Mental Health Awareness Month
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
Good morning. This is Dr. Joe Cincotta. One of the designations for May is that it is Mental Health Awareness Month. Comprehensive health has not only a physical component but also has psychological, social, and spiritual components. All too often we focus on the physical and miss opportunities to look at the whole person. We ignore the impact of our psychological health on our overall health and then cannot understand why we get ill. How we feel, how we cope, how we recognize and deal with our emotions – these are all part of being healthy. Mental illnesses presents in a variety of ways, just as physical illnesses do. They can be quite serious and impact not only the patient but also family, friends, and co-workers. The good news is that there are treatments for illnesses that affect mood and thinking. People affected with these problems do not need to suffer without treatment. And, we need to recognize the presence of these problems and their significance instead of viewing them as a ‘weakness’ of the person who is ill with one of these diseases. Our goal is your health, so if you have questions about your mood or your thinking, please talk with your physician. It is important to you and to us. Thank you.