Idaho’s Mental Health Crisis
By: Thomas Metzger
Tags: Suicide Prevention, Mental Illness, Mental Health, Idaho, Suicide

Idaho’s Mental Health Crisis

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

2020 has certainly been a wild year, and has undoubtedly had an impact on many people’s mental well-being. I decided to look a little deeper into how people are treating their mental health and to see if my home state of Idaho is doing its part to take care of its citizens.

Unfortunately, Idaho’s mental health is not great. In fact, Idaho is ranked as one of the highest states were mental illness is prevalent in adults. Factors include the number of adults with a mental illness, inability for some to receive proper care because of cost, and many more.

Upon doing my own research, I indeed found some reasons as to why Idaho is ranked so poorly. Nearly a quarter of Idahoans live with some sort of mental illness.

I wanted to try and bring some more awareness to this crisis that Idaho is facing. Idaho is ranked as one of the worst states for mental health, and while many might know that we’re ranked low, they might not know why.

Many that need care in Idaho often don’t get it. There are many factors that can go into it, but I mainly focused on cost, location, and accessibility.

While there are some that are able to get care, a vast majority of my survey respondents rated accessibility to care very low. Right off the bat, this can lead to many not even attempting to get the care they need, whether it be medication, counseling, or other forms of care.

Many respondents to my survey don’t even meet with a mental health professional like a counselor or therapist. It can take weeks or even months to get a session in, because often these professionals are seriously booked up. From my own personal experience, I would only be able to get in to a session once a month, if I’m lucky. This can be exacerbated if one lives in a rural part of the state.

According to my responses, many also believe there is a stigma around mental health, not just in Idaho, but across the country. It seems that many people have stories of a boss or family member not taking their mental health seriously, often minimizing the issues. One respondent talked about the negative connotations that might come with this sort of “label”:

“I think a lot of people view mental health issues as very negative and view people who struggle with this as incompetent, unemployable, overdramatic, and/or incapable of being successful. I have had friends in certain academic programs that are too afraid of seeking mental help because they are worried that having a mental illness in their medical records would give them a stigma in their academic program that could follow them post-graduation and prevent them from getting a job.”

Has cost ever factored into your decision to seek care?

Many also cite cost as a reason to not seek care. Many respondents’ insurance doesn’t cover mental health care, or they aren’t aware if they do. Multiple visits with a therapist can get expensive real fast, and often people might not see progress for a few sessions.

Many are trying to raise more awareness for these kinds of issues. Empower Idaho does a great job of this, through things like “Idaho Mental Health Month,” where they are constantly talking about these problems. I believe even just continuing the conversation around these issues creates a lot more progress than just “keeping it to yourself.”

Empower Idaho also has resources for people like family members, care providers, and peers on how to address these issues. They are one of the more top-tier resources for this information in Idaho.

More investment into these local services is also badly needed. There is a serious lack of licensed counselors and therapists in the state, as well as resources they need. There are also various legislations being introduced to address lack of accessibility and resources.

These are only the first steps in this process, and it is a long one. The COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified the issue, and many are going to need some sort of support in the short- and long-term. But, as long as we continue to address these issues, Idaho can get some serious progress done.

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

If you or a loved one is feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800–273–8255.

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