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Running head: Facing the Obstacles of Mental Health

Facing the Obstacles of Mental Health Ashley R Treharne Southern New Hampshire University

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FACING THE OBSTACLES OF MENTAL HEALTH

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Facing the Obstacles of Mental Health Treatment

In today’s society mental health or lack thereof is increasingly becoming a significant health crisis. Though there are numerous reasons for the lack of adequate treatment for those suffering with a mental health disorder, there are three specific topics that will be address. First, and most important, is that families often don’t have insurance or the funds to seek the medical care they need regularly. Other key points would be the societal stigma that is placed on people that suffer these types of disorders making them feel ashamed for asking for help and how the physical state is just as important as the mental state. Taking a throughout look at the counter-arguments will help people understand the urgency needed on this topic. People have the right to adequate mental health treatment without the fear of judgement because without the proper access to treatment, it can lead to silent battles and unwanted consequences in the wake of wanting to feel sane. Clinical psychologist by the name of Bruce Levine, talks more in depth on why he believes we’re seeing a raise in mental illness. The article starts out by making the claim that doctors are at fault for creating the raise in mental illness. Why a professional in this particular field would promote this type of message is rather elusive. According to Mental Health is Overdiagnosed, “the most common explanation for the mental health illness epidemic include recent overdiagnosis of psychiatric disorders, diagnostic expansionism, and psychiatry’s pathologizing normal behavior” (Levine, 2016). Though it can be said that certain individuals do seek treatment just for the use of medication, deeming all individuals to this same mind frame wouldn’t be pragmatic. When doing so, it promotes the idea that people aren’t being truthful in

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how they feel, not grasping the silent battles from within a person. To deny this means looking past the suicide rates and how they’re increasing every year. In the article Mental Health Stigma: A review of Consequences, the author focuses on why it’s hard for a person to seek out mental health treatment. Things such as stigma and how a person and how that feeling of judgement correlates with putting treatment off. According to the article, “MHS influences an individual’s ability to meet these basic needs, which in turn will affect the individual’s ability and/or desire to seek mental health treatment” (Sickle, Seacat, Nabors, 2014). However, a person shouldn’t solely rely on family members or peers when it comes to their mental state. Every individual has a responsibility to reach out and find treatment when they feel they cannot manage their symptoms that may affect their livelihood. With that said, when society starts to recognize how a little support can go a long way, the conversation can begin to change and people will feel more empowered to seek treatment. Deciding to seek out treatment should be an easy transition. In the article, Mental Health Treatment Access, it talks about the different struggles a person may face due to not having adequate health coverage or money put aside to cover the cost needed to see a professional. However, a possible solution could be to look for cheaper options to meet their financial needs, such as finding a free clinic. According to the article, “Access to mental health services is frequently hampered for economic reasons; it is generally significantly more expensive to obtain than physical health particularly because it often involves an extended period of services or a range of treatment types” (Michaels, 2016). Though it’s possible citizens could find a free clinic near them or save up money to find a treatment center of their choice, there is no guarantee of when a person can get in to see someone. With the mental health crisis going up each year, the obstacles a person faces to see a professional are staggering.

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When considering other alternatives that may work for some individual’s health care, many issues other than financial may arise. According to the article from Health Insurance and Mental Illness, many questions about the future of health insurance are how it affect those looking to seek mental health treatment are discussed. “Will the insurance cover these interventions for as long as they are needed? What all treatment interventions would be covered under insurance? Will stay in halfway homes be considered? What about long-stay options”? (Bijal, Kumar, Manjunatha, Growda, Mahesh, Basavaraju, Vinay, Math, Suresh, 2019). These types of questions are important not just for immediate need but also to set new tone. By talking more about the options needed for mental health, the discussion is starts to broaden. Though society may view the physical health over the mental health as more important, it’s important to understand why both the physical and mental state go hand in hand. A large portion of people may think that the physical state has taken a backseat to a person’s mental state, and with that adds confusion. Why are individuals making the claim of one state over the other is more of less important? Questions and concern such as these have developed overtime, due to the outcry of stigma and difficulty to feel sane. Though, society has started to come around to the idea that most people do believe the mental state is just as important, if not more than just the physical state. However, according to the article, Stigma doesn’t discriminate: physical and mental health and stigma in Canadian military personnel and Canadian civilians, the article focuses more on the physical state and why it may reign over the mental state. In the article it states, “In the workplace health-related stigma is associated with a lack of career advancement, poor quality of work, as well as diminished employability, and

