Is mental illness on the rise or do you think we just are better at recognizing and diagnosing it now?

Question

Sooooo many people are on anti-depressants. Seems like everyone knows someone with some type of problem. Don't misunderstand me, I have nothing but empathy for those in these situations. I have GAD and panic disorder so I know exactly how awful it is. Mine is under complete control now, thank God. But still, it seems so common now. So many kids are on meds too. Sign of the times, pharmaceutical company greed, or advancements in psychology? What do you think?

Answer 1

The World Health Organization undertook two major studies on the incidence of major mental disorders in multiple countries ("first world" and developing rural countries) at two different times in the 20th century and found very similar incidences of illness both across time and across cultures. What changes over time is the way mental illness manifests itself which can be culturally related, and whether it's seen as an illness or a moral or personal weakness.

In recent years a growing recognition on the part of the general public that mental illness is a treatable problem as opposed to a moral weakness (which use to be the prevelent belief), as well as better knowledge of effective treatments has changed the public's recognition of major mental illness. Overall there is no evidence that the incidence has increased.

Answer 2

I don't think there has been an increase in the rate of occurrence...just the rate of reporting and treatment of these ailments. It's due to awareness on all sides...and I think it's a combination of the reasons you listed.

Doctors are more aware of the symptoms...and the available treatments...pharmaceutical companies are VERY WELL aware of huge revenue and profit streams these drugs represent (and they're also more aware of how to get new drugs pushed through the FDA approval process...and in front of doctors).

I think people in general are also more aware. Twenty years ago people didn't really understand or talk openly about depression and personality disorders the way we do today. There's no longer the same stigma attached...so now it's a common to see it daily on TV, radio, Internet, magazines and newspapers.

Answer 3

I think mental illness is more diagnosed because people are not ashamed to go to the psychiatrist anymore. The stigma is much less as we have better medications and therapy than before. Stress is a major factor in developing some mental illnesses. Take care of yourself!

Answer 4

I really think it is a bit of each thing you suggested that gives rise to the increasing numbers, but lets not leave out the insurance companies as being partly to blame too.
Several years back, there was a tremendous campaign to educate the public as well as primary doctors on the symptoms of depression. This led to far better screening and recognition, however ... the insurance companies encouraged prescriptions as it was more "cost effective" and they offered incentives to docs who had minimal referral to specialists, aka psychiatrists. So we ended up with far more overwhelmed primary docs with a little more education about depression so that they could better spot it (potentially) but not enough real training to discriminate the types of depression that require and benefit from meds from those that likely are the result of life stressors and transitions that counseling could probably fix. I see way too many people on meds for adjustment disorders that rarely require meds and in these instances it is almost exclusively prescribed by primary docs who are doing the best they can. Further, we have increasingly severe diagnoses thanks to insurance companies who won't pat anyone to treat anything less than those illnesses that have a track record of demonstrated "medical necessity" (in other words, severe functional impairment). You won't be paid for treating an acting out adolescent who's parents may simply need parenting coaching, but you will get paid for treating ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Professionals want to get paid, just like anyone else, so they need to be more heavy handed with diagnoses in order to do so.
A second factor, I believe, is the increasing violence and trauma that people are exposed to these days. When I was a kid I never had to be computer literate in order to even function socially nor did I worry about school bombings. Plus I was lucky enough to grow up in a home with a stay at home Mom who was actually able to track my whereabouts and keep tabs on me. That's a luxury these days. Few families can afford to have a parent "stay home" and the number of single parents have a ten fold burden or more. It's not a lack of caring or their fault-they simply cannot be in two places at once and there are limits to anyone's energy.
Then there is the pharmaceutical industry who campaigns constantly-some of which is good as an educated consumer has more choices-but it isn't motivated out of a desire to educate or a desire to improve the quality of life for people who are struggling. It's motivated by profit and it is a business and this impacts advertising as well as what they disclose regarding risks and benefits.
Finally we have the fact that more people seek treatment more often because there is less stigma, better education about symptoms and yes, far better treatment available. We recognize illnesses better than we ever did and we have treatment that genuinely works more often than not, so people are less likely to avoid seeking help.
Lastly we have the Bipolar Child phenomenon-one of the most difficult to treat illnesses so far. There is a lot of speculation that this is direct result of the ADHD fad a few years back. That's not to say ADHD or child Bipolar is not real, quite the contrary unfortunately. But there is a good body of literature that suggests that giving stimulants to kids who were MISDIAGNOSED with ADHD (when they were n fact early onset Bipolars) may be the cause of the most virulent ultradian cycling we rarely saw prior to this. I don't know if this is true, but I know that when I began practice 20 years ago, it just didn't exist. It wasn't missed or just not treated-parents have been taking kids for counseling for a long time-it just didn't exist like it does today.
So if we look at what's responsible, I think there are plenty of factors to go around-increased trauma and stress, increased profits in pharmaceuticals, increased education and awareness and better, more encouraging treatment and of course the insurance companies.
For every action there is a reaction and all these factors are inextricably linked to others.

Answer 5

We live in a busy, cruel, world, and there can be a lot of stress. That will contribute to more mental illness. That said, I think doctors do their best to prescribe medicine to everyone who comes in for something a lot of the times, too.

Answer 6

Part of it is diagnosis, which is not necessarily better but contains a whole lot more diseases than it used to. Part of it is just the way of the world. When we had to struggle twenty-four hours a day to survive, we didn't have time to develop mental illnesses.

Answer 7

Most problems including the dreaded "stress" is caused by the inability to control and direct one's thoughts. To be healthy one must control/direct/discipline one's eating/ excercise/ rest/recuperation. Does it not seem obvious one's thinking also requires discipline.

Until a person takes responsibility for themselves including productive thinking or thought control one will suffer the creations of the mind you listed in your question.

Answer 8

I think it may be a little of both.



John 17:3, Isaiah 33:24.

Answer 9

It's on the rise because of the food we eat. So much corn syrup, chemicals, junk, sugar, fast food caffeine, soda ... garbage in =, garbage out. You can't build a strong, healthy body and mind on a steady diet of crap. It's really that simple.
And even if you think you're eating a healthy diet, overharvesting of fields has resulted in nutrient depleted soils, fruits and vegetables not allowed to fully ripen on the vine, and over-processing of foods have all combined over the last century to rob our diets of many life-giving nutrients. Experts in the field of brain nutrition all agree that it is virtually impossible to get the necessary supply of the specific amino acids from our American Diet that our brain needs to create enough of the neurotransmitters that keep us feeling balanced and happy.

Now, let's all have a bowl of Special K for breakfast, microwave popcorn and a Snickers for lunch, and a Lean Cuisine for dinner and wash it all down with some diet coke, shall we?

Answer 10

Alot of it has to do with Stress. There are more things in world that causes more stress which can cause panic and anxiety attacks.