mental health issues •

Mental Health Issues Not a Primary Cause Of Violence

June 15, 2016 By Ryan Harris

Mental illness is not the main source of violence.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – For many decades, mental health issues have been associated with violence. Around 40 percent of news stories about people suffering from a mental illness are connected with violence.

Unfortunately, these stories only lead to confusion among Americans. According to a team of researchers from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the real statistics show that less than five percent of violence occurring in the United States comes from mental illness.

Scientists analyzed every news article over a 20-year period and came up to the conclusion that this solid reporting of violence connected to mental issues alters the reader’s perception. As a consequence, people start believing that most of the people suffering from mental illness are most likely to resort to an dangerous behavior in a difficult situation.

Worse, the public opinion has hardly changed over the last few years, because many pieces of news make a strong association between dangerous behavior and mental issues. Unfortunately, this stigma has increased based on the historical data.

Between 1994 and 2005, only one percent of newspaper stories linking mental illness with violence were on the front page, whereas from 2005 to 2015, an 18 percent increase was registered.

According to Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., MS, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the departments of Health Policy and Management and Mental Health at the Bloomberg School, most violence does not originate from mental illness.

Unfortunately, mass media chooses only the news that seems spicy enough to catch the attention of the public and most of it connecting mental issues and violence.

On the contrary, many of the people suffering from this illness have a healthy lifestyle and enjoy their lives. If mass media started to be honest, there would a significantly lower number of stories relating to people with mental illness resorting to violence.

Around 20 percent of Americans suffer from a mental illness, whereas 50 percent of them receive a diagnosis over a lifetime. Furthermore, McGinty added that it is true that anyone who intentionally kills people does not have a good mental health.

However, it does not mean that they have a particular illness. Many other causes may contribution to such a display of violence, including emotional issues, anger, drugs, alcohol, childhood abuse or poverty.

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Bernie Sanders Fueled Mental Disorders Stigma

March 13, 2016 By Tara Hamilton Leave a Comment

Sanders joked about the fact that the Republicans are living proof of US’ mental health problems.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – The presidential race is making the candidates show their ugly sides. While Donald Trump managed to attract the wrath of all immigrants with his racial slurs, Bernie Sanders fueled mental disorders stigma. According to the Democrat candidate, having a mental issue is something that can be used as an argument against you.

Last week at a Democrat debate with Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders fueled mental disorders stigma. He managed to do so by stating that if he wins the elections, he will offer more funds for mental health research because if people would only look at the Republican candidates, they would understand that the United States has a serious mental health issue.

Even though it is not the first time a presidential candidate attracts the wrath of a minority, in fact, it’s not even the first time when Sanders publicly managed to insult a group of people; there have been grave consequences after the he made that statement.

It is clear that the United States has a significant problem when it comes to mental health. And the flaw is not the people suffering from mental illnesses, but the ones who prefer to use such a disorder only to insult an opposing candidate.

Unfortunately, almost ninety percent of United States citizens suffer from a kind of mental illness. It could be depression, anxiety, bulimia, anorexia, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bi-polar syndrome, or many other problems that affect millions of Americans every day.

But most of the mental health issues listed above can be treated with extensive therapy, the right medication and the full support of family and friends. But how can a person be brave enough to admit that he or she is suffering from a mental health disorder when a presidential candidate considers the entire idea offensive?

Bernie Sanders fueled mental disorders stigma when he tried to offend the Republican candidates. Because the presidential candidate thinks that a mental issue is something offensive, an undesirable character trait.

Apparently, the debate was followed by lots of requests formulated by different mental health organizations in which they asked the Democrat to apologize publicly to the actual people that he offended with his not so pleasant pleasantry.

The man that hopes to take the seat behind the Oval Office in a country where most of the former soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder thinks mental health issues are a joke.

Bernie Sanders fueled mental disorders stigma while trying to offend the Republican candidates in a country in which roughly ninety percent of people suffer from a type of mental condition.

Image source: www.flickr.com

National Awareness Week for Eating Disorders Starts Today

February 21, 2016 By Joe Hennessey Leave a Comment

"A textbook photo of a woman before and after getting treated for anorexia."

Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating are the the most encountered eating disorder in the US.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – National awareness week for eating disorders starts today, the 21^st of January and it will end Saturday, on the 27^th. In this week, you can throw away any misconceptions or prejudices you might have about the mental disorders and learn the facts behind the eating disorders that affect a great number of the US population.

Eating disorders are classified by doctors as mental health issues. They are also the psychiatric illnesses with the highest mortality level. This kind of psychiatric disorders can seriously affect the psychological and physical health of a patient. Some actually being able to cause irreparable damage.

Any individual, no matter the gender, ethnicity or age could fall victim to an eating disorder. And when they do, the illness will take over their lives because it affects all levels of day-to-day activities and processes.

The estimated number of US citizens who suffer from an eating disorder is of 30 million individuals. The estimate does not contain the people who struggle with body dissatisfaction or disordered eating attitudes and behaviors.

A very common misconception is the fact that eating disorders are nothing but a lifestyle choice of the patients. That is completely wrong. According to both psychologists and psychiatrists, eating disorders are real medical conditions. They are caused by mental imbalances, not by poor life choices.

There are three eating disorders that are very common in the United States, and those are bulimia nervosa, anemia nervosa and the binge eating disorder.

For a better understanding of the eating disorders, one must first know their symptoms. The most common are

a constant, slightly obsessive preoccupation with one’s body, weight or food
compulsive exercising
withdrawal
a constant underlying fear of weight gaining
a severe limitation of food or refusal to ingest any kind of solid food
secret eating
eating alone
lack of menstruation in women
laxatives or diet pills abuse
last, but not least, binge eating, in the sense that an individual ingests very large amounts or portions of food in relatively short periods of time

Eating disorders can be treated with both medication and therapy. There are numerous support groups that offer their help to struggling patients.

National awareness week for eating disorders starts today and its main goal is to educate the US population about these serious disorders which, unfortunately, are considered to be whims by a very large number of citizens.

#NEDAwarenessWeek brings all of the information on symptoms, treatments and causes of eating disorders while also encouraging patients to win the battle against their illnesses.

National awareness week for eating disorders starts today and you can take a 3-minute test to see if you have a predisposition for eating disorders here. It’s quick and it’s anonymous.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

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