Our Focus
Understanding mental health isn't only about being able to identify symptoms and having a name for these conditions. There is a complicated system involving local communities, the federal government, research institutions, private companies and other pieces that are all trying to fit together.
Each piece contributes to our understanding of mental health—if one is missing, the picture isn't complete.
With proper treatment, people can realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively and meaningfully contribute to the world. Without mental health we cannot be fully healthy.
As such, the mental health of college students is especially important. At that age, people have developed their own personality and are beginning to understand the daily struggles of adulthood. Circumstances vary between students, but keeping good mental health is important to succeeding both academically and in the workplace.
Our Approach
We all experience emotional ups and downs from time to time. Each time is usually caused by impactful events in our lives. Mental health conditions go beyond these emotional reactions and become something longer lasting. They are medical conditions that cause changes in how we think and feel and in our mood. They are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing.
We are collaborating with The North Face® with a charity walk called the Hike for Hope. With the Hike for Hope, we intend on raising charity money to help support mental health foundations such as NAMI, or the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to further study of mental illness. The charity will also support and advocate the need for proper and adequate treatment of mental illnesses and disorders.
The logo represents the unity and empathy that bring people together. The lines are loosely held together to stand for the daily struggles that each person goes through, yet they are connected to stand for the The "B" and "D" within the logo represent bipolar disorder, and the wings represent the journey.
About Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder that causes periods of depression and abnormally elevated moods. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania, or hypomania if less severe and symptoms of psychosis are absent. During mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy, or irritable. Individuals often make poorly thought out decisions with little regard to the consequences. The need for sleep is usually reduced during manic phases. During periods of depression, there may be crying, a negative outlook on life, and poor eye contact with others.
Bipolar disorder affects approximately 1% of the global population. In the United States, about 3% are estimated to be affected at some point in their life; rates appear to be similar in females and males. The most common age at which symptoms begin is 25. The economic cost of the disorder has been estimated at $45 billion for the United States in 1991. A large proportion of this was related to a higher number of missed work days, estimated at 50 per year. People with bipolar disorder often face problems with social stigma.
Many individuals have financial, social or work–related problems due to the illness. These difficulties occur a quarter to a third of the time, on average. Due to lifestyle choices and the side effects of medications, the risk of death from natural causes such as coronary heart disease in people with bipolar is twice that of the general population.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
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The National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Today, the association of more than 500 local affiliates who work in your community and educate, advocate, inform, and lead others to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.
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The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. NIMH is one of the 27 Institutes and Centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest biomedical research agency in the world. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIMH envisions a world in which mental illnesses are prevented and cured.
