mental illness question

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verte76

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I don't know if I'm posting this in the right forum. If this isn't the right forum feel free to move this note. I'm reading my St. Dymphna prayer book. This was written quite a ways back as the author died in 1986. In his intro he states that eight million people in the U.S. are afflicted with mental illnesses. I'm sure the number is much higher now due to more advanced and better public knowledge of the problem. Does anyone have any current numbers? Thanks in advance.
 
from the national institute of mental health

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 22.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—about 1 in 5 adults—suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 1998 U.S. Census residential population estimate, this figure translates to 44.3 million people.2 In addition, 4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are mental disorders—major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.

In the U.S., mental disorders are diagnosed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).4
 
I would think it is very hard to measure, as unlike a specific disease (pinpointed to a virus or other objectively identifyable event), there are many umbrella catagories for mental illness.

I would suggest that everyone has a touch of something that falls under one of these categories. Our own ability to adapt, compensate or cover makes true diagnosis difficult.
 
Thanks. For the record, St. Dymphna was born in Ireland in the seventh century of our era. She was of royal birth. She was martyred when she was killed by her own mentally tormented father in Gheel, Belgium. Pilgrimages started shortly afterwards and Gheel became a holy place. She was canonized by the pope in the fifteenth century. Today there is a great big medical center in Gheel which specializes in treating people with mental and nervous disorders. It is a sign of special status in Gheel to have given shelter to and cared for a patient. The population of the city is 18,000 and about 3,000 are patients.
 
Well my therapist recently prescribed me an anti-depressant so I can verify at least one person! :sigh:
 
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MaxFisher said:
Well my therapist recently prescribed me an anti-depressant so I can verify at least one person! :sigh:

Hm...this brings up an interesting point that was alluded to earlier -- what constitutes mental illness? do you need to be prescribed drugs? Or just a therapist's visit means something is wrong? If that's the case, there are many many many mentally ill people in NYC.
 
I didn't start taking a drug after one visit. After about 2 months of visits, my therapist recomended I see a doctor who, after a through evaluation, prescribed me an anti-depressant. So I guess I wasn't exactely accurate when I posted before that my therapist prescribed the drug. However, he did identify the symptoms and advised me to see a specialist.
 
Good question sharky. How do they classify one as "mentally ill"? I don't know who collects "information" about this; perhaps there's really no "official" source, although I believe the CDC keeps some kind of stats. I could be mistaken, I don't know. I personally would consider a mentally ill person to be someone with a DSM-4 diagnosis, but there are problems with this. U2Kitten believes she has OCD, but hasn't been officially diagnosed with anything. She's an example of someone who wouldn't be included in any "official" statistical situation, but would be if there were such a thing as an error-free count. My contention is that you don't suspect something like OCD without a good reason. Certain things can make a bad situation worse. I have Asperger's Syndrome with an anxiety neurosis on top of it. The situation hasn't been helped by the fact that 2004 has absolutely been the Year From Hell for me. I won't bore you with the particulars. It's mainly been just plain bad luck. I can't wait until New Year's Day. :madspit: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored:
 
I bet I could find a doctor who would diagnose me with either SAD or ADD.
 
On a related note, I just ordered some holy water from Lourdes. At this point the payment for the shipment from France is the least of my problems.
 
I've suffered from depression since I was a teenager. I was always a melancholy kid, but when I got into my teens, depression hit me like a truck. Sadly, my parents chose not to get me help and instead treated me as if I was a moral failure or lazy. I didn't get help until I was in my thirties. Sadly, I lost my insurance so I can no longer see my therapist and I no longer have access to meds.
 
Golightly Grrl said:
I've suffered from depression since I was a teenager. I was always a melancholy kid, but when I got into my teens, depression hit me like a truck. Sadly, my parents chose not to get me help and instead treated me as if I was a moral failure or lazy. I didn't get help until I was in my thirties. Sadly, I lost my insurance so I can no longer see my therapist and I no longer have access to meds.

