Mental illness rate in the US higher than 27%

[Tyler Durden]

http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/88/99740?GT1=3479

June 1, 2004 -- A World Health Organization study released Tuesday shows that rates of most mental illness are far higher in the U.S. than in any other country in the world.

(snip)

Ukraine had the second highest overall rate of mental illness at 21%. Its 6.4% rate of substance abuse, including alcoholism, was the world's highest and the only measure to exceed U.S. mental illness figures, according to the study, published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

(snip)

Shit, considering the number of rePukes and other Neocons in the country, and considering my opinion that Republicanism is a mental illness, I'm shocked it isn't even higher.

[Alerter_]

1. This is silly

More Americans have been diagnosed with mental illness because we're one of the few countries that regularly diagnose people. If we in fact are crazier than Europe, I'd bet $100 there is a very strong correlation to cumulative TV watching.

[Selteri]

6. Vogue

Considering it was Vogue to see a shrink in the 90s and that way too many kids get (mis) diagnosed as having ADHD I find it surprising the number is listed as being that low.

[Alerter_]

8. Pharma Corporations want everyone to buy their pills

Phyciatrists are happy to diagnose people as "mentally ill" and perscribe them some pills.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. The American Psychiatric Association has noted that...

Financial Problems are the #1 cause of psychiatric maladies in the US.

None of this is any surprise to me. I have been a psychiatric case worker, in my checkered past.

[H2O Man]

3. Thomas Merton wrote

in Gandhi and the One-Eyed Giant (his introduction to the book Gandhi on Non-Violence) that: "The question remains the same. It is a crisis of sanity first of all. The problems of nations are trhe problems of mentally deranged people, but magnified a thousand times because they have the full, straight-faced approbation of a schizoid society, schizoid national structures, schizois military and business complexes, and, need one add, schizoid religious sects."

You should know that this silly "27%" includes the entire cluster of behaviors that are known as the Axis 2 personality disorders. It is really stretching it to clump personality disorders in with the serious mental illnesses.

[jobendorfer]

5. can you say more about the Axis 2 disorders and the 27% figure?

I'm a little bit confused -- are you saying that personality
disorders aren't real, or that the 27% figure includes things
that really don't connote "disability" or "impaired functioning"?
Or both? Or something else entirely? (It seems that today
isn't my best day for parsing English, apologies in advance.)

J.

[H2O Man]

7. I'll try.

First: A personality disorder might be best understood as a group of behaviors that an individual learned growing up. They helped the child get his or her needs met, or helped that child avoid or cope with unpleasant situations. In theory, a "personality disorder" may be considered as "impairing functioning," .... but it is also very likely that many "successful" people have personality disorders.

The Axis 1 disorders that I believe most people think of as "mental illnesses" are the psychotic and some affective disorders. These are the schizophrenic and true bipolar disorders. These are often "disabling" and "impair functioning." However, there are examples of genius that seem pretty close to psychotic disorders.

I would venture that only a limited group of psychotic disorders are actually totally disabling. Perhaps our culture shuts too many doors on people with Axis 1 disorders. I've seen too many people with these disorders make significant contributions in a wide variety of ways, to believe that mental illness is usually disabling in the broad sense.

I know that both Axis 1 and 2 disorders are "real." And there can be people with accurate diagnosis on both axises. But I think we do a serious dis-service to both the anxious person, and the schizophrenic person, when we apply a common lable to them. Further, our culture does a huge dis-service by using this disability lable. "Mental illness" is a legitimate human experience.

[tandot]

4. 27% looks quite similar to the percentage of staunch Bush supporters

n/t

[genius]

9. Are most of those in the Bush administration?

[no_hypocrisy]

10. It's true. My last three employers had mental illness in varying degrees

and severity. I had enough job-related stress without them going psycho.

P.S. They were all lawyers. Maybe it's a job requirement . . .

[sendero]

12. As far as I can tell.....

.... being 'crazy' is a definite asset for success in Americal in many of the professions or entertainment fields.

[Tyler Durden]

11. Try working for a full blown paranoid.

Happy Happy Joy Joy.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Been there. Done that. My head is STILL spinning from the experience.

[Robin Hood]

13. I'm wondering if these numbers include dementia and Alzheimer?

Which our extended life expectancy might drive those numbers up.