>> changing minds, a a news 4 special report. >> may is mental health month and two years ago, we launched changing minds. it's a campaign to get people talking about a topic that's not easy to discuss. mental health. it's an issue that affects all of us, no matter we where live or how old we are. since we started this project, we've heard from so many of you offering to share your stories so you, too, can make an impact. as we prich the olympics, we introduce you to a swimmer that has won five olympic medal, three of them, golds. you'd think allison would be on top of the world, but instead, she's facing a very private battle with depression. she's talking at it now in an effort to start changing minds about a mental health. >> july 2012, a pivotal moment in her career. >> allison smith is 3 for 3. >> allison schmidt broke the olympic record in the free style swim and left the london summer games with a total of four medals. >> i love knowing that everyone back home was watching and cheering. definitely felt that when i was there racing. >> but that very support that became overwhelming for the then 21-year-old. she said she became an overnight celebrity and it was too much for her. >> i wasn't expecting people to come up and say, are you allison schmidt. still expegting like a person walking down the street with the dog. >> allison said she thinks the attention triggered something dark inside of her. she started sleeping all the timeful she isolated herself from friends and family and lost some of the inspiration that had helped her find so much success in the she was too embarrassed to ask. >> i love everything about my life, so i didn't really understand why i was going through that or why i was feeling those feelings. >> when you have someone that had an olympics like she did, like it wasn't just up to our expectati expectation, it surpassed, so you immediately think, well, what could be wrong with that? and i just don't think she was ready for the way her life would change. >> months passed and allison thought she'd been hiding it well, but it was a star olympic teammate, michael phelps, a close friend and training partner, who finally said something. >> he said i can tell in the past few yeek, you're in the acting yourself. something seems weird, if you need help, let me know. i've been through it and there's other people that i can have help you. >> i said to her about going to see a therapist. people do it. t not that big of a deal. talk. just started crying and i said i do need help and that was kind f the turning point. >> she started seeing a therapist and realized she had been battling depression. she still didn't feel comfortable being open about it though, but then there was another dark moment. she learned her 17-year-old cousin, april, had taken her own life. that's when allison really underunderstood that hen tall illness is something people need to talk about. >> it's all right to feel that way, but it's also all right to ask for help and not keep it all in and think that you're battling it alone because there are so many people out there that love you. >> today, allison says she's doing really well. she's also back on track in her swimming and has high hopes to make the 2016 olympics in rio this summer. now to some troubling new statistics from the centers for disease control and prevention. more and re the cdc report found a 24% spike in suicides in the u.s. between 1999 and 2014. the highest levels in almost 30 years. researchers saw increases for middle-aged men and women, but found the largest jump among white and native american women. >> many things come together when someone dies by suicide has an attempt. with life stress sors, health factor, but mental health and someone struggling with mental health problems is at greatest risk. >> one positive finds, suicide rates among adults over 75, they've decreased. now, imagine witnessing your child's behavior change suddenly and dramatically. that's just what happened to karen, but it turns out her son's problems weren't psychological. they were the result of >> he wouldn't leave the house and he was washing himself until his hands would bleed. >> karen is describing the behavior of her then 11-year-old son, jorge. it changed all of a sudden. >> went to school, went to swim practice. came home. he swrus really in a moment, completely changed. >> jorge had been sick with strep throat twice in two months. at first, he seemed to recover. >> i thought it was physically, as a time progressed, he's, something's wrong with him. he's acting like he's mentally ill. >> he developed tics and acute separation anxiety. >> because strep infections are so common in childhood with about three quarters of children having strep every single winter and we estimate that as many as one in 200 children will have an episode of >> dr. swedes studies it. it stands for paid yatic immune disorderers associated with strep infections. >> the clinically significant symptoms are obsessive-compulsive disorderer, wild mood swings, separation anxiety f. >> a family friend heard about pandas and karen found the doctor who diagnosed jorge. it's swrus one example of an infection being linked to mental illness. there are many more and harriet washington has written a book about it. >> now, what we have, our data is showing us that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, all these very common mental disorders are rooted at least partly in the existence of pathogens and our >> pathogens that can come from a variety of illnesses, like strep threat, lyme disease, some types of influenza. >> very large cases of obsessive-compulsive