I want to take a break from talking about physical health and talk about something that is just as important: mental health. Although we are getting better as a society about openly discussing mental health and everything that comes with it, there is still a stigma surrounding it and people who suffer from it.
It is staggering to me that ⅕ adults suffer from mental illness at some point and those numbers are only increasing. According to Mental Health America, it is not only adults but also children. The number of youth cases of depression was 8% in 2011, but by 2014 it had risen 3% to 11%. Both of these numbers are not taking into account that around 56% of people suffering from mental illness’ are not seeking help. Hopefully the 3% increase is based on the fact more people are open and willing to seek help, and not that depression and mental illness are becoming more of an epidemic.
It can be very difficult to see and hear how people speak about individuals suffering from mental illness. A mental illness is the same as a physical handicap and it is important to see it that way. When we as a nation begin to understand this I think a lot of those statistics will begin to change. People who do not have health care also do not have insurance to cover mental health treatments which can be extremely pricey. Recently, more insurance providers have put mental health benefits into their plans but most families still are not covered. Without this change in our health care system people will continue to go untreated. Under Obama we made some good steps but the new administration threatens to reverse this work.
Not only is this important for individuals, but it has a domino effect. It is not a coincidence that the states with the least coverage and support for the mentally ill are also the states with the highest incarceration rates. When people are not getting the help they need they can become dangerous. Mental health and criminology often go hand in hand. It is not unusual to have mentally ill prisoners. This is a flaw in our system because had those individuals had the access to help they may not have committed that crime. Putting someone who cannot comprehend what they did wrong or that it was against the law in prison is not going to reform them. These are the people that will stay in the system for their whole lives because they are not given the resources to get better. Instead, working to evaluate those who may need to be institutionalized rather than locked up would benefit us as a whole.
Overall, mental illness with never be eradicated, but by offering help we can at least hope to make a change.
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/state-mental-health-america
I totally agree with everything you pointed out in your blog! Mental health is an important issue that still is stigmatized and I think that also comes from lack of understanding by the public in general. I think better education on what mental illnesses are is greatly needed, since it is often harder to comprehend and connect of suffers of mental illness when you don’t. I think insurance is right in creating plans to cover mental illness, but I can see the concern for this accessibility is threatened by the Trump administration. I didn’t realize that the percent of people suffering from mental illness is rising. Although I am really curious whether this rise is just because people are not afraid to reach out for help or if the triggers of mental illness are increasing. Furthermore, I liked how you connected mental illness to crime and how poorly we treat criminals with mental illnesses. It connected in a way with the documentary we were watching in class pretty well! Overall, I think its great you took a blog post to address this important topic.