[7] There are also instances where poor insight into one's mental illness has resulted in increased psychiatric symptoms which ultimately leads to hospitalization and a lower quality of life generally.
[12] To reduce the occurrence of institutional recidivism, the Georgia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) created the Opening Doors to Recovery (ODR) program.
[7] ODR established a treatment team of licensed mental health professionals, peer specialists, and family peer specialists (a family member of someone who has SMI) to reduce institutional recidivism by providing treatment, ensuring safe housing, and supporting their recovery.
[7] Older adults with SMI are more likely to seek medical services and have longer hospital stays than patients who regularly see a doctor.
[19] Notably, patients with SMI have increasing reports of falls and substance abuse, including alcoholism.
[12] Adults with SMI often lack social support from family, friends and the community, which can put them at risk for experiencing homelessness.
[33][32] In a study conducted on patients who were involuntarily hospitalized, researchers found that poor quality of life and low self-esteem could be predicted by high levels of self-stigma and fewer experiences of empowerment.
[34] Self-stigma can be reduced by increasing empowerment in individuals with SMI through counseling and/or peer support and other self-disclosing of their own struggles with mental illness.
[33] People who suffer from SMI can reduce the amount of stigma that they experience by maintaining insight into their condition with the assistance of social supports.