Mental Health And The Prevention Of The Progression Mental Illness

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between ages 15 – 34. Now, the question is where’s the effort to stop it? If 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental illness,

In Australia suicide is the leading cause of death among young people (Khan & Francis, 2015). According to an Australian national survey conducted, 7.3 million or 43% of Australians between the ages of 16 & 85 will experience some form of mental health related condition during their lifetime. This may include anxiety, depression and drug misuse. Mental health issues are also very costly for the healthcare system. These issues are costing the Australian government alone, more than 6 billion dollars per year (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013). To help reduce these costs, more education and promotion needs to be provided when caring for an adolescent with mental health issues, and strength-based models of care need

The shutdown of state mental hospitals and lack of available financial and institutional resources force mentally ill people to the United States Judicial System for mental health. Every year thousands of people are arrested for various crimes and they are sent to jail. Sixteen percent of these people have some type of mental health problem (Public Broadcasting System , 2001). When we consider that the United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world at 2.2 million, this number is staggering (Anasseril E. Daniel, 2007). This is about 1% of the entire population of the United States. There are many reasons as to why the situation has taken such a bad turn and when the history of the treatment of mental illness is examined one can see how the situation developed into the inhumane disaster it is today.

In addition, the program offered healing to the community still healing from the legacy of colonialism. If the federal government kept funding the suicide prevention program there would not have been a spike in suicide rates in the community. Furthermore, a psychologist at the University of Victoria, Christopher Lalonde, believes the key to stopping suicides is rooted in the communities (McCue, 2016). From two decades of researching, he found that the communities that are the least “culturally healthy” have a higher rate of youth suicide (McCue, 2016). Also, the mental wellness of aboriginal youths is not only about being mentally healthy but also having a balance between Aboriginal youths’ families, communities, and the environment (Khan, 2008). Therefore, it will be better that Aboriginal suicide prevention programs are created by Aboriginal communities to target the prevalence issues in their communities with some assistance from the government to set it up and fund

A national strategy for promoting mental wellbeing and mental health is No Health Without Mental Health.

Forget all the stereotypes of mental illness. It has no face. It has no particular victim. Mental illness can affect an individual from any background and the black community is no exception. African Americans sometimes experience even more severe forms of mental health conditions because of unmet needs and barriers to treatment. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. That’s why UGA third year Majenneh Sengbe is taking action as the co-founder of her upcoming organization Black Minds Daily.

Since the mid to late 1990’s, youth suicide has become a common cause of death for young Australians (Carter 2010 para. 1). The government then acted and managed to reduce the suicide rate, which was a success (Carter 2010 para. 2). After decades, the problem was re-encountered and it became one of the leading causes of death for people under 25 years old in Australia surpassing car

Psychiatric and general hospitals are required to, “Conduct a risk assessment that identifies specific characteriscts of the individual served and environmental features that may increase or decrease the risk for suicide” (Joint Commission, 2010). Many psychiatric hospitals have extended their services in the last few decades to drug and alcohol rehabilitation and these admissions and their environments will now require a complete suicide risk assessment, if it has not been done so before.

Healthy People 2020 set a goal of reducing the number of completed suicides among the adult population by ten percent. This is a reoccurring theme from Healthy People 2010, where the goal was to reduce the number of suicides from 10.5 to 4.8 per 100,000. Unfortunately, from 2003 to 2013, rate of death from suicide has steadily increased to the current rate of 13.0 per 100,000 deaths (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The goal of Healthy People 2020 is to improve the health of our Nation over the next ten years, from a baseline set of data (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Though suicide is not an illness, it typically is an untreated or undermanaged mental illness that results in a person resorting to

Healthy People 2020 is a government site that identifies health concerns based on statistics observed and collected over a ten-year period. Mental Health and Mental Disorders is one of the many health concerns or topics listed on their website and has been further subcategorized into objectives and goals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2015). The first objective listed under this topic states “reduce the suicide rate” (HHS, 2015). The goal of this objective is to “reduce the suicide rate by ten percent” (HHS, 2015). Suicide is prevalent among varying age groups, ethnicities, and genders (HHS, 2012). It is an increasing problem prompting Healthy People 2020 to label it as a Leading Health Indicator or an extremely important issue (HHS, 2015). To meet their goal, Healthy People 2020 partnered with the U. S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) to create a plan that can be utilized throughout the nation. Their plan focuses on removing the stigma associated with mental health and mental health disorders while simultaneously building supportive communities with increased access to care, creating a standardized model promoting the collaboration of health care professionals in order to increase identification and data collection of high-risk patients and provide continuity of care, and ensuring the education and the adequacy of patient support systems.

In Australia, the National Mental Health Policy aims to reduce the effect of mental health problems and mental illness, including the impact of stigmas on families, the community and more so on the individual itself (Commonwealth of Australia 2008) (Sane Australia, 2013).

Core strategies such as coping mechanisms, creating protective environments, and enhancing access to suicide care and services are presented. Gaining clarity on the CDC’s approaches to suicide reduction in this report will further my ability to evaluate biopsychosocial interventions and the pivotal role of community.

Suicide prevention is not a last minute activity. Textbooks on depression state it should be acted on as soon as possible. Unfortunately, suicidal people are often afraid that trying to get help may bring them more pain: being told they are stupid, foolish, sinful, or manipulative; rejection; punishment; suspension from school or job; written records of their condition; or involuntary commitment. Studies have found that seventy five percent of suicides have shown signs of deep despair weeks or months prior to their death. By the year 2020, the World Health Organization estimates that suicide, brought on by depression, will be the number two cause of lives lost

With seven billion people in the world, healthcare and healthcare infrastructure are increasingly important. Public health professionals are currently focusing on the following five topic areas to improve global health. By ensuring that everyone can have access to adequate care, the healthcare community can reduce premature mortality rates and the severity of epidemics.

Three people in my life have completed suicide; my uncle, my mom’s late fiance, and my step brother on my dad’s side, within four years of each other. I’ve witnessed each parental figure in my life become compromised by grief and the inevitable pain accompanying it, and I’ve seen the way depression can plague someone so deeply, even without the ending of suicide. The prevalence and growing numbers of deaths by suicide calls for a revised manner of education on all mental illnesses and the preventative measures one can take to reduce risk. Initially, when I heard of the Suicide Prevention Week Keynote event with Jamie Tworkowski (founder of ‘To Write Love On Her Arms’) I was thrilled. Hosting such an event on a college campus, presenting to a population greatly affected by mental illness, is demonstrative of the steps that should be taken toward raising awareness. Any opportunity for a comprehensive view on mental health and its significance is one to be taken advantage of. However, as the night proceeded, I did take note of several things that would improve the layout of any future events, as well as further deepen an individual’s comprehension of mental illness.