The Mental Health Taboo
Regardless of what part of society you live and work in, mental health care is probably the most ignored issue there is. This may seem like an over-generalization, but consider it. When people are sick—even if it's just a minor cold—they usually see a doctor. At a minimum, they might take a sick day off.
With mental health disorders it's a different thing. Illness is left unchecked—ignored—until it becomes dangerous. For the most part, mental illnesses are acceptable as long as you can remain functional at your job. If you were constantly afflicted with congestion, sinus pain, and a runny nose, people would think that you're crazy if you didn't go to see the doctor. With neurotic conditions, however, there are people that go their entire lives without seeking mental health counseling.
The Importance of Education
Can you now see the importance of educating people on the importance of psychological health? Mental health awareness is crucial. Everyone, from victims of physical and mental abuse to those who have grown up in a relatively normal and nurturing environment, develops a psychological issue at some time in their life.
It is practically an epidemic in our society. Mental health issues, such as, depression are responsible for hundreds of thousands of missed workdays yearly, and suicide has become a common cause of death that is preventable. If you know someone who is battling with a psychological problem, it is critical that you do everything you can to get them into therapy. Undiagnosed and/or untreated mental health illness can put a great deal of strain on—and become dangerous to—the family and community, as well as, the patient.
The Current Attitude
Unfortunately, it is apparent that our society has a serious lack of mental health care support. There is some emergency mental health care available in many places, but once you're past that critical 72 hour observation stage, unless you have exceptionally good insurance coverage, it's hard to get continued treatment. The current philosophy is to give you some pills and send you on your way.
Even just a couple of decades ago, health care (mental) was much more encompassing. People could obtain full courses of therapy to assist them in dealing with chronic mental health problems. The current problem is that the pharmaceutical companies and health care management providers are showing more concern for profit than people. It is more efficient (read: cheaper) to write a prescription for Zoloft than to actually get to the cause of a mental problem. Until our society as a whole changes its attitudes and convictions about psychological health, things will continue to worsen for all.
Mental Health News From Medical News Today
New Smartphone, A Virtual Therapist And Other Novel Technologies To Treat Depression
Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST - Brooding in your apartment on Saturday afternoon? A new smart phone intuits when you're depressed and will nudge you to call or go out with friends. It's the future of therapy at a new Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine center where scien...
New Analysis Finds No Antidepressant-Suicide Link In Youths
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST - In 2004, concerns about antidepressant drugs increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young patients prompted the FDA to issue a rare "black box warning." Now, a new analysis of clinical trial data finds that treatment with the antidepressant fluoxet...
National Study Shows Majority Of Self-Harming Adolescents Don't Receive A Mental Health Assessment During Emergency Room Visit
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST - A national study of Medicaid data shows most young people who present to emergency departments with deliberate self-harm are discharged to the community, without receiving an emergency mental health assessment. Even more, a roughly comparable proportion ...
Access To Psychotropic Medicines Affected By Health Systems Factors
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST - In a cross-sectional analysis of WHO-AIMS data published in this week's PLoS Medicine, Ryan McBain of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA and colleagues investigated the associations between health system components and access to psychotropic dru...
