Sarah Casagrande, Campus Carrier Entertainment Editor
Be the change. Break the stigma. These are the phrases that are all too commonly used in order to promote mental health awareness. Campaigns occur across the country in order to inform people about mental illness, including at Berry. There is a good reason for this. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five people suffer from a mental illness. People need to understand that those affected with a mental illness are not inherently sociopathic or violent like the media leads us to believe. But when one looks past the seminars, statistics and stories, how much does awareness really help? Are we focusing too much on stigma and not enough on actual treatment?
According to an article published in Health Affairs, federal spending for mental health treatment is rising, but not by much. Spending on mental health treatment accounted for just 1 percent of the economy in 2009, while health spending totaled over 16 percent. Government efforts to help are either hindered or nonexistent. According to the Columbus Dispatch, President Barack Obama’s $150 million program to combat mental health in schools has stalled, and funding for NAMI has been cut by $12 million. NAMI said this was “an extremely disturbing development,” and it is.
There is not enough money available to help every person affected. Mental health treatment requires a combination of medications, therapy and sometimes even hospitalization, which can all be very expensive. When I was hospitalized, I saw more than one sick person show up, talk for half an hour to the receptionist, and leave because they could not afford it.
The inability to pay for treatment is especially an issue when mental illness is such a significant problem among the poor. According to NAMI, 26 percent of those living in a homeless shelter suffer from a serious mental illness. These illnesses can cause them to be unable to work and provide for themselves. Affordable treatment would allow them to live a healthier life.We spend very little on illnesses that affect a fifth of the population, and that has consequences. According to NAMI, 20 percent of those in state prisons are mentally ill. Incarceration is an unfortunate possible result of untreated mental illness. It is inhumane and inefficient, and prison guards are not well equipped to handle patients.
Suicide is another unfortunate result of the inability to get treatment. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Floyd County has a higher-than-average suicide rate of 15.2 suicides per every 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 12.9. People should not die because they cannot afford help. Overall, low-cost assistance for the mentally ill would not only help those affected, but society as a whole. It would mean fewer people on the streets and in prisons, and more people leading productive, healthy lives.
Mental health awareness is important, but not as important as creating low-cost, readily available treatment options. A few likes on Facebook or little green ribbons pinned to people’s chests will not stop federal funding from being cut, and fixing that is what will truly end the stigma behind mental illness.