disorderer during the h1n1. many of the viruses can cause this reaction. >> a reaction which can condition fuse the body's system causing psychiatric systems. once identified, the symptoms can be treated successfully. jorge was given a drug, but while medical treatment and studies are important harriet washington believes perception needs to change. >> a lot of people believe -- it's the idea of changing your world view and recognizing that this is a consistent factor. i didn't realize he could an infection that -- >> we should note that while symptoms can be severe, infections account for just a small percentage of mental illness and psychological problems. when we come back, changing minds about college anxiety. classes, papers and exams can cause a lot of added pressure on our kids and later, the innovative, inventive way therapists are treating patients. i've been diagnosed with adhd. bipolar disorderer and odt. i felt suicidal at times. and then other days, i would feel perfectly fine. like i'd wake up the next day and be super happy. feel like i'm on top of the world, you know. i was planning on losing it so that's why i wanted to go to nit health so bad. i didn't know what was wrong with me. more recently has been the best i've been. because the medicines an stuff i counseling i've been provided has started to sink in. and i've had more clarity. even if you think people don't care, if you think you don't have any friends, even if you think that everyone hates me, there are people that care. and you just need to be able to speak about it. >> we are changing minds here at news 4 with a new class you can take to help someone in need. it's called mental health first aid. the eight-hour class gives you the skills to identify somebody going through an emotional crisis. it's more common than you think and it can seriously interfere with somebody's life. >> mental health first aid is equivalent to cpr, but it's for people having an emotional kris and you're much more likely to see someone with an emotional crisis than a coronary. >> classes are open to the public a sibs 2008, half a million people have completeded the course. the transition and the change of going to college can force students to cope with new mental health problems and right now, the biggest concern on college campuses, anxiety. >> it's racing of the heart. and then you have chills going through your body. >> it can range from some sort of crippling that you'll be sitting at home and you won't want to go out. >> anxiety. those waves of worry. nervousness. unease. it's a familiar feel for a lot of people. but experts say when it gets out of control, it can be directive. >> you're stopped from being who you really are. >> now, new research is finding anxiety is a major problem for one in six college students. making it the most common mental health issue on campus. >> anxiety has been the number one presenting complaint. >> sylvester wise ner is the re services for george washington university. he says depression used to be student's biggest issue, but with academics getting more competitive along with more worries over the financial strain of tuition, students seem to be suffering from greater levels of anxiety. >> at schools like george washington university, where we attract a large number of highly driven, highly motivated students, we do tend to see more anxiety because those types of students are primed to be more anxious. >> and students say social media is adding an extra layer of stress. >> now, everyone has to be on. at all times. you have to be taken pictures of how fun your life is. and putting it out there. >> but experts say anxiety can be a tool for success. it can help to motivate students to work harder or to study more, but they have to be able to recognize when it's become unhealthy. >> it's interfering with sleep. if it's interfering with they can't study, can't focus on exams. >> start to cry. and then my, the palms of my hands sweats, then i start shaking. >> chenel cooper gorms, a sophomore at the university of the district of columbia, said she suffered anxiety attacks about taking test, but sought help and now, she's learneded coping mechanisms, including meditation and medication. to help calm her nerves. >> if quou take care of it and learn what anxiety you have, it will be a smooth sailing. >> when we come back, how interactive organizations are changing minds. plus, a seemingly simple activity that started to transform one woman's life. kind of like you're drowning. you see t kind of like somebody pushing you down. there are days where it's difficult and i'd lie if i said like i don't wake up in the mornings thinking i can't do this today. it's been a tough path, but it's getting better. i take medication. i have a therapist. i exercise a lot. that's kind of my treatment. it's not me in control. i think it's important to talk about it and fight the stigma that mental illness is just something you choose. >> many of you heard the old joke about how many psycho therapists it takes to change a lightbulb. the lightbulb has to want to change, of course, but who says shrinks can't be funny, right? some therapists and mental health professionals are using hue nor to help treat their patients and t changing how they approach their work. >> what, my -- >> okay. an acting class, think again. this is improve 01. >> forget it. i'm out. >> but these students aren't actors or stand up comics. they're psycho therapists. >> you're just trying to manipulate my feelingings. >> improv has been long tied to social work and psycho therapy in certain ways. >> shirt sleeves that did it. >> helping