EDITORIAL
Pay attention to your mental health

Eastern medicine has long operated under the assumption that mental and physical health are linked. And finally the West is catching up, as a growing body of evidence supports the mind-body connection.

Yet mental illness remains saddled with a stigma that prevents many who suffer from seeking help. And like any disease, the longer it goes untreated, the worse it gets.

In light of that, we urge folks to check out today's free screening for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. As part of National Depression Screening Day, the Rehabilitation Association of Hawai'i will offer free mental health screenings at Kahala Mall today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Not only will the screening attempt to identify the aforementioned mental health concerns, but it will also provide help with managing stress and recognizing the physical symptoms of these imbalances.

Expect to be asked:

• Have you lost pleasure in things you used to enjoy?
• Do you have trouble sleeping or eating?
• Does your mood fluctuate between overly "high" to sad and hopeless?
• Are you keyed up and anxious all the time?
• Are you having nightmares about something that happened in the past?
• Do you suffer from unexplained aches and pains?

Consider these statistics provided by United Self Help:

Untreated depression is the second leading case of disability in the United States. Depression is widely considered the most treatable illness through medication and/or talk therapy. Yet only one in four clinically depressed people get treatment.

Depression is also the leading cause of alcoholism. Plus, more than half the visits to primary care physicians are mental-health related and doctors miss half of the cases of depression.

If you were worried about diabetes, or breast or colon cancer, you'd go for a screening. So why should mental illness be any different? Don't be ashamed; the road to recovery has to start somewhere.