Chronic Illness and Mental Health - A NAMI in the Lobby Newsletter Article

During our time at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, we have interacted with a lot of different individuals who were in the hospital for a variety of reasons. One of the results of Riley Hospital being the #1 Children’s Hospital in the Midwest is that people come from all over with a variety of conditions they are experiencing.

As one of the first faces people see when they enter the hospital, we’ve heard a variety of stories and talked with folks from all walks of life. Many of the people we interact with are experiencing, or know someone else experiencing, a mental health condition, but that isn't their full story, and many of them are at the hospital for vastly different reasons... Staff are members of the care industry and have a lot that they are managing, but still often stop at the table and grab resources. Kids stop at the table after they see the stickers from the MRI room, and then the parents might mention that while they are there to get their kiddo an MRI, they have family member living with a mental health condition. A lot of the folks in the hospital are experiencing some sort of chronic illness, and they / their parents want more mental health support. Sometimes, it’s for other loved ones, but more often than not it's for themselves or the kid who's living with the chronic illness.

In fact, chronic illnesses can be both a cause and effect of mental health conditions. Mental Health is extremely important to keep in mind when dealing with any illness, especially a chronic illness. Stress, pressure, guilt, contradicting expectations and hopes, and missing out on social situations/school, can all lead to pretty challenging mental health moments - even if there isn't a diagnosable mental health condition. As such, it's important to keep in mind the warning signs, and different strategies for self-care.

In order to encourage finding those resources and support, we created a one pager about chronic illnesses and mental health. It will be available at the table soon, but if you want to look at it before then, you can access it here. It's also on the NAMI in the Lobby website for easy access. This idea was awesome, and we really appreciate the volunteer who suggested it. If anyone else has anything that they think would be relevant that we don't already share, let us know!