Licensed psychologist, researcher, educator, writer, and consultant Dr. Naomi Torres-Mackie discusses the deepening problem of mental illness in the United States.
Dr. Naomi Torres authored her dissertation on the stresses and strains of life and how they impact the brain. She is a qualified scholar who contributes to scientific study through her work at Columbia University, New York. She is also a practicing psychologist with a residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in that same state. Through her studies, work, consulting, and outreach, she has learned that the mental health problem in the US is only getting worse.
Mental Health in the US: How Bad Is It?
How serious is the mental health crisis that the media keeps highlighting? Mental illness in the US has been on the rise for decades. Part of this has to do with the recognition of different disorders and the cessation of ‘hysteria’ as a diagnosis for women. However, much of this is the result of a lower standard of living and rising costs.
According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Health in America, millions of people in the US are affected by mental illness. According to their studies, 1 in 5 adults in 2020 will suffer from a mental illness. Additionally, 1 in 20 people felt their mental illness was too severe to cope with, and 1 in 15 developed a substance use disorder as a coping mechanism. This equates to 17.7 million American adults currently receiving treatment for mental health problems. Unfortunately, this is only a fraction of the true size of the problem, as stigma still prevents people living with mental illness from coming forward.
The response to deepening mental health crises in the US
Dr. Naomi Torres-Mackie has a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and a solution at hand. Along with her co-founders, she created the Mental Health Coalition to try to connect vulnerable members of society with the psychological services they need. The Mental Health Coalition consists of a group of volunteers, each with a particular skill in counseling. These volunteers contribute their time and energy to support those who have nowhere else to turn. In a world without health insurance, this kind of help could be all that stands between a person with mental illness and becoming a suicide victim.
The answer to the deepening mental health crisis in the US cannot lie with any one organization. Instead, it will require a massive and ongoing effort from multiple organizations, supported by government-backed funds. Without the necessary infrastructure to help people with mental illness within the community, the numbers are rising in other areas, such as suicides, school shootings, and violent crime. That’s not to say someone with depression will go out and commit murder, but if you don’t have the institutions in place to detect mental illness and treat it before it gets worse, you could see the results in worse statistics later on. .
You can visit this page to pledge your support for the Mental Health Coalition or keep up with Dr. Naomi Torres-Mackie On twitter.
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