Mental Health Issues Of The United States

Mental sicknesses, like schizophrenia, brain diseases and other living conditions have affected many individuals in the United States from the past until now. Yet in the US, the institutions that usually treat people with these illnesses are not hospitals or psychiatric facilities, but rather jails and prisons. The United States have adopted a system that seems to incarcerate the mentally ill rather than treating them within help centers. “In 2012, there were roughly 356,268 inmates with severe mental illnesses in prisons and jails, while only 35,000 people with the same diseases were in state psychiatric hospitals.” Incarcerating the mentally ill in correctional facilities rather than treating them in health

Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a

About 75-80 million people in the United States are mentally ill to some extent (For the Mentally Ill, Finding Treatment Grows Harder). Many people are unaware of the treatments for the mentally ill and how few resources are available. Yes, if society looks from where society has come with the development of treatments, it has come a long ways. There is still more knowledge to be uncovered to ensure the United States gives the mentally ill care equal to what the United States gives the physically ill. Even though research has advanced immensely in the understanding of sanity vs. insanity, the United States needs to do more for those who are mentally ill through diagnosis and aid.

The United States has the highest rate of adult incarceration among the developed countries, with 2.2 million in jails and prisons. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that more than half of all prisons and jail inmates have a mental health problem compared to 11 percent of the general population, yet only one of three prison inmates and one in six jail inmates receive any form of mental health treatment. Those with mental disorders have been increasingly incarcerated during the past three decades. The treatment of severally mentally ill offenders has become an increasingly important and urgent issue because

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

1. What is mood disorder? Mood disorders are characterized by severe disturbances in mood and emotions—most often depression, but also mania and elation .All of us experience fluctuations in our moods and emotional states, and often these fluctuations are caused by events in our lives. We become elated if our favorite team wins the World Series and dejected if a romantic relationship ends or if we lose our job.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, some of the most common are; Specific Phobia, Panic Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress

There is over 2 million inmates in the prison system in the United States and about 16 percent of them have mental health issues. Some of those mental health conditions is a barrier to the inmates of being self-sufficient. The U.S justice department did a study in 2006 and noted that about 30 percent of those inmates exhibit indications of a mental health diagnosis. In the United States it cost somewhere around 45,000 dollars to house inmates in prison. According to a Department of Justice study only 2,000 dollars of the 45,000 dollars goes for the care of the mentally ill inmates. This does not meet the needs of the inmates of their mental health diagnoses (Coakley, E.

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

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).

Millions of Americans suffer from a mental illness throughout the years, and a majority of them are not getting an adequate treatment. Individuals who experience a mental illness are found in populations such as the homeless and jails. Between one-fourth and one-third of the homeless population suffers from a serious mental illness (Folsom, Hawthorne, Lindamer, Gilmer, Bailey, Golshan, Garcia, Unutzer, Hough, Jeste, 2005) and at least 16 percent of inmates in jails and prisons suffer from a mental illness (treatment advocacy center 2010). The care for the mentally ill in mental institutions has been significantly cut down throughout the passing years.

In addition, there are many forms of anxiety disorder, however, each form is encompassed by an excessive fear or worry that results from situations that are not threatening to the individual. Some example of anxiety disorders includes panic, phobias, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety. A number of scientists and researchers have also concluded that anxiety disorders are caused by factors such as family genetics or the environment that an individual grows up

“Anxiety is often defined as a more prolonged state of tension, worry, and apprehension regarding uncertain, and potentially negative, future events” (Duval, Javanbakht, & Liberzon 2015). In other words anxiety is completely normal and it works alongside fear in something called your Fight-or-Flight response. Your Fight-or-Flight response gears your body up to fight or to flee. Anxiety only becomes a problem when it gets excessive and your life starts to deteriorate. Knowing this, anxiety and stress disorders are one of the more prevalent categories of mental illnesses, affecting around 18% of Americans. There are multiple types of anxiety disorders which include Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Specific Phobia. Generalized Anxiety Disorder is more common than the other anxiety disorders. There are also treatment methods that have been proven to work. These treatments include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and various types of medications.

Mental Health has been recognized, as the well-being at which individuals are able to cope with everyday stresses, and work productively while contributing back to their community. Mental Health America began in the early 1900’s by Clifford W. Beers, a former psychiatric patient who experienced mental/physical abuse during his stay in public and private institutions. It wasn’t until short after a reform group emerged, to stand against the abuse and ill-treatment at these institutions. In this paper, I will be discussing the history/background of Mental Health Services, and how quality, access, cost or other factors have changed (or how they haven’t). I also will be discussing the populations that benefit from this type of service and the significant issues, and or problems within the area that impact specific populations. Lastly, I will interpret national policy, legislation, attitudes, political climate, and how they impact or relate to the problems discussed, then I will address two current issues discussed along with clarifying each discussion.

Anxiety Disorders cause a person to feel fearful or uncertain at most times. A generalized anxiety disorder can cause you to feel constantly worried. Panic disorders cause panic attacks from extreme anxiety. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that causes one to obsessively clean. Phobias cause irrational fears of things that are generally not dangerous.