What If We Treated Mental Health Like a Broken Bone?
If you broke your leg, no one would tell you to “wait six weeks for an appointment.” No one would ask, “have you tried this medication?”
Yet, suicide remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide. How many of those lives could have been saved with immediate care?
On October 10, World Mental Health Day, we ask: why don’t we treat mental health with the same urgency as a broken bone?
Interventions Matter in Mental Health
When it comes to physical health, emergencies demand immediate action. A broken bone gets an X-ray, a cast, and a follow-up within hours.
However, psychiatric patients often face weeks or even months of waiting for an appointment. Many are grouped into one-size-fits-all treatments or told to “be patient” while they wait to see if a new medication helps.
That wait can be the difference between recovery and tragedy.
The brain, like the body, requires urgent intervention when in crisis. Every delay amplifies the risk. The longer patients wait for care, the harder it becomes to heal. Just as untreated fractures can cause long-term damage, untreated depression or PTSD can become harder to reverse.
Quick response saves lives. Evidence-based treatments like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and ketamine infusion therapy work faster than traditional methods.
“Living with depression felt like drowning in plain sight. People saw me, but they couldn’t hear me screaming under the water. Medications helped a little, but nothing pulled me out,” said Lauren C., patient at Serenity Mental Health Centers. “TMS was like someone finally throwing me a life jacket. I still had to swim, but at least I wasn’t sinking anymore.”
At Serenity Mental Health Centers, patients can access same-day psychiatric appointments and interventional modalities. That speed matters. It prevents suffering for weeks or months, and it brings patients into care before their conditions escalate.
“I’ve watched patients walk into my office certain they were out of options. And I’ve watched those same patients laugh, smile, and love themselves again after treatment,” said Corinne Ryan, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Serenity Mental Health Centers. “Those moments remind us why we fight so hard to push for faster, better care. We know how it can make a difference.”
Instead of “wait and see,” Serenity’s model is to act quickly, treat compassionately, and give patients hope now.
Why Celebrate World Mental Health Day?
Awareness alone isn’t enough anymore.
World Mental Health Day should remind us that time is the most valuable tool in saving lives. We would never tell someone with a broken bone to just “tough it out.” We shouldn’t accept that for mental health either.
Check in on your friends, your family, your coworkers, your neighbors. Listen to their stories. Share resources. Encourage them to seek care today.
World Mental Health Day is about urgency, compassion, and the reminder that we don’t just change statistics; we save lives.
That is Serenity Mental Health Centers’ mission. To provide care that is proactive, not reactive, because waiting is not an option.
Call 844-310-1649 or visit www.serenitymentalhealthcenters.com to learn more.