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increased likelihood of being unemployed or under-employed [23, 24]” (Frank, Zamorski, Colman, 2018). Although, it can be said that a person’s physical state can show many repercussions, overlooking how the mental state plays just as much of a role in the way a person feels, can be very misleading. Though, the article did talk about a type of stigma, not bringing in the core issue of stigma and its association to mental health is daunting. A person can have a headache and not want to go to work one day out of the week, this is possible. However, if that same person doesn’t want to show up to work after that due to a headache, one would have to start to question their mental health. According to the professor of psychiatry and medical anthropology, Arthur Kleinman, he believes doctors are looking at mental health in the wrong light. Though, he does agree that patients who are going through serious illnesses, or are terminally ill, may suffer from mental illness, he questions the intent of the average person. In the article Mental Illness is Too Broadly Defined he states, “The intent may be: why should anyone have to feel any degree of suffering” he says. “And the result may be: if you make it difficult for people to engage suffering, you may actually change the nature of the world we live in” (Pettus, 2008). It should be stated that people use caution before taking any type of medication. Not all people are like and what works for one person may not be the same for the either. However, digressing on which patient needs medication for an illness should never be based on perception. The argument to which a person may view themselves as the practical voice of reason should be a professional. That is why people go to seek out treatment to get the care needed. Mental health treatments, often times show themselves as a place of confidentially and a place of

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ease. When doubt of that clouds over, citizens have a right to question this bad judgement. Mainly, because it shows a biased perception that people even in a professional setting, may be casting judgment on those with mental illness. This type of counter-argument only helps those not willing to see beyond their doorstep. Whether it’s coming from a professional or not, people want to be taking seriously and treated with a type of respect. By taking the time to think of others and how it’s possible to make all citizens feel as though they matter, is important. There is an urgent issue among society right now and the only way to fix it is to come together. When people choose to take others health and mental health seriously, it can open up the dialog for others to seek treatment and help their fellow neighbors, friends, and family members. According to Evidence for mental health crisis in graduate education, the numbers show that even the people that society assumes wouldn’t feel things, such as depression or anxiety actually feel both of those symptoms. In the article it states, “Our results show that graduate students are more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety as compared to the general population. Forty-one percent of graduate students scored as having moderate to severe anxiety on the GAD07 scale as compared to 6% of the general population, as demonstrated previously” (Evans, Bira, Gastelum, Weiss, Vanderfold, 2018). It can hard for people in society to think about high achievers and the anxiety a person must feel from time to time but everyone experiences these issues. So, when thinking back to biases and perception it can be quite interesting to wonder why individuals think depression, anxiety, among other mental health problems, pick to experience these symptoms.

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An argument could be made for the reason high achievers, as to why they experience depression and anxiety. Some may even think people who are going to school, working more than one job, and have children may be the exception to the stigma and the bias rules. Those bias rules contain how citizens perceive others, without seeing the full picture. This topic as mention earlier is important and should be viewed more closely because it can easily be the argument that brakes barriers to mental health. If more people can see that mental health is an important part of everyone’s live, the perception could be lower. The way stigma is viewed can be seen in a different light and show others that it’s okay to feel not okay. People have the right to adequate mental health treatment without the fear of judgement because without the proper access to treatment it can lead to silent battles and unwanted consequences in the wake of wanting to feel sane. It’s important to make mental health part of the conversation and treat it with the same urgency as physical illness. When comparing a person’s physical state to their mental state, it essentially says that how a person feels internally isn’t as important as externally. Having depression and anxiety are real issues that can change the way a person makes decisions and their willingness getting help. The reason we have mental health treatment centers is to better help those affected by mental illness and to help individuals find coping mechanisms to manage their symptoms. Having adequate treatment available to all individuals has never been more important. Any citizen could be experiencing some type of mental illness and need a push to go and seek out treatment. Knowing this will allow everyone to feel a part of a bigger conversation and lead to less unwanted consequences. The time has come for all states and countries to seek out action. By doing so, the start of ending the stigma around mental health will move in the right direction and remind all individuals, that it’s okay to seek treatment.

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References Bijal, A., Kumar, C., Manjunatha, N., Gowda, M., Basavaraju, V., & Math, S. (2019). Health insurance and mental illness. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 16, 791–797. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_158_19 Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T., & Vanderford, N. L. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature Biotechnology, 36(3), 282+. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/A529995612/OVIC? u=nhc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=249e1f11 Levine, B. (2016). Mental Illness Is Overdiagnosed. In N. Berlatsky (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Mental Illness. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Why the Rise of Mental Illness? Pathologizing Normal, Adverse Drug Effects, and Peculiar Rebellion, Madinamerica.com, 2013, July 31) Retrieved from https://link-galecom.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010154287/OVIC?u=nhc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=d3c41fb0

Michaels, P. V. (2016). Mental Health Treatment Access. In B. W. Lerner & K. L. Lerner (Eds.), Worldmark Global Health and Medicine Issues (Vol. 1, pp. 408-415). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/CX3628100060/OVIC? u=nhc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=f5fcf1cb

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Pettus, A. (2007). Mental Illness Is Too Broadly Defined. In A. Quigley (Ed.), Current Controversies. Mental Health. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Harvard Magazine, 2006, July-August) Retrieved from https://link-galecom.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010054239/OVIC?u=nhc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=94a7b65a Sickel, A. E., Nabors, N. A., & Seacat, J. D. (2014). Mental health stigma update: A review of consequences. Advances in Mental Health, 12(3), 202–215. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/18374905.2014.11081898...