LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — UK Healthcare re-shared a video Wednesday where Kentucky Football Coach Mark Stoops stresses the importance of talking to your kids about mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month started three days ago.
From 2007 to 2018, the suicide rate for 10 to 24-year-olds increased by 60% according to the group Sound The Alarm for Kids.
“Talking to your child about mental health might be a tough conversation, but it might be the most important you have,” Stoops said.
It’s a message also shared by the Kentucky Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“Mental health should be something every family makes a priority to ask children — 'Are you ok, is everything ok?,'” said TJ Litafik, the organization’s strategic advisor.
Their goal as an organization is to decrease stigma, increase awareness, and change policy. Many people may seem fine on the outside but are struggling inside. He wants mental health to be treated no differently from heart disease, lung disease, or cancer.
“It means telling people they’re not alone, that help is available, that they shouldn't feel any less human or like there's something wrong with admitting they have a problem,” Litakif said.
