Question about mental health in the society..?

Can anyone give me some examples of problems that is going on today about people with Mental Health? I need to write an essay but I have no background about what's going on.. is there any important issues concerning mental health?

for example, does people with Mental health not getting the right health care or medical support? is there anything that needs to be done to improve and help ppl with mental health? if so, what are they? is there a certain disease not consider to be a mental health but should? problems with unemployment? health insurance?

please help :)

Insurance inequity - mental health problems are not covered by health insurance the same as physical problems, even if the mental health problem has a physical origin in the brain (and there is no debate about it). Called mental health parity, there is legislation passed in the senate for that, I believe, the house is working on it (I think Bush said he would sign it if it gets to him). With a lot of insurance plans, you can go get toe fungus medicine, but the insurance will not cover schizophrenia treatment. Medicare does not cover mental illnesses the same either, only covers 50% whereas it covers the chiropracter and physical therapist 80%.

Also, disability insurance does not cover mental illnesses the same as physical illness, even if it is a biologically based illness like bipolar or schizophrenia. So if you get injured, for example, the insurance will cover you until you are 65, but if you get schizophrenia, your disability insurance will cover you only 2 years.

One more issue I can think of is there is very little support offered in between living in a group home the rest of your life, or living independently. If lyou live in your own apartment, it's tough luck, they won't help you. So it's pretty hard to handle all the appointments when you are in crisis and the social workers won't help you much if at all. Some states are probably a LOT worse than mine (Minnesota).

Hope some of those issues are info for you!

some insurances will go up if you have a really bad mental issue like an eating disorder. its gay.

your topic seems to need elaborate explanation, i wish i could help you but im not really updated on this issue... goodluck, anyway

Yes, I know of two important issues in Mental Health.
One is that young people with mental illnesses may have become successful students in their home town, because they have their parents, doctors, and school around them supporting their treatment. Once in college or transitioning to the work world, there is less acceptance and they may feel as though they have "grown out" of the problem. So, they may stop counseling or medication which is necessary for them, and then have problems at college or work as a result. There is not enough transitional support for college-age people with mental illness. Also, people can have prejudiced beliefs about teens (like they are "all on drugs") that keep such students from being able to find help once they leave home, or talk to teacher and employers about their problem.
Another is that anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medicines can actually cause worse problems for people. Like a person with mild depression could be prescribed a medicine that makes them suicidal. Or a person who is a little shy could be prescribed anti-anxiety medicine that causes them to be anorexic. The side effects of these medicines are hard to recognize for the people taking them, since a change in emotions often goes with a change in thoughts. So, someone could have a medically-induced depression, but think.."I have always felt this way." without realizing that it's the medicine.
I hope this helps.

Oh where to begin. The mental health system definitely needs work! More and more Hospitals are being closed that help the mentally ill. There are clinics but you have to meet certain criteria to go to them and it can be very dificult to get help. Health Insurance policies definitely need to be changed because they only offer a limited amount of days, for example 30 days per year and some even for a lifetime when if it is regular medical then it is unlimited. I wish that there would be more strict regulations on the hospitals for inpatient help. I wish they would have regular inspections. I can not speak for all of course but I can speak for the ones that I have been to when very depressed. It cost more to be there per day than a normal hospital stay per day yet most of the Nurses literally act as if they do not care. Prisoners have more priviledges. No one is aloud to go outside in a very large courtyard that no one could get out of. No one was allowed to smoke. Last time I checked even though I have never been, prisoners get yard time and some still aloud smoking but even though I do not smoke that is definitely not the place to take away someone's vice when they are already upset and in mental distress. There is an area in the Courtyard where it used to be aloud but not anymore. I know of patients who have needed to go but because of all of the rules they refuse and do not get the help they need. It is very sad.
I am definitely treated differently if I even mention my depression if I go to an ER for a broken arm because of the view that a lot of the public still has and these are supposed Professionals.
I know that I am going back to School to become an Advocate to help the mentally ill and try to make changes to our mental health system. There are so many people out there who cannot get the help they need. They have no access to help or medications. We truly do need to start taking care of our own~

There is so much fear/anxiety in society today. If people aren't getting the right mental health care it's probably because they are afraid to admit that they are suffering, and/or they don't have a good Dr. or Therapist. They don't want to be labeled "CRAZY" or whatever other stigma they have been taught to believe in. It doesn't help that there is more than ever to be fearful of these days. Biological (germ) warfare, Nuts with guns, not finding a job to support family/being homeless?, home invasion, Avian flu, Mad Cow disease, child predators, WHAT ELSE??? How about "The Nuclear Threat? We are going crazy trying to keep from going nuts. There is so much to the subject "Mental Health", you should just Google that - and see what comes up. Students even stress about doing homework, which can lead to a whole ****load of other problems. This is the tip of the iceberg, though. *Also* look up "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome", there is a good one that keeps people from living.

Good Luck with your essay.

I don't have a lot of background on anything, but there are definitely problems.

Health insurance limits mental health treatment far more than general health.
Mental health facilities are constantly being closed when there aren't enough to begin with.
Treatment in some mental health facilities is abysmal.
There is a largely negative stigma against those with mental illnesses, to the point where people either won't get treatment when they need it, or won't admit when they are in treatment. I hate this one most. I hate that people think certain things about those with mental illness, and almost more than that I hate that I rarely admit to being bipolar because I'm afraid people will react negatively.