New data collected during the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that roughly one in every five adult Americans suffered from mental illness in 2009.
The study was carried out by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which surveyed 67,500 adults over the course of the year.
It was discovered that of the 45 million Americans who suffered from mental illness last year, 11 million suffered serious illness and 8.4 million contemplated suicide. About 20 percent of all mental illness patients also reported a dependency on drugs or alcohol, with that number increasing to 25.7 percent for the severe cases.
"Too many Americans are not getting the help they need and opportunities to prevent and intervene early are being missed," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in an agency news release.
"The consequences for individuals, families and communities can be devastating. If left untreated mental illnesses can result in disability
, substance abuse, suicides, lost productivity, and family discord. Through health care reform and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act we can help far more people get needed treatment for behavioral health problems," she stated.
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from the statistics…then the people who feel most lonely-spiritually/emotionally really are not alone.
We have over a 100 treatment facilities world wide and dual dianosis is on the rise. Thank you for this info. http://soberlivingbythesea.blogspot.com
Who can trust these statistics when the Diagnostic Classification System is a non-scientific measurement or assessment instrument. A group of psychiatrists sit in a group in Philadelphia and vote on what is a disorder. And, they dont even know what represents a disorder….eg. Post Traumatic Stress is not a disorder but an injury that affects every system.
Psychiatry and psychology can not be trusted or relied upon until they discover how to treat their custormer or patients with dignity and respect. Stop putting false labels on people and turning them over to Big Insurance that will never expunge them or alter them should the patient ever improve or transcend these horrible labels. Mental health is a primitive system that has never gotten it right, sees everything as a mental health issue rather than a whole health concern. And, be honest with your patients and tell them that you are unable to protect their right to privacy as you will be billing their insurance company and putting a label on them that may or may not be accurate.
You should really look into first order logic.
A recent study foung 20 % of Americans suffer from mental illness and many polls show that 20% of Americans identify themselves as liberals. A coincedence? They are running the country (for another month)
Mental illness is the most misunderstood disease.
You see someone in a wheelchair. But they compete in athletic events and are more fit than a lot of couch potatoes. So are they disabled?
People are not either “normal” or “mentally ill.” It is shades of gray, from superbly adjusted to struggling with every relationship.
A lot of mentally ill people are fine 95% of the time, but when stress — like the current economy come along — they go to pieces.
Medications dont make the mentally ill “well.” They can SOMETIMES make them “better,” but often at high prices of side effects — and pills that you develop a tolerance to and quit working after 4-6 months. And what artistic, creative person wants to take a pill that makes them a polite zombie.
Guess what. The mentally ill get upset and angry at injustices just like non-ill folks. Just because they get upset doesnt mean it has anything to do with their illness.
Compassion. There but for the grace of God go I. Pray for the mentally ill, that they have hope, joy, optimism, cheer, wisdom, peace of mind — and that depression, fear, anger…all of these are driven out of their mind by love.
Chances are you have known and worked next to a mentally ill person for a long time and not known it. Let go of your false beliefs about mental illness.