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this is a college paper on MENTAL ILLNESS AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM

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Table of Contents I.Overview of Mental Illness A.Statistics and Aspects of Mental Illness .......................................p.1 II.Mental Illness in Depth A.Historical Background of Mental Illness .....................................p.4 B.Cost of Mental Illness in Society ..............................................p.6 C.Stigma of Mental Illness in Society ...........................................p.9 D.Treatment of Mental Illness as a Social Problem ..........................p.11 III.Immediate Future of the Area of Mental Illness A.What is most likely to occur within the next decade and why ............p.12 V. Works Cited ...........................................................................p. 14 Overview of …show more content…

Although late-life depression is treatable, most older people with clinical depression do not receive adequate treatment. Those who do recover from depression have improved physical and social functioning. Approximately one out of every four Americans suffers from some form of mental disorder in a given year. About 3.5 million Americans suffer from severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness. At least 40 percent of mentally ill people do not seek help or are not being treated, while many wander the streets homeless (Kornblum). This table shows the prevalence and cost of some of the more common types of mental illness in the United States of America. Mental illness: The numbers Prevalence Schizophrenia: About 1% of the population Major depression: Lifetime occurrence - 10% - 25% of women, 5% - 12% of men. Bipolar disorder (manic depression): Lifetime occurrence - 1% - 2% of the population. Panic Disorder: Lifetime occurrence - about 1% of males, 2% of females. Obsessive-compulsive disorders: Lifetime occurrence - about 2.5% of the population. Cost Mental disorders, other than alcohol and substance abuse, cost U.S. society more than $204.4 billion annually. About $91 billion of that amount (based on 1994 figures) is for direct health care costs; the rest includes social services, disability payments and the expense of lost productivity. Estimates for the annual costs of some specific mental disorders:Major depression: $43.7

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