Untreated Mental Illness: A Case Study

Many of those with mental illnesses, disabilities and disorders are met with stigma and excluded from society and lack basic human rights such as food, clothing and shelter. A significant number are also denied rights to vote, marry and have children and discriminated against within the workplace, education and housing. As a result, people with mental illnesses are a vulnerable group and are generally forced into situations of poverty from the lack of treatment or extreme discrimination. In turn, people are forced into situations where they are not able to access the mental care they require in order to cope with their situation and thus, perpetuating a vicious cycle.

The lack of treatment for mental illnesses — due partly from the stigma with which it is associated with — comes with a number of public issues: economically,

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

According to the World Health Organization, mental illness will affect approximately 25% of people at some point in their life (“WHO Qualityrights”, n.d.). Despite that, the current mental health care system in the United States is inadequate. Many aspects of the system need improving, especially the barriers to service. In fact, approximately 20% of individuals are left without necessary treatment for their mental health disorder (“Mental Health”, 2016). Mentally ill individuals have difficulty accessing necessary mental health care services for various reasons; insurance, socioeconomic status, and mental health stigma can all function as barriers to treatment. Insurance discrimination can make it difficult for individuals to find treatment (Han, Call, Pintor, Alarcon-Espinoza, & Simon, 2015). Gaps in insurance coverage can also be a barrier, as they disrupt the long-term treatment process (Gulley, Rasch, & Chan 2011). Socioeconomic status has been found to negatively affect appointment scheduling (Kugelmass, 2016). Finally, stigma in our society can also stop people from seeking out treatment that they need (Bathje & Pryor, 2011). The mental health system in the United States is not capable of caring for the mentally ill, as insurance, socioeconomic status, and perceived stigma all act as barriers that prevent people from receiving the treatment they need.

Stigma surrounds mental illness even in contemporary society. Research has aimed to reduce this. World Health Organisation (WHO; 2012) have stated that such stigma is a “hidden human rights emergency”.

Mental health disorders are a problem not only American’s face. It is a worldwide problem that today we still are unclear of what causes these disorders. “Mental health can be defined as a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well being” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). Mental health disorder can affect children all the way to the elderly. Stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering for mental health patients. It often leads to potential clients turn away and never find help because of the labels people put on

Mental illness is a major burden on society that is not given enough attention or resources, especially in the United States. The continued neglect of these needs concerning related conditions dates back to the beginning of history, while diagnoses and the need for adequate care have only continued to rise. These inequalities in the United States mental health care system create enormous ethical challenges for these individuals in receiving health care. “In 2007 about 11% of adults (23.7 million) in the United States experienced serious psychological distress, such as anxiety and mood disorders, that resulted in functional impairment that impeded one or more major life activities” (Sundararaman, 2009,

It is estimated that 43.5 million Americans, adults 18 or older, live with mental illness. This number represents 18.1% of all U.S. adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Stigma toward those who are seen as different have existed for as long as civilization itself, with the stigma for mental illness being one of the most prominent and long lasting that society has had to face throughout its ages (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Increased understanding and awareness for those individuals suffering from mental illness is necessary for us to overcome the impacts stigma has on our society.

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

Drawbacks for certain populations. m: One disadvantage of sober living homes is that certain populations have a lower chance of maintaining sobriety in them. According to 5, individuals with a dual diagnosis may find sober living homes to be a more challenging and stressful setting; they would be better able to cope with more calm and undisturbed surroundings (Polcin & Korcha, 2015) (108Z). m: People with dual disorders and other serious psychiatric disorders may have specific needs that would require special accommodations. Furthermore, According to 4, people with more serious psychiatric disorders may require more personal assistance from a trained staff who is available to assist them with their daily living. It may also be

The third mechanism considers the proximity of the claimant to the incident or its immediate aftermath. This is not limited to being present at the scene of the incident as established in McLoughlin v. O’Brian [1983] 1 AC 410. Lord Wilberforce held that the claim was actionable as the claimant saw the victim an hour after the incident, the relationship between the victim and claimant satisfied the relationship test and the victim was in the same state as at the scene of the incident. Whilst this is applied with a degree of elasticity (Galli-Atkinson v. Seghal [2003] EWCA Civ 697) it does not provide certainty. In Alcock, Lord Ackner stated that arriving 8 hours after the incident did not satisfy the criteria. It is argued that it is not always

“I want to be able to talk to someone in a pub and say ‘I have been mentally ill’ and for them to say ‘That’s interesting, what did you experience?’”, said a survivor from the UK in 1997 (Sayce 18). Almost twenty years later and this man 's wish still has not come true. People may ask why, and the answer is because of the stigma that comes along with having a mental illness. Mental illness is something not often talked about because of the fear of being judged. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four Americans has a mental illness, and only about 40% of them seek professional help (Hamid). People are being put into mental institutions instead of getting the help that they need to get better, because even people in the medical field are not understanding about this situation because they do not understand how it feels. The stigma and stereotypes towards mental illnesses are overwhelming, therefore people should be made aware of their impact and take steps to reduce stigma and stereotypes.

Throughout history, mentally ill patients have been perceived and treated differently— either treated through magical rituals, prayer and exorcism, or confined to institutions, seen as criminals and punished for misbehaving (Frisch & Frisch, 2011). Mental health is different from other illness because we do not have laboratories or diagnostics to confirm such disease, but instead, a series of questions and observational skills are required to diagnose a person with mental illness. Despite the difference of methods, it has been proven effective and beneficial for these patients. My case study was about JD, a 13 year old, Native American boy who was brought to the emergency room due to knife possession and making threats to several of his classmates.

In a given year, one out of every four American adults will suffer from a mental illness. Therefore, it would be logical to hypothesize that you or someone you love may be affected by mental illness at some point in your or his or her lifetime. A meta-synthesis of 144 quantitative and qualitative studies consisting of 90,189 participants highlighted that 52% - 74% of Americans and Europeans with mental disorders do not receive treatment. This is problematic for many reasons, as untreated mental illness has devastating and even deadly consequences. A 2014 study conducted by the RAND Cooperation found that approximately 90% of subjects with mental disordered reported being stigmatized and discriminated against in the past year. A 2014 World Health Organization study relived that every 40 second someone commits suicide, which amounts to over a staggering 800,000 suicides every year. Now, take into consideration the families, friends, and loved one’s who suffer the devastating loss of their loved ones whose death could have certainly been prevented. The harsh reality is mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands and wives take their life every single day.