May is Mental Health Awareness Month

A Healthy Mind is as Important as a Healthy Body

Just like your body, your mind needs some TLC. Managing your mental well-being can lead to a more successful and productive life. When we talk about “mental health,” people often associate the term to something negative. Because of the stigma behind the term, being labeled mentally ill can lead to being ostracized and getting treated differently. It turns out, mental illnesses come in different shapes and sizes as well.

From the California Department of Mental Health (DMH)

“Mental illnesses are extremely common; they affect almost every family in California. They affect people from every background and occur at any age. In any year, between 5% and 7% of adults have a serious mental illness as do a similar percentage of children — between 5% and 9%. Therefore, more than two million children, adults and seniors in California are affected by a potentially disabling mental illness every year.”

Join us for our Mental Wellness Community Forum

What We Do to Address Mental Health

At The Cambodian Family, we like to take the whole-health approach because we know that it is more effective to look at a person as a whole than just partially. We realize that when a person is experiencing depression, their mental state is not only affected but also their whole health. For instance, under depression, stress, or anxiety, a person tends not to eat or eat unhealthy, stay confined to their home and do unproductive things. This unhealthy habit can lead to an increase in blood pressure and lack of energy that can lead to other more serious conditions.

That is the reason why our Change Club, sponsored by the Federal Office of Minority Health, includes activities such as the walking group, the dancing group, nutrition class, and support group. We know that when a person is outside walking, inside dancing, or doing some other physical activity, they feel better overall.

In addition to these services, we are working hard to help our community develop their mental wellness through numerous collaborations and activities for our community. Below are some of the partnerships and projects we have participated in:

• In partnership with Khmer Health Advocates and sponsored by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the US (REACH US), The goals of The Cambodian Family’s Fishing For Fitness Legacy Project are to engage men of all ages in discussions on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health, to encourage regular health check-ups, and to create advocates for healthy living. See below for an overview of the project.

• We partnered with Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia (ASRIC) to support survivors of the Khmer Rouge with chronic health problems through several activities and one of which is a series of workshops called Art as Witness. Art as Witness workshops promote healing through activities designed for well being – health education and healthy eating, exercise through traditional Cambodian dance, creative self expression visual arts, peace and conflict resolution to enable those without voices to be heard while stimulating participation towards better health. View pictures here.

• We are partnering with The University of California’s Health Policy Research Institute (HPRI) on a health-related study designed to improve the screening and diagnosis of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among limited English speaking patients in Orange County.

• We have formalized a partnership agreement with Solsken, a public relations and marketing firm based in Sacramento that is conducting a CalMHSA Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Campaign. The role of The Cambodian Family in this partnership is to educate the Southeast Asian community about mental health challenges in an effort to reduce stigma and discrimination in the community. The campaign will run from February 2013 through February 2014. We have already conducted 50 pre-campaign surveys about perceptions of mental health .

• We also work with other organizations such as the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), to promote “Well(ness)essity,” which is funded under the Mental Health Services Act, Proposition 63. Prevention and Early Intervention-Outreach and Engagement is dedicated to developing and carrying out culturally competent and creative activities that best serve the diverse communities of Orange County.

What Have You Done For Your Mental Wellness Today?

Here are some tips to improve your well-being:

1. Exercise
2. Eat healthy
3. Laugh everyday
4. Express yourself (writing in a journal, sing, act, be silly)
5. Get plenty of sleep
6. Learn to relax
7. Avoid alcohol/drug/cigarettes
8. Do something nice for others
9. Avoid unnecessary stress
10. Make time for fun

To get involved, contact us.