therapists better communicate and understand their patients is the goal of this foundations of improv class offered by the washington improv theert and taught by lisa case. >> to just becoming spontaneous an real in the moment with client, seeing those slight shifts because it's so much about listening, being in the moment and noticing everything. it really training your pran to list b and attune s >> the two and a half hour class runs the therapist through a number of different exercises unlike anything they do in their work. >> like in our work, if you're sit tlg having a feeling about a client, we tend to be like, oh, my feelings don't, but sometimes, i think we can use that. as data if it's not countertransferring feeling. >> the students here today are therapists who treat children and adults. they deal with everything from addiction to depression. >> how does this apply to your work? >> an ability the to go to deeper places only when i'm willing to go there, too. >> this takes you to a new, vulnerable place that is not experienced as a therapist. >> it was one of my biggest fears to be here. i want to be in control of not just anyone else. every time i do it, it breeds more connection and enjoyment and life and i'm taking a lot these principles into my practice and my life. >> people view the therapy, they're stuck in a certain emotional state. improvisation is about how do we get unstuck. how do we get rid of those thoughts that take us out of the moment. how do we expand our option of choices and get back to the joy of living. >> the next session is coming up in september. it will run for eight weeks. when we come back, how all it took was some yarn to help transform one woman's life. morning noon or night there's always a moment to discover visit annapolis and create your moment there's always a moment to disc♪ they go ooh ooh. ♪ hey! ♪ they go oh-ooh-ooooh. ♪ sitting, watching, waiting, wishing. ♪ ♪ i tell you one thing, you never knew it. ♪ ♪ there is so much to give, so dream big. ♪ ♪ yeah. ♪ and when they screaming get out, get out. ♪ ♪ all i wanna hear is get down, get down. ♪ "get full on summer at target. get a $10 target giftcard when you spend $50 on groceries. this sunday and monday only. details at target.com." my name is keith, i'm diagnosed as bipolar. i have main area, so i have uncontrollable urges that take me places and have me do things that i would preferably maybe not do, but feel a come pulse to do them any way. there's a depression period that ca several weeks. my thing was it was a secret. i didn't want anyone to know. so i would move before i'd have to explain. the national alliance of mental illness d.c., they embraced me and took me in and actually trained me and taught me about mental illness. and put me around other people, so, that was, that was definitely the praeking point for me, that when i realized okay, i can learn to live with this. finally, we are meeting one woman diagnosed with severe depression who is finding calm in a very unique way. she says just a few minutes of this activity can help her get through the day. >> just imagine yourself falling down a black hole. with no bottom. just goes on and on. and every morning, it's the same thing. >> emily says she felt depressed since she was 4 it's impacted every aspect of her life. she's had a tough time making friends, working and even leaving the house. >> i also know that the hole is bottomless. and if you hit bottom, you're dead. that's the only option. >> after being hospitalized multiple times for suicide attempts, emily was finally forced to get some help. she met a psychiatrist at med star washington hospital with whom she was able to connect, seeing him daily so she could sart to climb her way out of the the hole. >> it's part of a ritual, a habit that has to be and that's what i started to realize. being able to plan. every night, make a plan for the next day. and you try to stick to that plan. >> emily started to find healing through therapy, but still, she had trouble in social situations. her appointments was tough. but then somebody gave her some yarn and she learned how to crow shay. a seemingly simple activity that started to transform her life. >> i started taking the yarn and the needle on the bus. it's literally in a blink, everything changes. everything. physically. visually. and i start to hear people chattering on the bus. i start to look around at little kids hugging their mommys or the drunk falling on himself and the world becomes the world. at least for that period of time. and it's not threatening. >> emily says she found that it allows her to focus on creating something and that helps to quiet all those negative thoughts. dr. steven peterson is her psychiatrist. >> gives your mind a break and allows you to cope with the stress that you're experiencing or the troubles that you have in your life. >> emily says she crow shays now every time she's on the bus and makes sheez tiny, colorful hats for babies. every few weeks, they're brought here, to the neo natal intensive care unit where they're given to the tiniest infants. >> i love it and i love the nurse's mission to give these little guys, dress them to the nines. as they go home to the world. how cool is that. >> we have a lot more information about mental health on our website. nbcwashington.com. including more personal stories of hope from people in our community as well as resources like this treatment finder. just put it in your zip code to find out where you can get help in your neighborhood. thanks for joining us today as we talk about stigma and 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