Poverty Is A National Epidemic That Plagues - amazonia.fiocruz.br

Have: Poverty Is A National Epidemic That Plagues

Millions and millions of ordinary people are experiencing a tornado of escalating crises: from COVID, social isolation, unemployment and evictions, to the climate meltdown and food insecurity. It is no wonder people are struggling to cope. In August, the Center for Disease Control released a report saying that one https://amazonia.fiocruz.br/scdp/blog/purdue-owl-research-paper/philosophy-and-therapeutic-recreation.php four young people had seriously considered suicide in the last 30 days.

Capitalism poses a direct threat to the physical and mental Plzgues of the billions of workers and young people that make our economy and society run.

Low-wage jobs, no health insurance

The pandemic has exacerbated, and alarmingly accelerated this reality. For https://amazonia.fiocruz.br/scdp/blog/work-experience-programme/teacher-motivation-and-its-effect-on-the.php, diagnoses of major depression have been increasing. Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U. Deaths by suicide have steadily increased sinceparticularly among women, and is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged Symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as substance use have increased dramatically between April and June this year. Among high school students, there have been more documented suicides and drug overdoses than deaths by COVID — a statistic that demonstrates not the lack of COVID spread, but rather the widespread nature of severe mental illness.

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For the last three years, the average life expectancy in the U. Yet, less than half of people with a mental illness receive help.

Now, millions more have lost employer-based insurance due to COVID layoffs, and have therefore lost access to life-saving care. For those who are able to access care, most of the time it comes in the form of medication. One in ten Americans take an antidepressant. However, less than a third of those taking an antidepressant have seen a mental health professional in the last year.

But it is only one part of the equation. Unfortunately, the influence of big pharma has meant that it is the first and often final response to mental distress, despite extensive research on https://amazonia.fiocruz.br/scdp/blog/gregorys-punctuation-checker-tool/the-politics-of-the-united-states.php effectiveness of alternative treatments. Studies on non-drug based treatments of mental health problems are rarely funded. It is no coincidence that it widely recommends medication-based responses. With for-profit healthcare, the financial interests of the pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies will always come before the health of the general public. Their goal is to maximize profit and cut costs.

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The other main prong of mental healthcare under U. In a mental health crisis, people are more likely to encounter police than get medical help. This was painfully demonstrated when Philadelphia police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr. The Philadelphia police department does not have a behavioral health response unit few doand the result is the death and incarceration of disproportionately Black and Brown individuals who simply need healthcare.

A starting point to resolve the epidemic of mental illness in American society would be the establishment of a Medicare for All based healthcare system with high-quality, free, mental health Poverty Is A National Epidemic That Plagues. Rather than dumping billions in taxpayer money into the pockets of private insurance companies and private prisons, imagine if spending was directed toward medically useful research and the development of new treatment options for physical and mental illness. We could make leaps forward in bringing the acute mental health crisis under control.

It is important to note though that even this would not be enough.

Treating mental illness needs to be link in a holistic sense. Beyond alleviating some of the most acute expressions of mental distress, how are we to actually resolve widespread mental illness without resolving the conditions that create it? Poverty, housing and food insecurity, unstable and unfulfilling employment, lack of childcare, racism, sexism, and violence.]