severe mental illness, and both parents did nothing to rectify their situations. Had their parents paid more attention to their sons, perhaps this tragedy could’ve been avoided. Of course, there is NO way to know for sure. This event really got to me, because I could have been a victim of a shooting or even a mental illness. My heart will always be with those who are lost and those who lost their lives.

Please stay tuned as I will be posting more about mental health awareness.

Thank you,

Carrigan