Mental health is defined as "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease" (World health organization [WHO], 2012, p.3). Mental illness refers to health conditions or disorders which are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, and behaviors, and may affect a person’s ability to fully function on a daily basic (Healthy people 2020). Mental illness is very common in the United States society. The World Health Organization, the World Bank, and Harvard University have conducted the massive Global Burden of Disease study showing that “mental illness, including suicide, accounts for more than 15 percent of the burden of disease in first world countries such as the United States” (as cited …show more content…
The risk of living in poverty increases, results in having a lower socioeconomic status and education. Another impact of mental illness on society is causing some public issues such as mass shooting. There have been 300 mass shootings in the United States until now (Mass Shooting Tracker, 2015). We are reaching the historic high number in mass shooting. The research by Elbogen and Johson (2009) about the link between violence and mental disorders have shown that although severe mental illness is not the leading cause of violence in society, but it is evidently pertinent to violence …show more content…
The reason is because mental illness can affect any age group despite of race, ethnicity, and gender. It causes number of negative impacts to individuals, their families, and society. Therefore, it is very essential that we pay greater attention to promotion and prevention in mental health in order to reduce the burdens of mental illness. First of all, we can improve nutrition for people, especially children living in poverty by providing nutritional interventions such as food supplementation (WHO, 2004, p.24). Good nutrition helps them to maintain good physical health and improves education outcomes. It reduces their risks for mental illness. Another prevention strategy which could be very cost effective is early intervention programs such as home visiting program during pregnancy and early infancy (WHO, 2004, p.27). This program benefits for the mothers and the infant. The parents are educated in parental skills, and health risks of smoking or substances use. This program is very effective in preventing or reducing child abuse or neglect. For children who have parents with mental illness or family disruptions such as divorced parents, parental death, there are school-based programs providing social supports and reduce stigmatization. It decreases their risk of developing depressive disorder and behavioral problems (WHO, 2004, p.31). Improving social support is also the prevention strategy
Mental illness is a condition that interferes with a persons thinking, feeling, mood, reliability and daily functioning. Conditions usually create a lesser capacity for coping with ordinary needs in life. However, it does not relate to a persons character or intelligence. With no treatment of the mental illness, it can lead to various consequences including unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives. The impact of a mental illness on someones life can be reduced with the right treatment and care. (“What is Mental Illness”)
To understand what mental illness is you have to know what it means. Mental health is the state of our well-being. Mental health has to do with the mind. According to thefreedictionary.com mental health is “a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life”. Mental illness are behavioral, psychological, and emotional disorders that effect the mind. Mental illness is not something that should be avoided. There many different types of mental illnesses. There are also mental healthcare services that can help people with their mental illnesses.
According to an article written by Daniel Reidenberg, every year in America, there are over thirty-four thousand deaths due to suicide. Every thirty-eight seconds there is a person attempting to take their own life. Every fifteen minutes, someone succeeds in their attempt of suicide. Reidenberg mentions that in the last decade, the number of deaths by suicide has increased. He states that we, the people of America, need to take mental illnesses more seriously. They are just as bad as any other disease, just a disease that unfortunately lands in the brain and changes one’s “thoughts, feelings, and behavior.” Mental illnesses are a huge cause of suicide. According to a presentation made by Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar, the suicide rates in the Americas have increased by forty percent since 2000. Marsha Linehan preaches about how the suicide rates today are the highest they have ever been. Linehan, Dr. Vijayakumar and Reidenberg, despite being unable to predict the future of suicide rates, all know that without a change in the way we treat it,
They suggested that not only mental illness but other factors such as social relationships, firearm access during emotional moments etc also lead to gun violence. However, they failed to cite this with strong facts, numbers etc. Reports suggest that up to 60% of executioners of mass shootings in the United States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their crimes[4,5]. In another article “Rates of Household Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988–1997”[6], the authors emphasized on the “association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide across the United States, by age group”. In this analysis, they failed to take gender, mental health and other factors into consideration which helps more to analyze that which type of people (mentally ill) and/ or which gender are doing these cruel
Mental illness in Australia is prevalent in younger generations from age 19 to 25. The women are affected more than the men are. Mental health problems are not adequately addressed in Australia. Hence, new steps and more focus is needed in mental care department (landstedt et al., 2016).The children in Australia are at a high risk of developing mental illness in adulthood. A survey was made to evaluate the reasons and prevalence of the mental illness in the children or from infancy. Since early childhood, there is a chance of 51.7% of mental illness. The reasons determined can be modified. The reasons include the behavioral aspect of the parents. Risk increases with smoking and alcohol consumption by the mother. This may result in mental illness
Markowitz, F. E. (2011). Mental illness, crime, and violence: Risk, context, and social control. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 36-44.
