Environmental Health And Mental Health

From: http://www.storyofstuff.org

The video above describes why the way we live our lives contributes to a poor environment. Society's obsession with buying the next great item, even if the item they have is perfectly fine, results in many toxins being released into the air, due to the way new things are produced. In addition, all of our old stuff collects in fields, further polluting the environment. A polluted environment is not only bad for physical reasons, such as triggering asthma and causing heart problems, but research has also shown negative mental health outcomes associated with poor environments.

Rocha, Perez, Rodrugez-Sanz and Borrel conducted a study comparing environmental problems and mental health outcomes among people aged 16 to 64. They found that those who experienced more environmental problems had a higher prevalence of common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. The strongest environmental predictors for experiencing common mental disorders were foul odor, polluted air, and no green areas.

These findings are extremely important because they highlight the fact that we cannot dismiss the environment when attempting to prevent mental illness and improve mental health. Protecting the environment is vital if we want to live healthy lives, both physically and mentally. Therefore, we need to be invested in figuring out how to improve the environment. Research shows this will result in better mental health outcomes.

Social Marketing and Suicide Prevention

This is a video that I created which demonstrates how to use social marketing in suicide prevention. 

Social Marketing focuses on convincing people to want to adopt a specific behavior. While many might not think that suicide prevention involves behavior change, it definitely does. The thing is, it doesn't necessarily involve changing the behavior of the suicidal person, but instead focuses on the behavior of those who might come in contact with that suicidal person.

Learning the signs of suicide, being aware of local resources, knowing how to ask someone if they are suicidal, being a friend to a bullied youth, reporting bullying, and knowing what you can do if someone you know is suicidal are all examples of behaviors that you can try to get people to adopt through the use of social marketing. Campaigns can build around convincing people to want to know the warning signs and can also provide suicide prevention training. Social Marketing campaigns can also target the suicidal person through messages designed to increase their comfort in asking for help from family and friends or in calling the suicide hotline.

Social Marketing, if used correctly, can definitely be a great way to prevent suicide. If you want to learn more about how to apply social marketing to suicide prevention, be sure to watch the above video. 

Destigmatizing Mental Illness Using Social Marketing

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/socialmarketing/training/basics/index.htm

Social Marketing is a great tool to use to change health behavior, especially in the field of mental health. Mental health issues are stigmatized and people don't want to talk about them. There is a lot of shame attached to most mental illnesses. Those who suffer with them are afraid to seek help or talk to their friends and family because of this shame, and friends and family members know very little about mental health issues because it is never talked about. You might see an advertisement for an anti-depressant like Zoloft on television, or hear about a study you might be eligible to participate in while listening to the radio, but you won't hear about too many fundraising walks dedicated to raising money for mental health issues. Nonprofits dedicated to raising awareness about mental health get far less attention than those that feed the homeless, or raise money for cancer research, when often times mental illness is one of the reasons behind homelessness, and many people fighting cancer also struggle with mental health due to their illness.

Social Marketing can get people talking about mental health. If we can make it so that people aren't so afraid to talk about it, then perhaps it can become less stigmatized. Perhaps less people will struggle through this alone. Those with cancer, or diabetes, or even those attempting to lose weight, these people aren't expected to face these struggles alone. Yet many with mental illness keep their illness a secret. They fight alone, with no support from the people who love them, and all too often, no support from professionals.

If more communities enacted Social Marketing campaigns urging people to ask for help, or encouraging friends to ask how their friends are doing, and really listen, perhaps we could see behavior change. We could see more people being open about their mental health.

Click the link above to be taken to the CDC's Social Marketing learning module, so that you can learn how to apply Social Marketing and perhaps use it in your community to destigmatize mental illness.