Content Marketing
For over 65 years, May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month to help raise awareness and dispel stigma about mental illnesses. This year’s theme is “Life with a Mental Illness,” encouraging individuals to share their personal stories and help others by doing so.
No one is immune from mental illness — it can affect anyone at any point in their life, including older adults and family caregivers. In fact, in one study, Caring.com found that family caregivers were experiencing depression at rates twice the national average. According to the American Psychological Association, older adults have the highest suicide rate of any age group in the U.S., and an estimated 20.4% of adults aged 65 or older meet the criteria for having a mental disorder.
Senior care providers are in a position to spot the signs of mental illness in an older adult, encourage older adults and family caregivers to seek medical help, provide companionship and support, and deliver important information to both prevent and address mental illness. Your blog, website, and/or social media profiles can be starting point for this important endeavor.
Content Tips for Any Senior Care Company:
Help raise awareness by writing about mental illnesses affecting older adults — you could pick one, or do a general overview listing several. Be sure to share diagnosis, treatment and recovery resources, such as referral to geriatric psychologists, helplines, support groups, non-profits, and/or government agencies, which can help those afflicted and their family members.
Interview a local psychiatrist or psychologist with specialty in serving older adults and/or family caregivers. Include their concerns and tips in your coverage this month.
Chronic pain, insomnia, incontinence and other ailments of older bodies can put a senior at increased risk for mood/personality disorders or depression. How is your senior care organization helping to address these concerns and help prevent escalation into mental illness?
As part of this year’s campaign, Mental Health America is inviting people to share their mental illness stories in social media using the hashtag, #MentalIllnessFeelsLike. Consider extending this invitation to your clients and their family members.
Content Tips for Senior Living Communities:
How has your senior living community been affected by mental illness in the older population? Do you have a psychologist or mental health professional on staff (or as a regular visitor) that assists residents and their family members? If symptoms of mental illness arise in a resident, what actions does your team take to get that individual help? Consider taking this opportunity to raise awareness about how your community is responding to mental illness in older adults.
How are your community’s programs, services, or activities helping reduce stress and isolation in older adults, and helping them be mentally well? This observance is an opportunity to share more information, stories, and photos highlighting those ways you’re helping older adults.
If mental health screening isn’t already part of the services you offer: consider hosting a mental health-screening day at your community, inviting an external expert organization to conduct that activity. MentalHealthScreening.org is a site with information to help you get started with that event.
Content Tips for Home Care Agencies:
How is your home care agency helping to identify mental health concerns in older adults, and what actions do you take when symptoms arise in a client you’re serving? This is an opportunity to both raise awareness about mental illnesses that older adults experience, and gently remind your clients’ families about the role your agency plays vs. the actions they need to also take to get their loved one into medical care for mental illness.
Has hiring your home care agency helped an older adult reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation or significantly improved the mental health and well being of their family caregiver(s)? Consider asking if they’d be willing to share their story this month to help other older adults and families struggling with similar challenges.
Caring Resources to Support this Spark:
Additional Resources to Support this Spark:
Mental Health America — Mental Health Month information and promotional materials
National Alliance on Mental Illness — the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, with hundreds of local affiliates, state orgs, and volunteers who raise awareness and provide support for those affected by mental illness
Institute on Aging’s Friendship Line — a free service designed to help older adults considering suicide or experiencing depression
Content Sparks are part of Caring.com’s Content Made Simple program. See all of the Content Sparks.
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Content Marketing
For over 65 years, May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month to help raise awareness and dispel stigma about mental illnesses. This year’s theme is “Life with a Mental Illness,” encouraging individuals to share their personal stories and help others by doing so.
No one is immune from mental illness — it can affect anyone at any point in their life, including older adults and family caregivers. In fact, in one study, Caring.com found that family caregivers were experiencing depression at rates twice the national average. According to the American Psychological Association, older adults have the highest suicide rate of any age group in the U.S., and an estimated 20.4% of adults aged 65 or older meet the criteria for having a mental disorder.
Senior care providers are in a position to spot the signs of mental illness in an older adult, encourage older adults and family caregivers to seek medical help, provide companionship and support, and deliver important information to both prevent and address mental illness. Your blog, website, and/or social media profiles can be starting point for this important endeavor.
Content Tips for Any Senior Care Company:
Help raise awareness by writing about mental illnesses affecting older adults — you could pick one, or do a general overview listing several. Be sure to share diagnosis, treatment and recovery resources, such as referral to geriatric psychologists, helplines, support groups, non-profits, and/or government agencies, which can help those afflicted and their family members.
Interview a local psychiatrist or psychologist with specialty in serving older adults and/or family caregivers. Include their concerns and tips in your coverage this month.
Chronic pain, insomnia, incontinence and other ailments of older bodies can put a senior at increased risk for mood/personality disorders or depression. How is your senior care organization helping to address these concerns and help prevent escalation into mental illness?
As part of this year’s campaign, Mental Health America is inviting people to share their mental illness stories in social media using the hashtag, #MentalIllnessFeelsLike. Consider extending this invitation to your clients and their family members.
Content Tips for Senior Living Communities:
How has your senior living community been affected by mental illness in the older population? Do you have a psychologist or mental health professional on staff (or as a regular visitor) that assists residents and their family members? If symptoms of mental illness arise in a resident, what actions does your team take to get that individual help? Consider taking this opportunity to raise awareness about how your community is responding to mental illness in older adults.
How are your community’s programs, services, or activities helping reduce stress and isolation in older adults, and helping them be mentally well? This observance is an opportunity to share more information, stories, and photos highlighting those ways you’re helping older adults.
If mental health screening isn’t already part of the services you offer: consider hosting a mental health-screening day at your community, inviting an external expert organization to conduct that activity. MentalHealthScreening.org is a site with information to help you get started with that event.
Content Tips for Home Care Agencies:
How is your home care agency helping to identify mental health concerns in older adults, and what actions do you take when symptoms arise in a client you’re serving? This is an opportunity to both raise awareness about mental illnesses that older adults experience, and gently remind your clients’ families about the role your agency plays vs. the actions they need to also take to get their loved one into medical care for mental illness.
Has hiring your home care agency helped an older adult reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation or significantly improved the mental health and well being of their family caregiver(s)? Consider asking if they’d be willing to share their story this month to help other older adults and families struggling with similar challenges.
Caring Resources to Support this Spark:
Additional Resources to Support this Spark:
Mental Health America — Mental Health Month information and promotional materials
National Alliance on Mental Illness — the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, with hundreds of local affiliates, state orgs, and volunteers who raise awareness and provide support for those affected by mental illness
Institute on Aging’s Friendship Line — a free service designed to help older adults considering suicide or experiencing depression
Content Sparks are part of Caring.com’s Content Made Simple program. See all of the Content Sparks.
