Mental Health In America Essay

Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With more than 320 affiliate nationwide, we represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well being of the nation, every day, and in a time of crisis (2007 Mental Health America). As an organization, Mental Health America has been around for nearly a century. We began work in 1909 when Clifford W. Beers, a young business man who struggled with a mental illness and shared his story with the world in his autobiography “A Mind

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

There are many people in the United States that have a mental illness that is either not

According to the director of national health, “the States have cut $5 billion in mental health services from 2009 to 2012. While also distinguishing at least 4,500 public psychiatric hospital beds.” Decreasing funds for mental health has resulted in an overcrowded population of homeless patients who either spend their time on the streets, in prisons, or in coffins. Overtime, mentally ill patients have nowhere to go, the jail systems are failing to provide proper treatment, and the government has already reduced mental health fundings as it is. It is time to take a stand, and say yes to increasing funds towards the mentally ill and health facilities.

Hundreds of thousands of people die due to suicide every year. This number is estimated to double by 2020 should the current trend continue. The primary cause of these suicides is mental disorders and harmful use of alcohol - which in itself is a result of mental health related conditions. The World Health Organization reports indicate that 20% of the world 's children and adolescents suffer from one or more mental disorders and according to the Kim foundation, 57.7 million people in the US suffer from a mental health disorder.

In the United States, mental illness is a topic that is severely neglected. Many individuals who suffer from illnesses including, but not limited to, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are routinely ignored and often do not receive the treatment needed for them to lead functional lives. According to Richard Frank and Sherry Glied, Harvard Medical School professors and co-authors, the severely mentally ill are “among the most gravely disadvantaged and stigmatized groups in the United States” (3). According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), those who are fortunate enough to have family or friends that aid them in seeking help, or those who recognize themselves that they need help and seek it on their own, often have a lot of trouble finding long-term services that can do more for them than simply provide medication

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

It is estimated that 43.5 million Americans, adults 18 or older, live with mental illness. This number represents 18.1% of all U.S. adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Stigma toward those who are seen as different have existed for as long as civilization itself, with the stigma for mental illness being one of the most prominent and long lasting that society has had to face throughout its ages (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Increased understanding and awareness for those individuals suffering from mental illness is necessary for us to overcome the impacts stigma has on our society.

Mental Health is a never-ending concern for the American population due to the lack of data. This lack of date fails to give accurate information and better understanding on seeing how suffers of mental health illness is being addressed. Due to the unpredictability of when a mental illness may strike would be the leading factor to fully link how to predict and quickly find corrective resources to better educated, or reach the right people to better manage their mental health. Therefore, many communities suffer from mental health illness and like the Native American, and Alaskan Native it has become an epidemic and concern. The Native American Population in the states are twice at high risk with mental health and go untreated, leading to high rate of suicides and attempts on American soil.

Attitudes toward mental illness vary among individuals, families, ethnicities, cultures and countries. Some American Indian tribes do not stigmatize mental illness. Likewise In Asia, where many cultures value conformity to norms, mental illnesses are often stigmatized and seen as a source of shame. The European Americans tend to express beliefs about mental illness that are more likely to emphasize “non-biomedical interpretation” of mental illness while African Americans and Latinos are less likely to seek and receive treatment because they do not trust the doctors and do not want to be treated with medications that make them feel worse. Each individuals experience with mental illness is unique. Therefore, we have to understand the illness to implement an effective approach to treatment and mental health care. Although the reasons for stigmatization are not consistent across communities or cultures, it is international when it comes to individuals living with mental

America has a lot of issues as all of us know. But what people don't realize though is that most of our problems are directly related to psychology. If you really think about it, everything can somehow be blamed on psychology, but that doesn't mean that we have to make an excuse for our actions.

Imagine a world where a third of the human population suffered from the same type of illness. Imagine a world where the government does little to help those who suffer from this terrible illness. Imagine a world where nobody acknowledged the pain and suffering that comes along with this illness. This is, unfortunately, the world we live in today. The illness is not one that others notice, but it can have terrible consequences to those who suffer from it. The type of illness are the ones that plague people mentally.

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

“I want to be able to talk to someone in a pub and say ‘I have been mentally ill’ and for them to say ‘That’s interesting, what did you experience?’”, said a survivor from the UK in 1997 (Sayce 18). Almost twenty years later and this man 's wish still has not come true. People may ask why, and the answer is because of the stigma that comes along with having a mental illness. Mental illness is something not often talked about because of the fear of being judged. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four Americans has a mental illness, and only about 40% of them seek professional help (Hamid). People are being put into mental institutions instead of getting the help that they need to get better, because even people in the medical field are not understanding about this situation because they do not understand how it feels. The stigma and stereotypes towards mental illnesses are overwhelming, therefore people should be made aware of their impact and take steps to reduce stigma and stereotypes.

This essay will analyse the statement “Mental illness is a social problem”. This essay will discuss the sociological perspective of mental health within the chosen concept of gender. The main aim of this essay is to discuss and debate ‘for’ mental illness is a social problem within the different gender roles. Gender is not only male and female, it also includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual. In Australia there is a very large community of LGBTI. This concept will be analysed by using theoretical and sociological perspectives along with the structure-agency debate. Also the biomedical and social model 's role in relation to the issue. This will help support the statement that ‘mental illness is a social problem’. It is not logical to solely to blame society for all mental illness’ however, it is a strong contributor. This essay will also explore the social contributor to the high rate of mental illness sufferers in Australia. Also, the general consensus and attitude toward individuals with mental health and the ways that mental illnesses are stitgmatised in Australia and each of its states and territories.