Mental Illness Of The Mentally Ill

Although widespread, mental illness afflicts only about 6% of the population (NAMI, 2012). This translates to 1 in every 17 Americans or approximately 57.7 million Americans who experience a mental disorder in a given year. The World Health Organization reported that mental disorders account for 4 out of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries. In addition, the US Surgeon General's report stated that 10% of children and adolescents in the US suffer from these disorders. These, in turn, severely affect their lives at home, in school and with

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.

Mental illness is an increasing problem in America. Currently about 26.2% of Americans suffer from a mental disorder. A mental illness/disorder is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functions. Mental illness can affect humans of any age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. However the care that is needed to effectively cure and help the people affected by the illness is not equal for everyone here in American, especially for African Americans.

Approximately one out of every four Americans suffers from some form of mental disorder in a given year. About 3.5 million Americans suffer from severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness. At least 40 percent of mentally ill people do not seek help or are not being treated, while many wander the streets homeless (Kornblum).

One in five American adults have experienced a mental health issue, and one in twenty-five Americans have lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also states studies show that individuals with mental health problems get better and may even recover completely, where they can continue living life healthily, with the help of treatments, services, and community systems. I, myself am one of the twenty-five.

Mental illnesses are generally characterized by changes in mood, thought, or behavior. They can make daily activities difficult and impair a person’s ability to work, interact with family, and fulfill other major life functions (SAMHSA, 2015). Contemplated early on in history, treatments for mental illness looked to cure the reflections of the anger of gods, demonic possession, sorcery, the evil eye, or an angry deity, responded with equally mystical, and brutal treatments (Nash, 2007). Attempts to treat mental illness date back as early as 5000 BCE as verified by the discovery of trephined skulls in regions of ancient world cultures (Porter, 2002, p. 10). Only a few realized that individuals with mental illness should be treated humanely rather than exorcised, punished, or banished. Psychiatry has come a long way since the days patients were shunned from society and shackled in asylums. Experiments and techniques for treating mental illness from ancient times to the turn of the 20th century have paved the way for the treatment plans used today.

Mental illness refers to all diagnosable mental disorders defined as “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.” (Williams & Torrens, 2008, p. 221) With one in every five American adults experiencing mental illness, the resulting economic burden exceeds $300 billion per year to include approximately $100 billion in direct health care expenditures, $24 billion in disability benefits, and $193 billion in lost earnings. (Insel, 2008) This estimate is conservative as it excludes the components of incarceration, homelessness, comorbid conditions, early mortality and the incalculable costs to families that absorb much of the financial and emotional burdens of these illnesses. Despite the fact mental illness contributes over 6% to the nation’s health care spending; the United States (U.S.) mental health system has historically lacked integration with physical medicine and public policy support. (Insel, 2008)

Mental illness in America affects a lot more people than many people may think. Around 42.5 million American adults suffer from mental illness, and about 9.3 million of those suffer from serious mental problems. Serious mental illness means that their condition interferes with their day to day activities. Something even as normal as going to work or school can be impossible for these people. A study was done and last year one in five Americans or 45.9 million Americans were labeled as suffering from mental illness. However, this estimate in more than likely too low (Bekiempis).

“One in five young people in the United States suffer from a mental illness, that’s twenty percent of our population.” Mental illnesses are disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior. The problem of mental illnesses among teenagers needs awareness because so many young people are affected by emotional disorders. If we allow ourselves to remain ignorant about this topic, we are hurting the youths in our community and creating stigmas; we are causing irreparable damage to the ones we are supposed to be looking after. Stigmas surrounding mental illness should neither be accepted nor prevail as they make life harder for the mentally ill. The points at issue of mental illness stigmatization contain unique dimensions: it takes away people’s

In today’s society mental health has become something that is much more known to individuals and their families. Mental health is something that is as serious as a physical illness but it is still feared and misunderstood by many people including those who are diagnosed with mental illness (Stuart, 2012). Though you cannot see mental illness physically it inside the body and mind and can do just as much damage, if not more. There are many forms of mental illness that include; anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias and panic disorders. Many individuals with mental health seek help from doctors, nurses and therapist to help overcome the challenges of mental illness (Stuart, 2013). Dealing with a mental health issue is hard enough as it is because many people misunderstand them and they carry a stigma with the mental illness that needs to be overcome by the individual. For those newly diagnosed medications are given to help improve the psychosis, hallucinations and major depressive disorder with great success, but for many the medication that is given has a side effect that makes the patient gain large amounts of weight throughout treatment (Kabinoff, Toalson,Masure,Healey,Mcquire & Hay., 2003). Not only are you dealing with stress from being diagnosed with a mental illness and learning to cope but now you are also given the stress of caring extra weight around and having people judge you because of

Mental illness is an increasingly big issue in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are 2.4 million American citizens over the age of 18 that have confirmed cases of schizophrenia. Many of these cases stem from poor living conditions, such as abusive households, drug use, and social interactions, along with other causes like neurology, and genetics are leading factors in the development of mental illness.

According to Mentalhealth.gov, "Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices."

Mental illness is becoming an increasing issue in peoples lives around the world. There are many different types of mental illnesses that affect people on daily basis and sometimes ends up totally turning an individual’s life upside down and changing it for the worse especially schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a type of psychotic disorder in which multiple parts of a person’s life starts to deteriorate such as personal, social and occupational functioning as a result of unusual thoughts and perceptions, disturbed emotions and behaviors (Comer, 2016). Have you ever wondered what life is like when one experiences schizophrenia? Here is a quote written by Francesca Zappia that clearly describes the experience, “Believing something existed and then finding out it didn’t was like reaching the top of the stairs and thinking there was one more step.” This quote clearly depicts how this disorder takes over one’s life as if creating sometimes a whole other world that is distant from reality and when told what they believed to be an important part of their life was never true it feels like they lost their sense of self and makes them question their life. In the film, A Beautiful Mind, we are introduced to a character John Nash who was known as an important American mathematician that spent most of his life as part of Princeton University, whose life was actually affected by schizophrenia. We see how this disorder takes over his life and how he deals with it for the rest of his life.

In millennials of the modern American society, mental disabilities are often ignored and disregarded due to the inability to see their struggles and pains physically. Depression and Anxiety are common among most Americans, but many still are disregarded and not taken seriously. On top of not taken seriously society treats them unlike those without mental disabilities and differentiates them. Although modern technologies helps us to identify those with mental disabilities and give them tools to succeed. Often time’s a hidden disability is ignored, and very little is done to recognize it in our schools, places of work and most importantly our own homes. Not only young children but those of all ages may

According to two different articles posted in two thousand sixteen “One in four American adults is affected by a mental disorder each year. . .” (“Mental disorders” 1), and “One in five kids ages 13-18 in the U.S. experiences a mental health condition in any given year. . .” (Villalpando 1). Mental illness is an epidemic and it starts young. According to Nicole Villalpando “Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75 percent by age 24” (1). Mental illness will not only affect the one with the disorder, but everyone around them. There is such a vast array of disorders, ranging from eating disorders, to anxiety, to schizophrenia. They can be mild or crippling. Everything about