Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. (WHO)
According to the World Health Organisation one in four people will be affected by a mental health problem at some point throughout their lives. This means 450 million people worldwide are suffering from a mental illness placing them among the leading cause of health issues globally. Schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, alcohol dependence and other mental, neurological and substance-use disorders make up 13% of those who have a disease, surpassing both cardiovascular disease and cancer. [National Institutes …show more content…
Regarding the patient themselves, education is often compromised when teenagers and young adults find themselves unable to attend school or college thereby hindering their chance at a successful career. Homelessness and inappropriate incarceration are far more common for people with mental disorders than for the general population. Furthermore, a 2001 study found that five to six million U.S. workers aged 16 to 54 years “lose, fail to seek, or cannot find employment” due to mental illness and that of those who are employed mental illness was found to reduce their annual income by 3500-6000 dollars. These factors all put mental health suffers at an increased risk of poverty. This may lead to a viscous cycle that can be found worldwide as mental illness leads to an increased risk of poverty which itself leads to an increased risk of mental illness. This also link s in with the surge in homelessness that can be found on our streets today it is rarely possible to walk down a street int he centre of Dublin without seeing at least one person who is homeless. This is yet another major issue that is regularly found in pour new headlines that could be majorly improved with the introduction of better mental health services within our population. Stigma surrounding mental health is one of the hardest aspects to deal with when someone is suffering from …show more content…
It has been proved by various bodies of researchers that there are clear links between the rise in people suffering from psychological disorders and the increase in those suffering from obesity, smoking related diseases and heart problems. Furthermore it is clear that not only does poor mental health affect the sufferer themselves but it has an impact on those immediately surrounding and the population as a whole. While attitudes surrounding this issue have been improving slowly over the past few years it is clear that there is still a lo of social stigma surround the idea of poor mental health. Nearly nine out of ten people with mental health problems say that stigma and discrimination have a negative effect on their lives. These ‘negative effects’ feed back into society in a negative way as these sufferers find education, employment and housing harder to obtain. It is important to improve early intervention techniques and increase awareness and education to provide a society that feels safe and welcoming for those who are battling mental illnesses. This is a topic that is often brushed over by those in power. however, the fact is that is we aim to improve the mental health services and stigma surrounding psychological disorders there will undoubtedly be a knock on effect as an improvement will be seen in the numbers who are homeless, unemployed,
According to the World Health Organisation one in four people will be affected by a mental health problem at some point throughout their lives. This means 450 million people worldwide are suffering from a mental illness placing them among the leading cause of health issues globally. Schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, alcohol dependence and other mental, neurological and substance-use disorders make up 13% of those who have a disease, surpassing both cardiovascular disease and cancer. [National Institutes …show more content…
Regarding the patient themselves, education is often compromised when teenagers and young adults find themselves unable to attend school or college thereby hindering their chance at a successful career. Homelessness and inappropriate incarceration are far more common for people with mental disorders than for the general population. Furthermore, a 2001 study found that five to six million U.S. workers aged 16 to 54 years “lose, fail to seek, or cannot find employment” due to mental illness and that of those who are employed mental illness was found to reduce their annual income by 3500-6000 dollars. These factors all put mental health suffers at an increased risk of poverty. This may lead to a viscous cycle that can be found worldwide as mental illness leads to an increased risk of poverty which itself leads to an increased risk of mental illness. This also link s in with the surge in homelessness that can be found on our streets today it is rarely possible to walk down a street int he centre of Dublin without seeing at least one person who is homeless. This is yet another major issue that is regularly found in pour new headlines that could be majorly improved with the introduction of better mental health services within our population. Stigma surrounding mental health is one of the hardest aspects to deal with when someone is suffering from …show more content…
It has been proved by various bodies of researchers that there are clear links between the rise in people suffering from psychological disorders and the increase in those suffering from obesity, smoking related diseases and heart problems. Furthermore it is clear that not only does poor mental health affect the sufferer themselves but it has an impact on those immediately surrounding and the population as a whole. While attitudes surrounding this issue have been improving slowly over the past few years it is clear that there is still a lo of social stigma surround the idea of poor mental health. Nearly nine out of ten people with mental health problems say that stigma and discrimination have a negative effect on their lives. These ‘negative effects’ feed back into society in a negative way as these sufferers find education, employment and housing harder to obtain. It is important to improve early intervention techniques and increase awareness and education to provide a society that feels safe and welcoming for those who are battling mental illnesses. This is a topic that is often brushed over by those in power. however, the fact is that is we aim to improve the mental health services and stigma surrounding psychological disorders there will undoubtedly be a knock on effect as an improvement will be seen in the numbers who are homeless, unemployed,