Mental health can described as being the psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment; this refers to our mental and emotional well-being. Once hearing that someone is mentally unhealthy, or has a mental illness, usually their first reaction is one of concern, fear, or confusion.
Recently, a popular TV series “13 Reasons Why,” raised the awareness of suicide and mental health. Suicide and mental health are big deals, since suicide is the “second leading cause of death for ages 12-24,” according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (“Suicide Statistics”). People attempt suicide for various reasons, and mental illness is a significant factor. Consequently, risk factors such as chemical imbalance in the brain, genetic vulnerability, environmental factors, and family relationship intertwine and cause mental illness. Among those mental illnesses, depression is one of the most common and heavily associated with suicide. Depression is difficult to identify among the young people because the symptoms are easily
Russell, L., (2010), provides these statistics on mental health disorders; he stated that these are common occurrence in the United States, affecting some 44 million adults and 13.7 million children each year. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and 80 percent to 90 percent of people who die by suicide suffered from a mental illness. While most mental health disorders are treatable with medication and other therapies, yet fewer than half of adults and only one-third of children with a diagnosable mental disorder receive treatment. Russell, L., (2010), noted that, under the Affordable Care Act and other recent legislation such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, mental health disorders are covered but
In our world today, we have a generally poor understanding of mental illness in two distinct ways: we don´t understand the dangers that mental illness can present to people as they go about their everyday lives, and we don´t understand how to properly care for people that suffer from mental illness. However, if we better understand when, why, and how mentally ill people can become violent, and if we can better understand how to identify and treat the illnesses these people suffer from, we can drastically improve the lives of many people.
Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. ... A mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function. (Mayo Clinic Staff)
Despite mental illness affecting a large percentage in America, there is still a lot of controversy around the topic. Mental illness has had a mixture of both support and stigma. In our modern society, there has been an increase in mental disorders awareness. In addition, in comparison to the 20th Century, it seems as if there are improvements in society's care for the mentally ill. This is largely supported, because people with mental disorders are no longer locked in asylums as they use to be. Yet, there has been increased reports of abuse of the mentally ill. For example, across the United States prisons there has been cases of the mentally ill inmates being “doused with chemical sprays, shocked with electronic stun guns, and strapped for
Mental illness affects more than 60 million people in the United States. The perceived stigma, misdiagnosis, lack of treatment and medication availability contribute to the difficulty in leading a healthy, normal life. The correlations between mental illnesses and physical health link higher rate of suicide (Dalton, Cate-Carter, Mundo, Parikh, Kennedy, 2003). Bipolar, a serious and debilitating mood disorder, which is common in individuals who commit suicide, affects more than 13 million people. The quality of life in bipolar patients diminishes significantly with poor health choices, such as self-medication and substance abuse (Cassidy, 2011).
In order to get rid of the vicious cycle of poverty feeding into mental illness, there is a need to think of mental health as a development priority instead of just a concern of public health and human rights.
As of the moment, mental disorders constitute four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the world, and mental and behavioral disorders account for 12% of the global burden of disease, yet the mental health budgets of the majority of countries constitute less than 1% of their total health expenditures. (WHO, 2001)