Those of us who worked for years to address mental health challenges in
the country should take heart in the effort President Obama is making to
deal with the multiple challenges of mental health and psychiatric
illness.
One of five people has a psychiatric illness. Suicides are increasing
around the country. Large numbers of veterans come home with
post-traumatic stress disorder.
The defendants in some of our recent gun
violence tragedies have shown evidence of mental illness.
It may seem formidable to address these issues at a time when money is
so tight.
But not every issue requires money. President Obama rightly
encouraged people to attack the stigma of mental illness, to recognize
the hardships of people who have psychiatric illness and to make
services available.
Many mental health providers are generating novel ideas, including
addressing depression on a population basis, using peers to support and
assist people with psychiatric problems, and finding ways to restore
longtime psychiatric patients in state hospitals to some functional life
outside an institution.
We should take the president’s statement and the White House conference
as a call to the entire country to put mental health on our top-priority
list and to encourage the most creative thinking in reducing the shame
and providing the care and support needed.
SOURCE: http://www.thehindu.com
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