Mental Illness In America Essay

1059 Words5 Pages

In the 21st century, it is believed that society as a whole has evolved into a new world of optimism, acceptance and understanding. Mental Illness is a topic that has become newly discussed in our country. The reasoning behind this discussion lies within the growing epidemic of this illness in today’s world. Although widely discussed, the idea of acceptance of the issue has still remained taboo in the United States of America. Mental Illness can be best described as, disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. The United States specifically has seen an exponential growth of mental health issues within the people in our country. Statistics recently taken prove that this is not something to turn a blind eye too. The reasoning behind …show more content…

The main symptoms are a sudden loss of interest or sadness in life. These ultimately lead to changes in sleep patterns, appetite, energy levels and the overall ability a person has to concentrate. As we can see in the image above, there is a clear difference between the two brains. The non-depressed brain is filled with all different colors in the scan. While the depressed brain has a strong increase in blue and yellow colors. These colors help to emphasize that depression is something that certainly alters the brain. Not only does it alter the brain but it takes a mental and physical toll on one's body. Recently several studies have been done on the “Millennial” generation. This generation has grown up quite differently than the rest, making it harder to comprehend the “new” way of life. The growth in the use of technology on a daily basis, has led researchers to believe that it is a strong factor in this generations mental health. Genevieve Douglas, journalist of “Bloomberg Law”, recently wrote an article entitled “Millennials Report Higher Rates of Depression, Need Support”. In this article she discusses the exponential rate at which the diagnosis of depression has become. Douglas explains the need in taking the time for yourself in order to avoid the feeling of depression. She also highlights the factor of how anxiety unfortunately goes together within depression. Anxiety itself is another simple yet complex topic. Anxiety can be described as when, the brain itself triggers a certain chemical imbalance which leads the person to feel sudden