Happy Humpday!

Today is National Patient Advocacy Day. The purpose of National Patient Advocacy Day is to raise awareness for professional, volunteer, and family patient advocates who help people navigate complex medical systems, understand their rights, manage insurance and billing, and access proper health coverage.

Today we should take time to thank a healthcare worker or professional advocate who helped you or a loved one, learn about your local patient rights, and connect with a patient advocacy organization for help managing a complex medical journey.

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HHS announced $96.7 million in new grants to strengthen behavioral health services across the country, including $63.4 million for outreach and housing support for people with serious mental illness experiencing homelessness, $16.8 million for youth suicide prevention, $7.1 million to identify and treat young people at clinical high risk for psychosis, and $1.8 million for a new national Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders.

Read More: HHS Awards Over $96 Million to Strengthen Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, and Substance Use Disorder Services (HHS.Gov)

A new University of Georgia study surveying 1,600 people across 13 Southern states found that mental health workers and treatment providers may actually hold higher levels of stigma toward people with opioid use disorder than the general public — with some workers more likely to view addiction as a moral failing rather than a medical condition, which can directly influence whether they prescribe life-saving medications like Methadone or Suboxone.

A lead researcher noted that stigma "kept being cited as a barrier to serving the community and getting people to actually access education and prevention services" — and that increased training for mental health workers and first responders may be the key to turning this around.

Read More: Study Says Mental Health Workers May Stigmatize Substance Use Disorder, Hindering Those Seeking Help (GPB.org)

Heroes and Nashville star Hayden Panettiere passed away on August 16 at just 36 years old. In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, released just months before her death, Hayden bravely chronicled how she was given "happy pills" by her own team at just 15 years old, how devastating postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Kaya sent her spiraling into addiction, and how she fought her way back — not once, but repeatedly — always seeking treatment herself and always choosing to share her pain publicly so others would feel less alone.

Her own words say it best: "I just keep swimming, and with each stroke, I get stronger."

Read More: What Hayden Panettiere Shared About Her Mental Health Struggles Prior to Her Death at 36 (Today)

MYTH: Good grades mean good mental health

FACT: High-achieving teens often hide deep stress, panic, or depression behind success.

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Thanks, and Be Well.

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