- By Cynthia Koons, Riley Griffin and Emma Court Bloomberg
#JamesDonaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
The #isolation, grief and economic hardship related to #Covid-19 are creating a #mentalhealthcrisis in the U.S. that researchers warn could make the already-rising #suicide rate worse.
A study released Friday tried to quantify the toll. The paper, which was not peer-reviewed, found that over the next decade as many as 75,000 additional people could die from “deaths of despair” as a result of the #coronavirus crisis, a term that refers to suicides and substance-abuse-related deaths. The research was done by the Well Being Trust and researchers affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Even as the #American economy rebounded after the last recession, suicides and overdoses cut into Americans’ life expectancy. #Mentalhealthexperts worry that the economic uncertainty and social #isolation of the #pandemic will make things worse at a time when the health care system is already overwhelmed.
The #suicide rate in the U.S. has been rising for two decades, and in 2018 hit its highest level since 1941, according to a viewpoint piece in JAMA Psychiatry in April called “#Suicide Mortality and #Coronavirus Disease 2019 – A Perfect Storm?” Author Mark Reger argued social distancing could hamper #suicideprevention efforts and said ensuring that doesn’t happen is a “national public health priority.”
“There’s a paradox,” said Jeffrey Reynolds, president of a Long Island-based nonprofit social services agency, the Family and Children’s Association. “Social #isolation protects us from a contagious, life-threatening #virus, but at the same time it puts people at risk for things that are the biggest killers in the #UnitedStates: #suicide, overdose and diseases related to alcohol abuse.”
Since the middle of March, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits has reached around 33 million. Americans’ life satisfaction has eroded rapidly throughout that same period, according to a poll released Friday by Gallup. The percentage of U.S. adults who are very content with their current lives and optimistic about their future outlook has dropped to a low not seen since November 2008 during the Great Recession, showed the analysis of more than 4,000 surveys.
“One of the main things people should take away from this paper is that employment matters,” said Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer at the Well Being Trust and a clinical psychologist who worked on the paper. “It matters for our economic livelihood, and for our #mental and emotional health.”
The financial uncertainty caused by the #coronavirus #pandemic, coupled with the pervasive sense of #isolation exacerbated by stay-at-home orders, makes this moment unprecedented-different from any other economic downturn in recent history-and thus, potentially difficult to model based on past events.
“It’s useful to have a wake-up call,” said Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer at the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness. “Unemployment is going to have a very important impact on deaths of despair.”
Already data is showing lower-income #Americans are more impacted by #coronavirus-related #stress than their wealthier counterparts: A Kaiser Family Foundation study that showed 26% of people making less than $40,000 a year said the #virus had a “major negative impact” on their #mentalhealth; only 14% of people making $90,000 or more a year said the same held true for them.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health started measuring “#mentaldistress” starting in March drawing on studies from the SARS epidemic of 2003. Early in the month, hotspots like California, Washington, New York and Massachusetts reported #mental distress “significantly increased” – even when adjusting for variables like age and income. Distress was higher among people who used alcohol or marijuana more frequently in the past week or who’d consumed more media or #socialmedia. It was also higher in younger people, perhaps surprising given that #Covid-19 is more lethal for older people.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state is seeing a rise in drug use, alcohol consumption and domestic violence. “It has caused serious #mentalhealthissues,” he said in a public briefing last week. He encouraged New Yorkers to take advantage of a hotline set up for those in emotional distress. Meanwhile, on the national level, the Substance Abuse and #MentalHealthServices Administration reported an 891% increase in calls to its Disaster Distress Hotline in March compared with a year earlier.
“We’ve seen from past work that policies play a really important role in shaping people’s experience and well-being,” Julia Raifman, assistant professor of health law at Boston University School of Public Health, said. New York, for example, asked psychologists and psychiatrists to volunteer to provide some free #mentalhealthcare, which she said was a positive step. “I hope we’ll see other states start to do that. I think there’s a lot of room for innovation here.” States that had more generous unemployment benefits during the last recession saw fewer suicides, Raifman said.
Miller’s paper this week proposes long-term solutions like helping unemployed people find meaningful work or training the armies of contact tracers who will be sent out into communities to identify people at risk of a #mentalhealthcrisis. He sees building up community-based #mentalhealth care services as a way to serve more people in need.
Congress granted $425 million for #mentalhealth and substance use disorder initiatives in the #Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, but Miller called that “almost an embarrassment” considering airlines got $25 billion in aid. “We are not taking this seriously as a nation,” he said.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
