Introduction
Nowadays, there are still many severe healthcare problems that threaten people’s lives and welfare. Unfortunately, in the U.S., mental health disorders are the top causes of disability (“Mental Health Disorder Statistics”). Typically, they include obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or manic depression, and clinical or major depression. The purpose of this paper is to discuss available statistics and some facts about a mental health problem in the United States of America.
Numbers and Statistics
Unfortunately, the number of people facing and fighting mental disorders is scary. Researchers note that, in a given year, about twenty-six percent of Americans older than eighteen years old suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Moreover, there are those people who have more than one psychological issue simultaneously. In particular, “depressive illnesses tend to co-occur with substance abuse and anxiety disorders” (“Mental Health Disorder Statistics”). Each year, nearly ten percent of Americans will suffer from dysthymia or bipolar disorder (“Mental Health Disorder Statistics”). Interestingly, men are approximately twice less likely to be diagnosed with major depression than women.
Nevertheless, both males and females are equally likely to suffer from bipolar disorder. A significant number of people who commit suicide were diagnosed with a mental disorder. Generally, it is a substance abuse or a depressive disorder (“Mental Health Disorder Statistics”). Men commit suicide four times more often than women, but females make attempts more often.
Types of Mental Health Disorders
Though mental health disorders’ types were mentioned above, it is crucial to discuss it more thoroughly. There is a significant number of symptoms that can have an effect on the mental health of a person (“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise”). For instance, anxiety may cause social phobia, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic (“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise”). Problems with food can result in binge eating, bulimia, and anorexia (“Mental Health Disorder Statistics”). Mood issues are able to cause major depression and bipolar disorder. Hence, while some people can live full lives, enjoy every day, and overcome stress and mood and food problems easily, others have to be in constant fear that their mental disorders may worsen.
Mental Health Treatment
There is a number of various sources that can provide mental health treatment. For example, special mental health counselors are employed in government programs, hospitals, corporations, private agencies, and community programs. However, most important is that they are available at schools, so students who are under constant stress may ask for aid and consultation (“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise”). Clinical Mental Health Counselors are trained specially to help alleviate mental health concerns’ effect.
There are several ways to achieve that, and the first one is to provide training to individuals or groups or conduct early individual assessments to recognize signs of different mental illnesses. Then, to provide therapeutic and rehabilitative care, it is necessary to work with health professionals like psychiatrists and psychologists (“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise”). Finally, it is helpful to communicate with those people who are already suffering from mental illness. It allows the implementation and development of basic treatment plans that facilitate recovery (“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise”). Of course, the mental health counselor’s services’ breadth expands far beyond the listed ones. It is hard to disagree that the role of Clinical Mental Health Counselors is of vital importance since mental health disorders are so common.
Work Cited
“Mental Health Disorder Statistics.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2020. Web.
“Mental Health Issues in America on the Rise.” Antioch University Online, 2017, Web.