The theme of this year’s Mental Health Day is “Mental health in a changing world: the impact of culture and diversity.” Bev Klug, director of Mindfulness-Based Programs at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about maintaining a healthy mental well-being:
What is mental health?
I think of mental health as a combination of being aware of and responding skillfully, both internally and externally, to our thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness practice supports this as it teaches us to be aware of our present-moment experience, accepting what is happening and recognizing that we have choices in how we respond to it. Even when life is very difficult and we have unpleasant thoughts and emotions, it is being able to relate to them in a manner that doesn’t create more suffering for ourselves and others.
We exercise and eat right to stay physically healthy. What can we do to stay mentally healthy?
The mind and the body are connected so eating well and staying physically healthy can impact our mental health significantly. Also learning to manage and reduce stress; making time for things we enjoy and that are meaningful to us, cultivating friendships; learning to be in the present rather than chronically jumping ahead to the future, being stuck on the past or being on auto-pilot and just going through the motions of our lives without really living them.
Can a person dealing with illness and death also have mental health issues?
The response to illness and death is grief. Grief is not a mental illness although, unfortunately, in our culture it often gets treated that way. The grieving process is a normal response to loss. It can be more complicated if the person already has a mental illness prior to the loss. Sometimes people benefit from the support of grief counselors or therapists after a loss. Part of being mentally healthy is knowing when to ask for support.
What kind of barriers do you see to effectively treat mental illness?
I think the fact that, if you Google mental health, you only get sites that deal with mental illness is an important barrier. We don’t do enough with education and prevention/wellness efforts to help people learn from an early age to take care of themselves mentally, emotionally and physically and to maintain that throughout their lifetime. These efforts are essential to mental health and need to be better supported in our educational and healthcare systems. Most insurance providers don’t cover the costs of prevention or wellness programs even though there is plenty of evidence that such programs keep people healthier mentally, emotionally and physically, and reduce costs.
Then, when someone does have a mental illness, resources are limited. Most insurance companies reimburse mental health providers at a much lower rate than other forms of healthcare so it makes it difficult for people to get the services they need for as long as they need them. Then, of course, there is still a great deal of social stigma in our culture regarding people with mental illness.
How do the Mindful-Based Programs at UI Hospitals and Clinics help someone with a mental health issue deal with what is happening?
We have two programs that help with mental health issues and prevention/wellness. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a general program that people come to for a variety of reasons and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Program is specifically for the prevention of depression relapse.
Mindfulness teaches us to be aware of our present-moment experience, accepting what is happening and recognizing that we have choices in how we respond to it. People learn to identify and accept internal thoughts, feelings, and body sensations as they are occurring as well as external experiences. From this awareness and acceptance, people learn how to be with their experiences in way that is helpful rather than resisting, avoiding, or numbing out from them. For example, someone with stress (which is almost everyone), anxiety, or chronic pain would learn how to work with these patterns so that their lives aren’t dictated by them.
The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Program is specifically for people who have had at least two episodes of depression and are currently in at least partial remission. We work in a similar way as I described previously only specifically with cognitive, emotiona,l and behavioral patterns associated with depression.
Who should consider joining a mindfulness-based program for their mental well being?
The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program serves a variety of people. Some people come due to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression; some come due to stress-related issues; others come because of chronic illness and chronic pain and several come to take better care of themselves and attempt to prevent mental or physical health problems. Anyone is welcome to participate. UI employees may be eligible for tuition support through the UI Wellness program. This is a wonderful way that the university supports its employees in taking care of themselves.
The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Program is specifically for people who have had at least 2 episodes of depression, are currently in at least partial remission. It is covered by most insurance providers as group therapy. Both programs are eight weeks long.
Does a caregiver need to refer someone to the program?
Many healthcare providers do refer people to the programs but it isn’t required.
If someone is feeling like they would like to consider joining a class to help their mental well being, how would they find out more about the programs?
They can go to our website, e-mail mindfulness@uiowa.edu, or call 319-384-5089. There is a required informational session prior to registering for either program. |
