Every so often we turn on the news, read the newspapers, listen to stories around us or even close experiences, which talk about suicide or a crime that was a result of the individual being mentally ill. This is inevitably an issue that we are aware of as we go about our daily lives. Like obesity, mental health diagnoses and treatment has a history in the USA. In the past, mental illness was considered spiritual or a form of punishment by god. When I was growing up in Nigeria, a mentally ill person was considered an outcast and was deemed useless by family and friends. People would go to local traditionalist so they could help them appease to a higher god so that the sickness they thought was inflicted by god, as per requested by another person
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Also, after WWII, Psychiatrists began to see the impact of environmental stress on men in combat and realized that treatment in a non- institutionalized setting could be a solution, and help with early detection of symptoms which would prevent the onset of severe mental disorder. This led to the creation of new therapeutic system emerged on the belief that “Good mental health or well-being is a commodity which can be created under favorable circumstances”. Community mental health systems were established. With the rise of pharmaceutical industries, more anti-psychotic drugs were synthesized, Psychiatrists began to incorporate drugs and therapy for effective treatment, institutionalization of patients declined. The health care system has also improved significantly and we are now able to diagnose and treat mentally ill patients. As we now know, the issue of mental illness is not specific to any age group. Mental illness has become a focus on college campuses and the need for mental health care system has also …show more content…
We often hear stories of college students who seemed to have everything going for them, but at some point committed suicide Pressure from home to succeed, or the “pressure for perfection” as the New York Times puts it are among various reasons college students could fall into depression and begin thinking of suicide. 25% of all college campus student who visit the health center are diagnosed with depression. According to the center for collegiate mental health’s annual report, 100,000 college students are seeking mental health treatment at 140 college and universities (Penn state news 2015). The age group where college students fall into are one of the most important stage of an individual. It is this crucial stage of transitioning into adulthood, the pressure of choosing the right major, finding a good job after graduation, having a good social life, getting involved with different things on campus and also maintaining a good GPA. This causes so much distress often referred to as “academic distress” for college students. As a result, more students are seeking mental health care services and the number of providers of these services needs to be increased as well. Increased funding for mental health services will ensure that the growing number of students in need of care can be adequately provided and
Also, after WWII, Psychiatrists began to see the impact of environmental stress on men in combat and realized that treatment in a non- institutionalized setting could be a solution, and help with early detection of symptoms which would prevent the onset of severe mental disorder. This led to the creation of new therapeutic system emerged on the belief that “Good mental health or well-being is a commodity which can be created under favorable circumstances”. Community mental health systems were established. With the rise of pharmaceutical industries, more anti-psychotic drugs were synthesized, Psychiatrists began to incorporate drugs and therapy for effective treatment, institutionalization of patients declined. The health care system has also improved significantly and we are now able to diagnose and treat mentally ill patients. As we now know, the issue of mental illness is not specific to any age group. Mental illness has become a focus on college campuses and the need for mental health care system has also …show more content…
We often hear stories of college students who seemed to have everything going for them, but at some point committed suicide Pressure from home to succeed, or the “pressure for perfection” as the New York Times puts it are among various reasons college students could fall into depression and begin thinking of suicide. 25% of all college campus student who visit the health center are diagnosed with depression. According to the center for collegiate mental health’s annual report, 100,000 college students are seeking mental health treatment at 140 college and universities (Penn state news 2015). The age group where college students fall into are one of the most important stage of an individual. It is this crucial stage of transitioning into adulthood, the pressure of choosing the right major, finding a good job after graduation, having a good social life, getting involved with different things on campus and also maintaining a good GPA. This causes so much distress often referred to as “academic distress” for college students. As a result, more students are seeking mental health care services and the number of providers of these services needs to be increased as well. Increased funding for mental health services will ensure that the growing number of students in need of care can be adequately provided and