MiraVista Behavioral Health Center Lights the Way to Mental-health Awareness

HOLYOKE — MiraVista Behavioral Health Center officially launched Mental Health Awareness Month this week by illuminating the organization’s façade green.

Kimberley Lee, chief of Creative Strategy and Development for the psychiatric hospital that treats adults and adolescents and offers a continuum of outpatient substance-use services, called the month’s annual observance “a reminder that staying mentally healthy is fundamental to how well all of us function in our daily lives.”

“Staying mentally healthy requires self-care ranging from getting enough sleep to eating for good nutrition to having good social connections,” Lee said. “The intent is for folks, seeing our façade in green, to become more aware of their own mental wellness and anything they need to do, including seeking professional help, to improve their emotional happiness and mental well-being.”

Lee added that other events MiraVista plans for the month include a Going Green campaign during Mental Health Awareness Week, which begins on May 15, to encourage the wearing of green. Green is the month’s color to symbolize hope and support for individuals living with a mental illness. Other events include a flag raising and partnership with Springfield and Holyoke public libraries to encourage residents to seek resources on the topic of mental health.

“MiraVista helps individuals better manage their diagnosis and return to their families and lives in their community,” Lee said. “We obtained state approval to expand our beds recently to meet demand and are in the process of adding outpatient mental-health counseling. We see daily the success of treatment and why no one should feel stigmatized in seeking it.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five Americans will experience a mental illness in any given year, while one in five children currently or at some point in their life has had a serious debilitating mental illness, and one in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder.

The CDC notes that many factors may contribute to a mental illness, including adverse life experiences such as sexual assault or witnessing violence, chemical imbalances in the brain, and ongoing feelings of isolation and loneliness that became worse for many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also notes that anyone can have poor mental health without having a diagnosis of mental illness, and people with a mental illness diagnosis that is managed can have a good sense of well-being.

“Well-being is associated with numerous health-, job-, family-, and economically related benefits,” the CDC says. “Individuals with high levels of well-being are more productive at work and are more likely to contribute to their communities.”