One in Five
22.1% of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Applied to U.S. Census figures, that's 44.3 million Americans.
National Institute of Mental Health, 2001
Archives of General Psychiatry, 1993; U.S. Census 1998
People with Mental Illness Enrich our Lives
Abraham Lincoln • Virginia Woolf • Lionel Aldridge • Eugene O'Neill • Ludwig van Beethoven • Gaetano Donizetti • Robert Schumann • Leo Tolstoy • Vaslov Nijinsky • John Keats • Tennessee Williams • Vincent Van Gogh • Isaac Newton • Ernest Hemingway • Sylvia Plath • Michelangelo • Winston Churchill • Vivien Leigh • Jimmy Piersall • Patty Duke • Charles Dickens
There is little evidence that the stigma f mental illness has been reduced in contemporary American society. Preference for social distance in most social settings between the public and those with mental health problems remains distressingly high.
MacArthur Foundation, NIMH & the National Science Foundation, 1996
Suicide is the 11 th leading cause of death among Americans.
Suicide is the 3 rd leading cause of death for young people 15-24 years of age. The incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults has nearly tripled between 1952 and 1995 in the U.S.
National Institute of Mental Health, 2001
4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are mental disorders.
Total (in millions) |
% of Total |
|
1. Major Depression |
50.8 |
10.7 |
2. Iron deficiency anemia |
22.0 |
4.7 |
3. Falls |
22.0 |
4.6 |
4. Alcohol use |
15.8 |
3.3 |
5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
14.7 |
3.1 |
6. Bipolar Disorder |
14.1 |
3.0 |
7. Congenital anomalies |
13.5 |
2.9 |
8. Osteoarthritis |
13.3 |
2.8 |
9. Schizophrenia |
12.1 |
2.6 |
10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorders |
10.2 |
2.2 |
World Health Organization/World Bank
Harvard University Press, 1996
18.8 million American adults, 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older have a depressive disorder in a given year.
Nearly twice as many women (12.0 %) as men (6.6%) are affected by a depressive disorder each year.
National Institute of Mental Health, 2001
U.S. Census, 1998
Mental Health is not just the absence of Mental Illness
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
The World Health Organization's 191 member states have endorsed this statement.
From the Constitution of the World Health Organization
Report on Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, 2001
“... Americans must understand and send this message: mental disability is not a scandal - it is an illness. And like physical illness, it is treatable, especially when the treatment comes early.”
“Our country must make a commitment. Americans with mental illness deserve our understanding and they deserve excellent care."
President George W. Bush
Launch of the President's New Freedom Initiative
April 29, 2002
The cost of severe mental illness to the U.S. economy is staggering. The price tag for direct treatment costs, including hospitalizations and medications, is $67 billion.
Health Care Spending: National Expenditures for Mental Health, Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Treatment
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1998
The costs of untreated mental illness to the individual, family, and society are staggering.
Unnecessary Disability
Unemployment
Substance Abuse
Homelessness
Inappropriate Incarceration
Suicide
The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than $100 billion each year in the U.S.
National Institute of Mental Health, 2001
60% of emergency physicians report that the upsurge in people with mental illness seeking treatment in community emergency departments is negatively affecting patient care, causing longer wait times, and affects everyone's access to life-saving treatment.
2/3 rds of these physicians attribute the recent escalation to state health care budget cutbacks and decreasing number of psychiatric beds for people living with mental illness in crisis.
American College of Emergency Physicians, national survey, 2004
It is easier for a person with a severe mental illness to get arrested than to get treatment. Jails and prisons are becoming a dominant living setting for persons with severe mental illness.
More than 10% of all inmates – 250,000 individuals – in prisons and jails suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression, at an annual cost of $6 billion.
This is nearly 4x the number of those cared for in hospitals.
Criminal Justice and Behavior: Morris, Steadman, and Veysey, 1997
Severe mental illnesses are treatable disorders of the brain. Treatment works, if you can get it.
Success rates for treating mental illnesses are high:
• Treatment success rate for bipolar disorder: 80%
• For major depression: 65%
• For schizophrenia: 60%
• Treatment success rate for heart disease: 45%
Health Care Reform for Americans with Severe Mental Illness
National Advisory Mental Health Council, NIMH, 1993
An estimated 10-20% of children have one or more mental or behavioral problems.
Many mental and behavioral disorders commonly found among adults can begin in childhood.
World Health Organization
Report on Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, 2001
Mental health policies, legislation, community care facilities, and treatments for the mentally ill are dismally short of resources.
