Mental Illness Research Paper

Mental illness is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society and learning more about it can benefit both people who struggle with it and those who do not. “Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these)” (What is Mental Illness). The subject of mental illness is nothing new, in fact it has been around for centuries. The first public understanding of what mental illness was and how to treat it came about when a man named Hippocrates, a pioneer in treating mentally ill patients, began to use techniques not rooted in any religious or superstitious beliefs, but rather in changing the environment and occupation of the patient (Early). Any mental illness recorded before

Mental illness comes in many forms and many people within the U.S. have to deal with it daily; luckily, the U.S. is taking further action to help fight and prevent it. According to the “Prevalence of Mental Illness”, over 1.1% of adults living in the U.S. are affected by schizophrenia, 2.6% are affected by bipolar disorder and 6.9% have been affected by at least one depressive period within the twelve months. Not only are adults affected by many forms of mental illness, but a large part of the youth population is as well. Over “90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition” (Mental). Suicide is a leading cause of death in youth. For children ages 10-14 it is the 3rd leading cause of death and for children ages 15-24 it is the 2nd leading cause of death; however, in the U.S. alone it is the 10th leading cause. Fortunately, the government

According to Hannah Wingett from the National Catholic Reporter, she believes students with mental illness and even perfectly healthy students should consider their spirituality, ways to create positivity in the community, their place in the universe, and how they can combine both their “passions” and “values” to make a difference in the world. However, President Trump has a different idea. According to Olga Khazan and The Atlantic, President Trump states that he is “going to be talking seriously about opening up mental asylums that have been closed over the past few decades.” By opening up the asylums people who have mental illness have easier access to the help and treatment they need. The question is, which one is the right answer? Whatever the cure to this may be, many people, both children and adults, are affected by this daily and need help immediately; thus, something must be