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With help of the community, Merced can end the stigma on mental health

Merced Sun-Star (CA) - 7/23/2016

July 22--Erick Mendoza said he went through a time where, no matter what he ate, his stomach would ache to the point he stopped eating.

With a little push from a friend, Mendoza said he eventually went to the doctor to figure out what was wrong with his stomach.

"Because I was so stressed out, my body was producing more acid than it needed and it was burning my stomach," Mendoza said. "Because I didn't address the issue and I waited, it got to that extent."

Mendoza, who is now a community outreach supervisor for Golden Valley Health Center, said he thought it was normal to feel stressed and never thought his body would have been impacted because of mental health.

"That had to happen to me to understand mental health," Mendoza said.

On Friday morning, Golden Valley Health Center and the Merced County Department of Mental Health partnered for a presentation and discussion about ending the stigma that often follows mental health issues.

Sharon Jones, coordinator and ethnic services manager for the Department of Mental Health, said using words such as "freak," "retarded," "crazy" and "insane" creates a stigma that surrounds mental health.

"It's a mark of shame and disgrace," Jones said. "(People) don't approve of that person."

Merced resident Elvia Robles said there are many people who have problems they don't want others to know about, because they are afraid of rejection.

"It hurts when someone you love calls you crazy," Robles said.

According to the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit health system group, 67 percent of people with a behavioral health disorder don't receive treatment for it and 30 to 50 percent of patients don't attend their first appointment.

Mendoza said feelings of shame and embarrassment can follow mental health patients, and the stigma is so prevalent it prevents people from seeking the services they need.

"Mental health does not discriminate," Mendoza said. People of all ages and races can be affected by behavioral issues, he said.

The nation's largest mental health group, National Alliance on Mental Illness, says 50 percent of mental illness cases begin by age 14 and 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness in the country.

"Prevention is key and I think that's what we're trying to do," Mendoza said. "Get to the issue before it manifests into something that could have been prevented."

With the help of the audience, Jones said, the community can help end the stigma in Merced County by acknowledging there is one, knowing it is treatable, and being informed and aware of the issue.

"Mental health is part of all our lives," Jones said.

Monica Velez: 209-385-2486, mvelez@mercedsunstar.com

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(c)2016 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)

Visit the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) at www.mercedsunstar.com

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