World Health Organization
Report on Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, 2001
Overwhelmingly, the American public believes that if treated, mental health problems will improve. They also believe, however, that if left untreated, these problems will not improve on their own.
Americans' Views of Mental Health and Illness at Century's End: Continuity and Change
“Film and television shows depicting mental illness can help the public learn it is treatable and that suicide is preventable…they have a greater ability to disseminate information and attitudes than we (health workers) do alone.”
– Former U.S. Surgeon General, David Satcher, M.D.
Unlike the rest of health care, Medications comprise only 3% of the costs for mental illness.
Some experts contend that they may be responsible for more than 50% of positive treatment outcomes.
“Restrictive Formularies,”M.Graham
Department of Healthcare Reform, National Mental Health Association
The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.”
– H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Mental Illness is not a choice.
Learn more before you judge.”
• Steve Quinn
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”
– Margaret Mead
“Hope is like a road in the country. There was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”
– Lin Yutang
“The best way out is always through.”
– Robert Frost
“Recovery from mental illness is now a real possibility. The promise of the New Freedom Initiative – A life in the community for everyone – can be realized.”
Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., Chairman
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
July 22, 2003
“The time has long passed for yet another piecemeal approach to mental health reform. Instead, the Commission recommends a fundamental transformation of the Nation's approach to mental health care. This transformation must ensure that mental health services and supports actively facilitate recovery, and build resilience to face life's challenges.”
Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., Chairman
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003
“Too often, today's system simply manages symptoms and accepts long-term disability. Building on the principles of the New Freedom Initiative, the recommendations we propose can improve the lives of millions of our fellow citizens now living with mental illnesses. The benefits will be felt across America in families, communities, schools, and workplaces.”
Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., Chairman
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003
In Massachusetts:
Nearly 185,000 of MA's 6,000,000 residents have a severe mental illness.
U.S. Center for Mental Health Services
U.S. Census, 2000
Roughly 20,000 individuals with mental illness are waiting on lists for services from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.
These are nearly 50% of those who are eligible for services.
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, 2000
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is a violation of an individual's civil rights to deprive him or her of the opportunity to live in integrated community settings.
States must assume a leadership role in ensuring that people with mental illness have access to permanent and affordable housing of their choice.
Currently there is a severe housing crisis in MA.
U.S. Supreme Court, Olmstead v. L.C., 1999
In 2000, the estimated number of children and adolescents with a serious mental disorder in the U.S. was over 1,866,000.
= More than 58,000 in MA.
An estimated 17.6 % of those affected live in poverty.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2001
Health Disparities
There are only 29 Latino mental health professional for every 100,000 Latinos in the U.S.
51% of White health care providers believe their patients do not adhere to medical treatments as a result of cultural or linguistic barriers.
Of this same group, 56% report having no form of cultural competency training.
Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHS, 1999
“Minority children … are much less likely than Whites to get the help they need and much more likely than Whites to be trapped into a system from which many never return.
This represents not only a loss of freedom, but also a loss of tremendous human potential.”
Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity
Supplement to U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, 2001
African Americans are over-represented in high-need populations that are particularly at risk for mental illness:
• 40% of the homeless population.
• Nearly 50% of all prisoners in state and federal jurisdictions
• almost 40% of juveniles in legal custody.
African American patients released from inpatient mental health care only receive follow up care 33% of the time, compared with 54% for whites.
Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity
Supplement to U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, 2001
Barriers to Recovery
Work Disincentives: Lack of continued health coverage is the single most significant policy barrier to gain meaningful employment for persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplementary Security Income (SSI).
Consequently, and 85-90% unemployment rate exists among individuals with mental illness.
Priced Out in 1998: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities
Edgar, E, et al.; Technical Assistance Collaborative;
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force, 1999
Nearly 50% of individuals with severe mental illness receive either SSDI or SSI. With an average combined monthly SSDI and SSI benefit of $1100, persons struggling with these disorders are among the lowest income households in the country.
Priced Out in 1998: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities
Edgar, E, et al.; Technical Assistance Collaborative;
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force, 1999
NAMI
With more than 210,000 members, NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) is the nation's leading grassroots advocacy organization solely dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals living with mental illness and their families.
NAMI promotes SUPPORT for individuals living with mental illness and their families. EDUCATION to raise awareness about mental illness and to eliminate the stigma often associated with these biological brain disorders. ADVOCACY at state, national, and local levels to raise funding for non-discriminatory and equitable treatment and services for individuals with mental illness in the public and private sectors. RESEARCH into causes, symptoms and treatment of mental illness.