Special Feature: Focusing on growing Mental Health Issues in America.

FOCUSING ON GROWING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN AMERICA

In the United States, almost 20% of people have a mental health issue in any given year, and one in every 25 adults has a severe mental illness that affects their quality of life. Mental health treatment should be a big component of the American healthcare system, but that isn’t always the case. According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, nearly ten million Americans now have a severe mental illness. Mental diseases are illnesses that cause changes in thought, emotion, or behavior or these three. Distress and difficulties functioning in social, job, or family activities are common symptoms of mental disorders. In the United States, mental disorders are quite prevalent. One in every 24 people (4.1%) has a severe mental illness, while one in every 12 people (8.5%) has a diagnosable drug use problem.

Mental disorders include a wide range of problems with varying degrees of severity, ranging from mild to severe. Mental illness may be managed. The overwhelming majority of people with mental illnesses go about their everyday lives unaffected.

Mental disease is not anything that should make a person embarrassed and discussions surrounding mental health and illness should continue. It is like heart disease or diabetes, a medical condition. Mental illnesses are treatable and curable. Treatments are available to help individuals effectively manage mental health problems, and our knowledge of how the human brain works is constantly increasing.

Mental disorders come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some, like some phobias, are moderate and only have a little impact on everyday life. Other mental health issues are so serious that they may need hospitalization.

Anxiety disorders, severe depression, and bipolar disorder are the most prevalent mental illnesses.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are highly curable, although only around 37% of people afflicted get therapy. Anxiety and sadness are both quite prevalent diagnoses. For Americans aged 15 to 44, major depressive disorder is the main cause of disability. Women are more likely than males to suffer from this condition. Both men and women are affected by bipolar illnesses. Bipolar disorder usually strikes people around the age of 25, although it may strike anybody at any age.

Interestingly, mental health professionals do a poor job of monitoring their mental health problems and those of their colleague according to a Psychology Today article. Depression, and marital discord may affect psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors the same way they do the general public. Despite these issues, mental health professionals may be denied necessary treatment due to stigma or a lack of resources.

Mental health therapies are covered by laws governing health care. The laws, on the other hand, could be far better. Many individuals are unaware that their insurance coverage covers mental health therapy while some individuals fall into a coverage gap and are unable to get treatment. Policymakers are unsure about what constitutes appropriate mental health care.

The federal government is attempting to provide funding for mental health treatment. An appropriations measure passed seven years ago set aside $115 million for mental health programs. However, mental health services are still in short supply in certain areas of the nation. The mental health business requires well-trained clinical mental health counselors who can educate their coworkers and help to establish industrywide standards.

The American healthcare system is far from flawless, and the mental-health sector faces some of the most difficult problems. Improvement is feasible, though, if mental health experts and politicians continue to work together. We can all work towards achieving measurable progress in due time.