In a time
when mental illnesses are at an all time high, affecting 1 in 5 adults, there
are not enough resources for individuals to seek treatment. A mental illness is
a condition that impacts a person's thinking, feeling or mood, and may
impact their ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis. A
mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests that a
mental health condition can be caused by multiple factors. Genetics, environment
and lifestyle may influence whether someone develops a mental health condition.
Biochemical processes and circuits as well as basic brain structure may also
play a role too.
Often
times, mental illnesses are overlooked and not taken seriously by members of
society. In many cases,
it is not until an individual with a mental illness lashes out and commits a
crime that they are given the slightest bit of attention, and usually their
punishment is to spend time in jail when instead they should be receiving help. Because our country does not have adequate services for
individuals with mental illnesses, individuals with mental illnesses do not
have the proper resources to receive the help they need.
While it
is not guaranteed that having more resources for individuals with mental
illnesses will stop all crimes from happening, it is likely that there would be
a significant decrease in serious crimes committed by those diagnosed with mental illnesses. Prisons should not be becoming new mental asylums. Instead, a
serious step needs to be taken that offers all types of assistance to those
dealing with mental illnesses, and works to de-stigmatize those with mental
illnesses.
References
"Mental Health Conditions." NAMI: National
Alliance on Mental Illness.
Https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions, 2015. Web. 04 June
2015. <https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions>.
You brought up a really important point, and shed some awareness on the way mental illness is perceived in our society. I have a family member who has struggled for years with mental illness, and she simply could not find a mental health professional who was able to get her in, and had to do much of her own self'help by reading online and checking out books at the library.. It would be months long waiting lists, and she was in severe mental agony. If our society treated mental illness with the same urgency that it does for serious physical harm, we would be far better off than ignoring them and viewing this as "all in their heads".
ReplyDelete