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U.S. Leads World in Mental Illness Sufferers

By Jeralyn, Section Social Justice
Posted on Mon Jun 06, 2005 at 07:40:09 PM EST
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The U.S. now has more people suffering from mental illness than any other country.

One-quarter of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness within the past year, and fully a quarter of those had a "serious" disorder that significantly disrupted their ability to function day to day, according to the largest and most detailed survey of the nation's mental health, published yesterday.

While mental illness rates have not increased in recent years, the numbers remain quite troubling:

Less than half of those in need get treated. Those who seek treatment typically do so after a decade or more of delays, during which time they are likely to develop additional problems. And the treatment they receive is usually inadequate.

Younger sufferers are especially overlooked, the survey found, even though mental illness is very much a disease of youth. Half of those who will ever be diagnosed with a mental disorder show signs of the disease by age 14, and three-quarters by age 24. But few get help.

We've written several times about the mentally ill languishing in our prisons, but that doesn't seem to raise people's ire. Hopefully, this report will. We need better treatment options in this country and we need to ensure that treatment is available to all.

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