Oh, my goodness. :hug: :hug: :sad: :sad:
 
There is no reason on God's green earth why a person who is genuinely and chronically ill cannot have access to medical help. My thoughts are with you, GG.

You have to tread very lightly when looking at prescriptions vs. established mental illness. Anti-depressants are drugs which have had a wonderful effect on people who truly need them, but they have also been vastly overprescribed (just like antibiotics) so that they are not any sort of accurate determinant of who is actually clinically ill.
 
Golightly Grrl said:
I've suffered from depression since I was a teenager. I was always a melancholy kid, but when I got into my teens, depression hit me like a truck. Sadly, my parents chose not to get me help and instead treated me as if I was a moral failure or lazy. I didn't get help until I was in my thirties. Sadly, I lost my insurance so I can no longer see my therapist and I no longer have access to meds.

I'm so sorry. :hug:
 
to all those without insurance, there are state services available to you. i don't have health insurance either, just catostrophic, but i saw a counselor last summer after having a very, very difficult year in 2003. i was able to do it via a sliding scale, whereby they look at your monthly income, and have some sort of formula to determine how much you can pay. and if your income is very low, you might only have to pay $5 a session. i wound up paying $50 for a session (a third the price of a regular therapist) and it helped me immensely. you cannot get medication, and i didn't need any meds (just someone to talk to), but this is better than nothing, and lots can be accomplished through talk therapy.

this is what our tax dollars go towards, my fellow Americans! i come from a well-to-do background, but with no insurance at my job (documentary filmmaking), i needed the services of the state. and i am a much happier person for it.
 
Thanks for all of your kinds words. My depression often gets triggered during high moments of stress. Right now I'm in my last semester of college, dealing with a huge case of senioritis, and hoping I can make it to graduation day without having a nervous breakdown. I just can't get passionate about my classes which kills me because I have a strong academic reputation.

I'm doing an internship that ends next month. The internship is okay but I really need to get a job. I'm broke. My savings are dwindling and my parents, who initially said they would help me during this time, have pretty much reneged. I'm also worried about finding a decent paying job after graduation. I can go back to doing temp work and I have a few people who can connect me to some job leads but there is no guarantee.

And the election results have not left me a happy camper. And it didn't help that on election day my dad left a condescending, rude message on my voice mail telling me to get off my butt and vote and I better vote Republican. And he was serious. I'm not allowed to have my own ideas and opinions. Yea, my dad is a serious asshole. My friends can't stand him.
 
Golightly Grrl said:
Thanks for all of your kinds words. My depression often gets triggered during high moments of stress. Right now I'm in my last semester of college, dealing with a huge case of senioritis, and hoping I can make it to graduation day without having a nervous breakdown. I just can't get passionate about my classes which kills me because I have a strong academic reputation.

I'm doing an internship that ends next month. The internship is okay but I really need to get a job. I'm broke. My savings are dwindling and my parents, who initially said they would help me during this time, have pretty much reneged. I'm also worried about finding a decent paying job after graduation. I can go back to doing temp work and I have a few people who can connect me to some job leads but there is no guarantee.

And the election results have not left me a happy camper. And it didn't help that on election day my dad left a condescending, rude message on my voice mail telling me to get off my butt and vote and I better vote Republican. And he was serious. I'm not allowed to have my own ideas and opinions. Yea, my dad is a serious asshole. My friends can't stand him.


when i was depressed, these were the words i wanted to hear, and i'm going to say them to you: i am so sorry, it sounds like you have a lot of difficult things to deal with, and i wish you the best of luck.

sometimes, just having someone acknowledge the fact that you are in a tough situation is helpful. i know it was for me.

the good thing, though, is that you are at a university, and there must be resources available. use them while you still have them, and don't forget state-assisted support, as it really helped me, and that's what they're there for.

and remember: this, too, shall pass. you will find a way through. there are people who love you. and there are people who are rooting for you and believe in you. this is now, but it will not be forever, and all you can do is wake up each morning and fight a new day, and when the day is over, let it go and rest so you can take on the next day.
 
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