New Guide, Recovering Your Mental Health, Available

Recovering Your Mental Health, A Self-Help Guide was released today by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as part of a global effort to bring attention to mental health during April.

The 32 page booklet published by SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) offers tips on understanding symptoms of depression, isolation, and other conditions. It explains that there is a range of resources available to help anyone facing a mental health problem, how to judge how serious your symptoms are, psychological first aid you can provide
yourself, and how to seek and get help. The advantages of counseling, the medications available to help people through a mental health crisis, additional options for professional help, relaxation techniques, and paths to positive thinking are also detailed.

"If we are faced with a broken arm or even a bad cold, we often know what outside help to seek and what to do to help ourselves heal," said Joseph H. Autry III, M.D. acting Administrator of SAMHSA. "If we find ourselves with mental health problems, what to do next isn't nearly so clear. The path to wellness is often the same - a combination of professional help, and a better understanding of what we can do to help ourselves. The goal of this new booklet is to help mental health consumers become better educated in the management of their own care."

CMHS Director Bernard S. Arons, M.D., said, "All avenues of public education must be used to overcome the misperceptions that belie the present-day realities of mental illness. This publication is one educational tool to accomplish the task."

Presented as part of the World Health Organization's efforts this month to raise public awareness on the need to improve mental health around the globe, copies of  Recovering Your Mental Health, A Self-Help Guide, can be ordered free of charge from the CMHS clearinghouse by calling 1-800-789-CMHS or on the web at http://www.samhsa.gov. Click on CMHS to order your copy.

CMHS is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States. Information on SAMHSA's programs is available on the Internet at http://www.samhsa.gov. News media requests should be directed to Media Services at (800) 487-4890.