WASHINGTON, June 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States leads in mental illness globally with 46 percent of Americans suffering mental disorders ranging from anxiety, depression to substance abuse in their lifetime, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Within the past year, about 25 percent of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness, and fully 25 percent of those had a "serious" disorder that significantly disrupted their ability to function day to day, according to a one-year-and-a-half survey of the country's mental health, conducted by the University of Michigan.

Simultaneous occurrence of two or more illnesses was reported in nearly half of the mental disorder sufferers.

The survey is by far the largest and most detailed of its kind in the United States, during which nearly 300 trained interviewers visited 9,282 households selected at random in 34 states.

It focused on four major categories of mental illness. They are anxiety disorders, such as panic and post-traumatic stress disorders; mood disorders, such as major depression and bipolar disease; impulse control disorders, such as hyperactivity; and alcohol or drug abuse.

Those Americans with mental disorders will mostly seek treatment after delays of years or often more than a decade, if ever, the survey found, adding that it is much so among younger sufferers.

Half of those who will ever be diagnosed with a mental disorder show signs of the disease by the age of 14, and three-quarters by 24.

One third of people in need of treatment rely solely on nonprofessional sources such as Internet support groups and spiritual advisers despite the availability of effective treatments for many mental illnesses, said the newspaper.

The survey, published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, attributed the low treatment rate to factors including inattention to early warning signs, inadequate health insurance and the lingering stigma that surrounds mental illness. Enditem

46 percent of the country is mentally disturbed, and the rest are Republicans...except for the 4% who frequent this site, who are all sane and normal That explains a lot..... BIGGG SMILEY!!!

... ... ...I'm so confused....

Here's one that covers mental illness and even has a musician in it...sort of...

Aw, my bad...here it is.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050608/D8AJ45780.html

ShadowMom Hi by the way.....That's a terrible story! They tear my motorhome apart at the border..how the heck did this guy get through with all those weapons? Whose the crazies now? Sounds like Despres didn't like musicians either.

I feel safer every day. How 'bout you?

So much for homeland security, or whatever the heck they have lately..I guess hatchet murderers don't rate very high on their list.

You know why everyone's so upset. It's because we're told we can have whatever we want, but then they deny it to you in the end so we get depressed and kill ourselves. It's how Hollywood wants it.

Developmental disabilites is a problem far greater then most think. The reason there's such a great rise is because more and more are seeking help instead of sitting quietly and suffering. Those who want help and can't afford insurance are stuck on state health plans that do little more than maintain their livelihoods unless they are violent or a danger to themselves.

Raising a child or dealing with a family member with developmental disabilities to adulthood is not easy. To watch your child be ostricized by the community, including your home church, being judge on your parental abilities by people who have stepford children and no nothing of whats going on, having to meet with and bang your fist on teachers desks throughout school just so he gets an education like the other kids, watching your family nearly disentegrate before finally getting a hold on the problem and watching them enter adulthood scorned and ignored except by a few, loosing friends, these are a few of the trials families with disabled children and adults go through. It's more common then we as a society are willing to admit.

I know
from personal experience.

So do I, comp. And I mean no disrespect.

I never implied anyone did. it's just a sensitive topic to me and as you well know, theres an enormous stigma about it. Bless you for coming through it and not giving up. that makes you a great mom.

I'm glad Leflaw posted it

When I first read this I was thinking that the percentage was really an out of touch estimate..but upon reflection, it occurs to me that we have all, at some time, in some fashion, been touched by mental illness. I had a "normal" close nephew take his life some years ago, and I maintain to this day that, at the time of his death, he was not in a normal frame of mind.

I feel for you and your family pepe. that's one tragedy I pray I never experience.

If around one out of two people develop mental illness and you (plural) have a best friend...if he or she ain't nuts...guess what....

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/227099_obese04.html

U.S. dispatches scientists to study outbreak of obesity

So now everybody's a mentally disordered victim. Geezus Christ on a fucking pogo stick! What the hell happened to taking personal responsibility?

Alcoholism is a mental disorder? Where's my SS check!? That's bullshit.

What the real problem is too many people are emotionally coddled & don't learn to suck it up & deal with life's problems. We're all so goddamned worried about everyone's "mental condition" that America has become a nation of weak-minded pussies who run & cry at the slightest inconvenient mental state.

Meanwhile, someone pass me the bottle. I may drink alot, but that's no one's fault but my own.

Because, i'm coo-coo for cocoa puff's, coo-coo for cocoa puff's>>>> 10/4 flbgbt

"Alcoholism is a mental disorder?"

Yes it is. It's also a genetic predisposition. Both my mother's side and my father's carries the gene, and my father only got out from under alcoholism maybe 14 years ago. I am an alcoholic even though I never drink, because if I ever started drinking it would be nearly impossible for me to stop. It's not a simple matter of going sloppo, it's about a genetic and mental inability to stop once you've had enough. It's a predisposition to addiction!

This is why we have a rampant problem of alcoholism in this country, we've normalized intaking an addictive substance to where everyone is pressured to do the same, and then we punish those who do not have the biochemistry to withstand the addiction. We don't stop to educate ourselves about the risk factors inherent in our genetic makeup, and we marginalize people who admit to having those risk factors.

So thanks for trivializing the 8 members of my family who suffer from this addiction, and thanks for reinforcing the stupidity that might keep future generations of my family from making a costly mistake. Thanks a lot!

ok, that turned out borked. Lets try "thanks for reinforcing the stupidity that might keep future generations of my family from educating themselves before they make a costly mistake."

Anger never did help my sentence structure much.

Hmmm... Interesting Picture for this story.

I agree with OWD
...

I wish it was that simple JohnCarlton. the vast majority of mental illness is not what you discribe. It's a hidden problem society sweeps under the rug therrefore many myths and sterotypes spring up around it. The few exceptions (and I mean very few) of violence, criminal activity, and making excuses for ones actions are held up as a norm which is why the majority of those who truley need help and understanding (like my son) have to continually face bigots and people who treat them like side show carnival freaks.

compmore

Thank you for the kind words. That incident happened many years ago, but my sister and brother-in-law have never gotten over it..they exist and carry on of course. For myself, it has always left me with a feeling of wonder..as in wondering how my own children are REALLY getting on, as to how they tell you they are getting on...

This is also why I try my best to maintain my humorous side at looking at life. When I look too closely at what is going on all around us, I'd just be in tears all the time!

According to the health care statistics, there is an obesity epidemic, a hep C epidemic, a diabetes epidemic, a heart disease epidemic, and of course always cancer..one things for sure..something is bound to get us eventually..and there is my ray of sunshine for the day

If you include substance abuse as a sign of mental illness, then that includes smoking, drinking, valium, pain pills, pot, cocaine and caffeine. 46% seems severely low, even if you use Congress and the White House as a test group.

The worst epidemic in this country is fear. The Terror Alert level has been elevated for almost four years now. Terrorists are on every corner. Wayward Cessnas cause the Capitol to be evacuated. Your child may be a pirate. North Korea and Iran are ready to launch nuclear strikes against us. The air is bad, the water is bad, global warming, melting icecaps, holes in the ozone layer, asteroids of doom, red state/blue state, us vs. them. WMDs, anthrax, ricin, drought, floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, pandemic flu, ebola.

I think this alone is enough to cause anxiety and depression. The substance abuse is to numb ourselves against it.

Sometimes it's just not enough.

Life sucks, then you die. (Let's just make the best of it while we are here!)