The world might be turning, but to you it stands still. It seems like this is taking over your life and you just wish it would stop, that you would feel “normal.” The stigma that has surrounded mental illness is staggering, and has gone on for too long. Now more than ever, young people are speaking up and talking about their mental illnesses to try and end the stigma around them.
“Every year, about 42.5 million American adults (or 18.2 percent of the total adult population in the United States) suffers from some mental illness, enduring conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia” (www.newsweek.com). This number is staggering, and why does it seem to be more and more common? The data is showing that among that 18.2 percent of the population with mental illness, the majority are female, ranging from 18-49 years of age (SAMHSA).
There are two treatment options for mental illness, inpatient and outpatient. But the resources are not always being utilized. “The research shows that in 2008 that just over half (58.7 percent) of adults in the United States with a serious mental illness (SMI) received treatment for a mental health problem” (nimh.nih.gov). So overall just over half are getting the services they need for their mental illness. The age group with the highest percentage use of treatments were the age 50 and older group, with 70% compliance (nimh.nih.gov). The group with the lowest amount using treatment were the 18-25 range with only 40.4 percent getting treatment for their illness (SAMHSA).
There are many factors that can play into these statistics, but according to the data, young people are not likely to see mental health specialists in general. “The numbers fell further when racial and ethnic backgrounds were factored in. About 5.7 percent of white children and young adults were likely to see a mental health specialist in a given year, compared with about 2.3 percent for black or Hispanic young people” (pnhp.org). Different communities have different stigmas attached to mental illness, which can be responsible for the disconnect. They might not trust the doctors that are available, and there are also a shortage of doctors to treat patients (pnhp.org). “There are problems of access all around,” said Harold Pincus, vice chair of psychiatry at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. “We have to change the way we do things” (pnhp.org).
I consider mental health a silent killer, you may not see the illness in someone on the outside, but it could literally be killing them on the inside. There are so many people who suffer in silence from mental illness because they are afraid to be judged by other people or they just cannot afford to get treatment for it. We have to end the stigma and make mental health services more accessible to all individuals of any background.
