Essay Sample on Mental Health Crisis: 40M Adults in US Suffer, Yet Few Receive Treatment

Introduction

The U.S. statistics on mental health show that over 40 million adults who represent 18% of the U.S. population suffer from mental health (NIH, 2018). However, it is only a small percentage that receives treatment or is correctly diagnosed with the type of mental illness they suffer from. Some of the common mental health issues include anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and autism, among others. Most low-income countries spend at least 0.5% of the health budget on health (NIH, 2016). The U.S. is a high come country yet; little is spent on mental health accessibility and treatment. Thus, citizens can improve the situation in many ways.

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Improving populations Mental Health

There is a need to enhance stakeholder cooperation, global, national, and local programs that seek to improve the mental health of people within and outside the United States. Such stakeholders include community and grassroots non-profit organizations, national and local governments, public and private companies, international corporations, and governments (Candeias & Diabo, 2018). The stakeholders should collaborate and create policies that ethically approve the use of new technologies and available data in early diagnosis of mental health problems. Governments can also join hands in creating novel medicine for common mental illnesses and making therapies accessible for the victims.

Mental Health Stigma

Stigma occurs when a person is negatively viewed for possessing traits that are regarded as a disadvantage. Such negative perceptions towards the mentally ill are common and often lead to discrimination. Another adverse impact of the stigma that is the basis of this paper is the reluctance to seek medical assistance. Whereas the U.S government admits to lack of accessibility to mental health, it is also evident that some people shy off due to stigma. Therefore, such people can be helped primarily through civic education on media platforms on coping measures. Branding people as ‘mental’ is a form of stigma that can be dealt through treatment, mitigating isolation, and acceptance, among other means (Granello, 2016).

Reaching out to ‘Cray’ People as Professionals

Professionals face problems when reaching out to people with mental illness without being viewed as discriminative. Improving funds for training and facilitating outreach programs to remote areas is part of the professional strategy for the mentally ill (Miller, 2019). Impending regulations to care and information sharing should be removed so that professionals can easily reach out to those in need without restrictions (Miller, 2019). Professionals can also partner with community organizations, care-groups, and known patients, and caregivers to help in the identification of persons with mental problems (Miller, 2019). The best way to address the underserved and large group of needy mental cases is by collaborating with the named stakeholders.

References

Candeias, V. &Diabo, R. (2018). Here are Five Priorities for Better Cooperation on Mental Health. Trade Multi-stakeholder Conversation https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/five-ways-mental-health-care-better-depression/

Granello, D.H. (2016). Labeling People as ‘The Mentally Ill’ increases Stigma. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/labeling-people-as-the-mentally-ill-increases-stigma-53794

Miller, J.A. (2019). It’s Time to Increase Access to Behavioral Healthcare. American Hospital Association https://www.aha.org/news/insights-and-analysis/2019-05-28-its-time-increase-access-behavioral-health-careNIMH. (

(2018). Depression. The National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml