Mental Health in the U.S.

Limited mental health resources

Shame

Stigma to diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems

Lack of Education

High percentage of incarcerated men and women struggles with mental illness

Broken mental health system

Portrayal of mental illness make people reluctant to seek help and continue therapy onced diagnosed

Limited information on what treating mental illness looks like.

Mental health stories are hidden and not shared

Can not decide if people with mental health problems should be treated like other people

People with mental health issues are lower class

Media portrays

People should control their mental illness

People with mental health problems are dangerous

Media representations have driven a misleading skewed and overly negative view of mental illness

People who do not control their mental illness are week

People suffering from mental health issues should be locked away

Largest provider for mental health care in American is jails and prisons

Lack of support for mental evaluation and treatment and issues are neglected – leading to crisis that can include people getting hurt

Lack of reentry support

Need more vested in mental health outreach

Plagued with barriers to equal access and treatment

No enough residential centers for people with mental health

Focus is on treating a medical disease and not a person as a whole

Leads to poverty, homelessness

Poverty, homelessness

Separate from normal community members

Jail is not a medical facility

Belief is people are not more than their mental health

Society wants a fix method and would rather not deal with people with mental health problems

Employers do not want to hire people with mental health problems

Viewed as unreliable

People with mental health issues are monsters and criminals

Lack of Governmental support and funding

Increased chance of returning to jail

Broken mental health system

Circle of insanity - continue same treatment and expect different results.

Real world is not as simple as movies portray

10 times more likely to be victimized

Complicated interrelationship with other influences

Upbringing

Genetics

Medical issues

socioeconomic actors

Happy pills give wrong impression

Jail staff not educated on mental health

Need to identify risk factors that contribute to mental illness– identify new markers or environmental issues -early identification

not comfortable stepping forward to ask for help

Social pressure

Labeled forever

Broken mental health system

Complex navigating mental health care

No guidance and hard to get answers

Mental health cost are high

You have to be poor, broke, homeless, destitute, and so psychotic that society can no longer ignore you to get help rather than getting help when you first needed it.

Loss of dignity

Medication is a bandage

Conform to society to follow

Increased depression

Increased suiside

Increased stress

Fragmented mental health support

Much needed support not available

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Mental health clinician shortage

Financial obstacles

Leaving those who most need help behind

Trying to build on a broken foundation

Overwhelming amount of paperwork

High costs for meds and therapy, legal fees

Outrageous debt and limited funds