Fort Bend ISD teamed up with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to host three education workshops in January and February for parents and teachers to discuss mental wellness and suicide prevention for students.

The school district aims to promote the FBISD Speak Up initiative to include more campus activities, lessons and campaigns to educate community members about mental health issues, FBISD Elementary Counselor Coordinator Heather Bowman said. The FBISD Speak Up initiative is a proactive measure.

“We want students and parents to feel safe in talking about mental health and reaching out for support,” Bowman said.

The purpose is to foster important discussions and encourage healthy choices to prioritize self-care, she said.

“The FBISD Speak Up initiative seeks to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention by reducing the stigma and fear associated with being an upstander and reaching out for support either for yourself, a friend, or a family member,” she said.

Symptoms may vary by each condition, but some common warning signs may include excessive worry, feeling especially sad, difficulty concentrating, extreme mood changes, avoiding friends and activities that were once enjoyable, and changes in self-care habits, Bowman said. The school district has implemented programs and employed staff to help those in need, including a crisis talk line and licensed specialists.

NAMI volunteer Pat Sumner led a workshop emphasizing parent and teacher collaboration to detect signs of mental illness early in development.

“The earlier we intervene, the earlier we get treatment, the earlier we accept the word ‘mental illness’ in our vocabulary, the sooner we can start helping those that live with these conditions,” Sumner said.

Those affected by mental illness may display signs and symptoms, but it is important for families to seek professional medical opinions when looking for diagnoses, she said.

Mental illness is a valid medical issue and refers to the diagnoses of schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, schizo-affective disorder, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, said Glenn Urbach, NAMI Executive Director for Greater Houston.

“It’d be no different if you’re talking to them if they had diabetes,” he said. “These are very real illnesses.”

Urbach said part of what makes mental illness such an alarming issue is the prevalence of it.

“Mental illness affects about 25 percent of the world’s population,” he said. “The brain is an organ. It’s no different from your heart or your lungs, but it’s probably your most important organ. Unfortunately, we separate the mind from the body, and we shouldn’t do that.”

If left untreated, these cases of mental illness become more severe and more difficult to treat, leading to poorer lifetime prognosis, Sumner said.

However, the way people view mental illness has evolved in the past decade, Urbach said. Those affected should seek professional medical help as soon as possible.

“The stigma is being removed from it,” he said. “That’s the big thing. We’re talking about the illnesses more.”