Mental health is a matter that has an effect on billions of people all over the world. The amount of resources available for people to deal with their mental health becomes more
slim everyday. From high prices of therapy and medications to people blatantly not caring about the mental well being of others around them. Suicide is in the top three of leading causes of death among teens and young adults and suicide is what causes over 1 in 100 deaths for all ages. “In 2019, nearly a billion people - including 14% of the world’s adolescents - were living with a mental disorder” (World Health Organization/ who.int) Although many people are living with these mental health issues, there is still a stigma surrounding it. People tend to believe that talking about having a mental illness automatically makes them look crazy or unwell. When in reality, a lot more people are suffering from these disorders than they realize. The fear of seeming crazy or feeling uncomfortable talking about these issues in a public setting is what causes the stigma around mental health to arise. Being able to openly have conversations about this topic is the first step to stopping the stigma and creating more awareness and resources.
Along with the stigma around mental health, discrimination of marginalized communities also plays a part in the low amount of accessibility and resources to get help. Studies say
that having a low socioeconomic status can correlate with mental illness and disorders. “A decrease in household income during the 2 time points was also associated with an increased risk of incident mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders…” (National Library of Medicine/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Along with being more likely to have one or multiple mental disorders, low income people are also less likely to receive sufficient care for these issues. Only 3% of people in low income countries that suffer from depression received sufficient care. The World Health Organization states, “While 70% of people with psychosis are reported to be treated in high-income countries, only 12% of people with psychosis receive mental health care in low-income countries,” (World Health Organization/ who.int). All of this data backs up the fact that people with lower income are less likely to have available resources to treat their mental disorders. Mental health services are far too expensive and are not accessible to the majority of the people who need it most.
There are many non-profit organizations that are coming forward to help people in general get the resources that they need to help their mental health. Some of these organizations include Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Shatterproof, American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, The Trevor Project, and so many more. Mental health is important and being able to take care of it is something that everyone should have access to, no matter the circumstances.
Sources:
“Who Highlights Urgent Need to Transform Mental Health and Mental Health Care.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 17 June 2022, https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-who-highlights-urgent-need-to-transform-mental-health-and-mental-health-care.
GJ;, Sareen J;Afifi TO;McMillan KA;Asmundson. “Relationship between Household Income and Mental Disorders: Findings from a Population-Based Longitudinal Study.” Archives of General Psychiatry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21464366/.
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