Mental Health in America
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In honor of Men’s Mental Health Month, I wanted to take a moment to address an issue that is often at the forefront of our cultural discourse — the Mental Health Crisis in the United States. Naturally, the issue manifests itself across the globe, but the conversation at home takes on a new shape — in a country so vastly wealthy and replete with resources, why have we not taken more action to train professionals, offer services, and reach out to people in need when countless lives are at stake? Let’s explore the depth of one of America’s most-pressing issues.
By the Numbers
In 2021, over 48,000 people died by suicide. This means that, each day in America, there was an average of 132 suicides, meaning it holds the spot as the 11th leading cause of death. The statistics become even more-concerning when considering the disproportionate nature of the imbalance between men and women — men account for nearly 80% of suicide deaths.
Unfortunately, the problem is only becoming worse. Since 1999, the suicide rate in the United States grew by 33%. So, what can we do about it?
Mental Health Treatment in America
It is no secret that the healthcare system in the United States leaves much to be desired. This is especially true when evaluating the response to the Mental Health Crisis. As of 2021, there were nearly 200,000 licensed social workers, 84% of which are women. The disparity continues in race as well, with White people accounting for nearly 59% of all social workers; Black people occupy the second spot, at approximately 20%. On a positive note, the rate of social workers graduating from universities is increasing — yet, it doesn’t seem to be enough to keep up with the demand for mental-health services.
It’s no secret that social workers are struggling to muster the numbers necessary to deal with this epidemic. Moving into the mental-health space is notoriously a low-earning pursuit — the average salary for a social worker hovers around $60,000 per year, virtually on-par with the median salary in the United States. The issue — a large percentage of jobs in the field of Social Work require a Masters degree, in addition to hundreds of hours of training before becoming fully licensed. The average cost of completing a Master of Social Work program sits around $30,000, and can take between 2 and 3 years to complete. With the need to take on debt, as well as taking time off of work to complete the program, pursuing a career in this field is irrefutably difficult.
Besides the grueling path to becoming a Social Worker, professionals in the field also face external challenges. This is particularly evident in recent years, as mental-health issues spiked nearly 25% during the first year of the pandemic. Along with concerns about safety, the difficulty of adjusting to the use of tele-medicine, and being significantly underpaid, it seems unjust to expect that those working with patients of mental health will continue to serve us, even when we refuse to serve them.
A lack of personnel isn’t the only issue negatively impacting the response to this crisis in the United States. In fact, a lack of infrastructure is at the forefront of the issue. According to the Department of Health Care Access and Information, nearly 1/3 of all in-patient hospitalizations were related to mental health. With rising expenses, lower headcounts, and a new reliance on higher-earning ‘travel’ healthcare workers, US hospitals find themselves struggling to keep up. Walking into a hospital in the United States, it is not surprising, or out of the ordinary, to see patients lined up in the halls on mobile cots, waiting for treatment; the average waiting time for a room is about 103 minutes, and soars to a staggering 286 minutes in Washington D.C.
This problem is compounded even after the patient leaves the hospital, as they are often leaving with a hefty bill for their stay, with the average American spending nearly 20% of annual earnings on medical expenses. Due to the nature of in-patient stays for mental-health patients, which often span days or even weeks, victims of this disease are left crippled by debt. Add on the pressure of returning to work (or finding new employment), seeking out medical professionals for follow-ups and medication management, and recovering from a truly distressing experience, and you have the makings of a crisis.
Investing in Mental Health
Of course, there are promising developments in the sphere of mental health in the United States. New modes of treatment, including psychedelics, have spurred new investment — the footwear company Toms recently announced support to the order of $100 million to pursue research in the space. Moreover, this past October, the US Department of Health signed off on nearly $300 million to tackle the mental-health conundrum. The question is — is it enough?
The World Health Organization estimates that mental-health issues account for a loss of $1 trillion worldwide, due to a loss of productivity. So, in a capitalistic world, doesn’t it make sense to commit some dollars to solving this issue? This is only one way to measure the impact of mental health, as there are many aspects of this crisis that can’t be reflected on charts or in numbers; namely, the strain on the individuals and their families in dealing with mental illness. In order to truly combat this issue, we must recognize that mental health impacts all of us, and we must act accordingly.
Naturally, legislation surrounding this issue is hotly contested, and often the topic of conversations for those on both sides of the political spectrum. Now, more than ever, we need our politicians to pass meaningful bills that bolster the lacking resources needed to make a lasting impact. One such bill, introduced by Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, aims to provide training and resources for law enforcement, a desperate need for those on the frontlines of this battle. Getting these bills to the finish line, however, remains a problem, with Congress turning down a number of bills that would pledge additional support. Until mental-health issues are deemed a critical priority, we will continue to see the negative externalities of a citizenry unable to receive sufficient treatment to overcome the pitfalls of anxiety, depression, and more.
The Final Word
Mental Health is, without a doubt, one of the most-critical issues to address in securing a healthy future for the people of the United States. In order to properly treat patients, we must find new ways to recruit, educate, and train Social Workers and Mental-Health Professionals to meet the growing demand for their services. Additionally, we must elect leaders willing to address this issue head-on, and pass legislation that will provide significant support to communities across the country. Finally, and most importantly, we must continue to speak openly and candidly about this issue, and how it affects our nation. Behind every statistic is a person calling out for help, and, as Americans, we must do better to answer that call.
