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TV Health Reports: Air Date: October 6, 2002
Mental Illness Awareness Week
More than five million people in the U.S. have a serious mental illness.
It’s more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. But there
is a growing optimism for the mentally ill, thanks to new treatment options.
One Iowa City woman is living proof. She’s leading a productive life
while also living with schizophrenia.
Margalea Warner hopes her story will help put an end to the stereo-types
associated with mental illness. Margalea is one of a growing number of
patients with the brain disorder schizophrenia who is leading a more normal
life, thanks to improved treatment options:
"For me, recovery means to me that I can work full-time, that I
can stay out of the hospital, that I can have my own apartment, that I
can have friendships and activities that add spice to my life," she
says.
Thanks in part to recent research at the University of Iowa, Behavioral
Health specialists are now able to offer more effective treatment options
to patients like Margalea:
"We didn’t even really hear the word rehabilitation until
the past few years. So now, rehabilitation has become more a part of treatment
– helping people develop skills maybe they previously had or never
had," says Liz Schnacht, UI Behavorial Health Specialist.
There’s still no cure for schizophrenia and many other mental
illnesses. But Margalea and today’s behavioral health specialists
have hope for future.
"I think there is a lot of hope. There have been just huge advances
over the past several years because of all the research," says Schnacht.
"I think it doesn’t matter how bad your illness is, there’s
still some hope there that wasn’t there before; there’s hope
for better medicines; there’s hope for less stigma; there’s
hope of finding supports – like in the Iowa City community there
are all kinds of supports for people with mental illness," says Margalea.
And her community continues to support Margalea. She recently received
a Goodwill Industries award for facing her disability with a sense of
humor and courage. Margalea hopes her story will inspire others –
and end the stigma surrounding mental illness.
An estimated 48.2 million people in the U.S. have a diagnosable mental
disorder in a one-year period. It’s the number one reason for hospital
admissions nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.uihealthcare.com/behavioralhealth/.
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