The Prevalence Of Mental Illness

This article begins by discussing the history of mental illness, going as far back as the 1700s. It goes over professionals in the field, the incidence rate, and treatments, all of this from the different time periods throughout the United States. The author also makes a point to acknowledge the different perceptions there were in the past of mental

Mental illness is increasingly being recognized as a challenge faced by many Canadians. The Mental Health Strategy for Canada estimates that ‘in any given year, one in five people in Canada experiences a mental health problem or illness’. (Bartram et al., 2012) The prevalence of mental illness is not exclusive to the Canadian population and it is estimated that these figures are rising. In 2004, the World Health Organization ranked major depression as third in terms of the overall burden of diseases in the world, (measured by Disability-Adjusted Life Years) and it is predicted to rise to second by 2030. (Langlois et al., 2011) One of the greatest concerns is that many in need of mental health services are not receiving treatment. Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the onset of mental illness and gender differences are evident in terms of prevalence and causation. Gender specific mental health services should be incorporated into the Canadian school system to promote mental health among adolescents, identify those who require individualized services and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

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.

The field of psychology has made great advancement in the way of treating disorders. For example, before Pinel's approach in 1745, disorders were perceived as demonic possession. Pinel and others proposed that mental disorders were not caused by demonic possession, but environmental factors like stress and inhumane conditions. Pinel's “moral treatment” involved improving the environment, replacing the asylum beatings with patient dances (PSY111: Module 9 Lecture, 2015, Dietz). Thanks to Pinel, we are able to treat disorders in the most scientific way as possible. Although there isn't a pill or shot make the disorder go away, we are able to make the most informed decision regarding treatments that are available to us, in hopes to one day find a

Mental illness is an issue that impacts all prison systems throughout the United States. The wellbeing of inmates is a long debated issue. There is much improvement that can be done in the prison systems to help rehabilitate and treat inmates while they are incarcerated to better prepare them for a successful reintegration into society. An examination of the current rehabilitation and treatment programs for inmates diagnosed with psychological illness will assist in identifying failures in within the program. Proper implementation of these services can improve an inmate’s chance of successfully reintegrating into society after incarceration and ultimately lower the cost of running a government funded prison. This essay will cover the prominence of mental illness in prison, drug treatment programs that are used to address mental illness in the prison system, continue assistance or continuation of programs for released inmates, the opportunities that exist for rehabilitation, and a proposal for a rehabilitation program. The purpose of the research is aimed at improving the circumstances of the inmates to receive assistance while incarcerated that they may not receive while free.

One of the most controversial topics affecting American society has been the matter of caring for the mentally ill. Early treatments of the mentally ill resulted in cruel and unconventional punishments; however, during the mid-1800s, attitudes about the mentally ill began to transition into more humane treatments. The earlier treatments were the abuse of drugs, electroshock therapy, and lobotomies, which, physicians later discovered, could cause hallucinations, delusions, and other side effects. These treatments can be seen as methods of torture and punishment, rather than methods of curing. As time went on, the treatments transformed into the appropriate methods that our used in today’s society, like therapy.

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.

What comes to mind when you think of mentally ill people? Is it depression? Or is it the asylums that “crazy people” are thrown into? What if I were to tell you that that's still a problem? Does having mental illness disclude people from the rest of humanity? Are their rights as Americans taken away from them because of their mental state? Every one in twenty five adults in America have lived with a mental disorder at one point, so why is their treatment not taken seriously?

For the majority of our nation’s history, treatment for those deemed mentally ill was poor at best. Now seen as rather dark and cruel, those suffering from a mental illness were cast away from society. Those admitted were locked away within the confines of an insane asylum, where they were ruthlessly tortured; many never seeing signs of improvement and subsequently never seeing the freedoms that lie beyond the confines of the asylum. Thus it is not hard to believe that as awareness of this treatment spread, civil rights activists took action toward protecting these patients. Patients diagnosed with mental illness were granted the following rights:

Mental illness was first introduced in the mid-19th century. Mental illnesses are medical conditions that interrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning, they are medical conditions that reduced one’s ability to cope with the daily activities such as going to work or raising a family.

A huge percentage of Americans suffer from various mental illnesses. 1 in 5 adults in the US, or 18.5% of the population, will experience mental illness in a given year (NAMI). With these mental illnesses come so many difficult questions. How can we improve the lives of Americans struggling with mental illnesses? What happens if these Americans become harmful to themselves or others? And how can we help and keep their families involved? The American government as well as several organizations have been trying to tackle these issues. Congressman Tim Murphy created a bill called the Helping Families in Mental Crisis Act (H.R. 2426) that seeks to “fix the nation’s broken

Americans suffer from various types of mental illness and mental health problems, such as social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, drug addiction, and personality disorders. Over a 12-month period, 27 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience some sort of mental health disorder, making the U.S. the country with the highest prevalence. Many Americans are going by their daily routines without being treated when suffering from a mental health illness. Homelessness people with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise 250,000 people, of the total homeless population. The quality of life for these individuals is terrible. Many are victimized regularly and are looked down. Because of not being properly treated episodes of violence arises,

“While there are many experts in the psychoanalysis of individuals, there seems to be little active authority or understanding in the matter of the persistent shared madness in everyday life. It's as if collective mental illness doesn't exist except in the vernacular and in contemporary folk myth, where it remains trapped and politically useless.” A quote from Michael Leunig.

It is important to understand the History of mental illness. "In 1955, there were 558,239 severely mentally ill patients in U.S. public psychiatric hospitals; in 1994, there were 71,619. On the basis of population growth, at the same per capita utilization as in 1955, there would have been an estimated 885,010 patients in state hospitals in 1994 (Torrey, 1997). Most of this projected population-more than 800,000 potential patients- live in the community."

Eventually in the 20th Century treatment evolved into a scientific approach. This presented both effective and less effective treatments and approaches in modern psychology. Today we find ourselves with a multitude of psychological approaches and modern medicine to treat the mentally disabled. The treatment of mental illness has undergone both a scientific and ethical evolution over time, progress has also seen setbacks and degradation in history but overall time, technological advances, and new psychological approaches have benefited the lives of the mentally