Sit down for a moment and imagine yourself as someone who has no control over their thoughts. Your mind is processing ideas that you may or may not know to be wrong, and yet you can do nothing to stop it. You feel alone in your head , feelings such as fear, paranoia, and panic are overwhelming you, and yet : You have no way to stop it. That is what it feels like to have a mental illness, although in some cases it may be more mild, it can also be much worse than the situation just described. It is never someone's fault that they are mentally ill, and yet today's society makes these human beings feel like pariahs. This social stigma is just one of the many factors that contribute to America's broken mental health system. Those suffering from a mental illness in the United States are faced with few options in terms of getting diagnosed and seeking treatment. Our government has exercised the absolute minimum of their powers towards addressing this issue. Studies have shown that 1 in 6 American adults are currently living with a mental illness, and that 56% of these …show more content…
Accoriding to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about half of people who suffer from a mental illness will also suffer from substance abuse. The institute also states that over sixty percent of adolecence in community based substance abuse centers also meet diagnostic criterea for another mental illness. These statistics are alarming as they show that the majority of mental ilness patients will suffer through addiction in their lifetime. I will once again reiterate that it is nobodys fault that they have a mental ilness and it is a gross tragedy that these unfortunate people must suffer through so much. With the help of federal funding and other government involvment it is possible for people with a mental ilness, ecspessialy adolecence, to be diagnosed and treated before they are able to dive into substance