The Weather and Everyone's Health

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

The Weather and Everyone's Mental Health.

And I do mean everyone's.

Half of us suffer from mental illness, survey finds
Most patients do not receive adequate care
About half of all the people in the United States will develop one or more mental disorders in their lifetimes, according to the latest national survey. During any year, one of every four people in this country fits the definition of "mentally ill."
Most of these disorders are mild, the census-like survey found. Mild or severe, most of them start before or during adolescence, and most patients wait years for treatment or go untreated. Even when treatment is available, it is not likely to be very good.
...
"No one would be surprised to find that 99.9 percent of the population has had a physical illness sometime in their life," he points out. "Physical illnesses are often mild and short-lived; the same is true of what we call mental illnesses. But what our study shows is that these disorders have an impact on Americans as common as physical maladies such as diabetes and heart disease."

Everyone has problems, so if you've got one, don't be embarrassed! Go get help.
(I have an elaborate theory about how the myth of the American dream contributes to this epidemic, but it's not completely fleshed out)

- posted by k @ 9:43 AM