Keegan Bonesteel

AP English 11C
Mrs. Fryske
16 May 2016
Mental Health Care:
An Ignored Problem in the 21st Century
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. - 43.8 million, or 18.5% - experience mental illness
in a given year.(NAMI) Multitudes of Democrats support mental health care because they see it
as a basic human right that shouldnt be ignored. A large portion of Conservatives in the
government legislature tend not to support mental health programs, which can lead to
unnecessary death, an increase in crime rates, and poverty.
People were institutionalized in the 1800s due to the many things that were considered
illnesses that needed to be treated at that time. West Virginias Hospital for the Insane considered
a plethora of ludacris things reasons to admit someone into their asylum. Jealousy, laziness,
religion, the death of a son in the war, novel reading, and asthma are just a few of the many
reasons someone would be institutionalized. Patients were often treated with cruel punishments
that were designed to keep them sedated and to keep them from hurting themselves and others.
The U.S. in the 1800s: Mental patients were chained in basement cells. Public viewing of
patients was allowed for entertainment purposes.(Ludovici)
Europe in the 1700s to early 1800s: Medical treatment was both a remedy and a
punishment. Treatments included bloodletting, purging and induced vomiting, cold water
dunking (water torture), and the swinging chair, a contraption designed to spin the

patient at high speeds. The chair was thought useful in helping patients to vomit, evacuate
the contents of their bladder, and lull them into a tranquilized state of mind.(Ludovici)
Things changed drastically in the late 1800s and early 1900s. People started to realize
that their actions were wrong, and they wanted to make a change. The moral treatment of the
mentally ill was brought to attention. Europe in late 1800s: Concern for the mentally ill
increased. The use of chains and shackles was forbidden. Patients were removed from dungeons
and allowed to stay in sunny rooms and walk outside.(Ludovici) In 1909, Mental Health
America was founded.
Mental Health America was established by former psychiatric patient Clifford W. Beers.
During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to
horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement that
took shape as Mental Health America.(Mental Health America)
This is a nonprofit foundation that focuses on mentally healthier lives for the victims of various
disorders. The workers help patients with their mental illnesses before they hit the most
damaging points of their diseases. They have helped shape the treatment of the mentally ill to the
way that it is today. Although the treatment of patients has improved drastically, more and more
people turn to substance abuse and suicide as the answer instead of hospitalization,
rehabilitation, or therapy.
On the average, 1 person commits suicide every 16.2 minutes. (DoSomething) Most
people who commit suicide tend to be depressed at the time of their death. Depression causes
symptoms such as insomnia, lack of appetite, increase in appetite, lethargy, chronic pain, and in
extreme cases suicidal thoughts and actions. Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide each
year. (DoSomething) This number may not seem like a lot when the American population is

324,017,664 at this moment and is constantly changing, but those are 30,000 lives that could
have been spared. These are peoples children, moms, fathers, best friends. They had lives,
dreams, futures, and families. This is why the issue of mental illness needs to be addressed
seriously and talked about often. Hospitals, doctors, and nurses are working around the clock to
save patients who shouldnt be in the situation that they are in. Often times every bed is occupied
in the mental health floor of hospitals, causing the doctors to try and rush patients out. There
have been many cases where a doctor has discharged a patient that still showed signs of suicide.
Ian Hartley, a sixteen year old high school student from Charlotte Michigan, committed
suicide after being taken to two different hospitals and being turned away each time. He had told
his mother his plan to jump off a bridge, and said to her that he would say whatever it takes to be
released from the hospital so that he can go through with it. Hartley had been diagnosed with
depression months prior to his suicide. His parents rushed him to Community Mental Health in
Lansing. Staff asked him the mandatory questions and then told the family that their insurance
wouldnt cover treatment. They were then directed to go to an emergency room where all fees
would be covered, so McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital was their next stop. The same questions
were asked, and then Ian was able to speak to a doctor. He was not able to speak to a psychiatrist.
It took Ian and the doctor twenty minutes to privately talk, and then his parents were told to take
him home and do a follow up with his counselor and family doctor the next day. Shortly after
one p.m. the next day, Ian Hartley jumped from the Otto Road overpass on I-69.(Greco)
Multiple other cases like this are popping up all over the nation, but sometimes the death is
caused by an accidental, or intentional, overdose of illegal substances.
There is a connection between mental illness and substance abuse with eighty-four
percent of mental health patients using cocaine, sixty-nine percent using alcohol, and sixty-eight

percent using cigarettes. People often tend to self-medicate instead of seeking professional help
because they see it as an easier option. It is also cheaper, in their minds, than paying for medical
bills and prescription drugs. Self-medication is where a person uses a substance to make the
symptoms easier to deal with or become nonexistent for an amount of time. Some examples of
self-medication are the social anxiety sufferers who drink alcohol to become more comfortable
and relaxed in social situations, or the patient with a lack of motivation or lethargy that consumes
crystal meth to increase their energy which allows them to get things done. By becoming
addicted to these drugs, patients are increasing their risk of being diagnosed with another illness.
Depression is a common effect of certain drugs like crystal meth and alcohol as they begin to
wear off, and its a symptom that can deepen into a disorder over time. (Foundations Recovery
Network) Patients are also at risk of breaking the law because of their poor decision-making
while under the influence.
Mass shootings, robberies, assault, and other major crimes are committed by many
people every day. People with serious mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, do have a slightly
higher risk of committing violence than members of the general population.(Beckett) Due to
their unstable minds, people with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder
are often likely to snap and end up hurting someone or themselves. People with serious mental
illness are 3 to 4 times more likely to be violent than those who arent. (Beckett) Not only is
crime a major problem with the mentally ill, they also make up one third of the homeless
population in the United States.
Multiple studies on homeless individuals beginning in the early 1980s have reported that
approximately one-third of them have a serious mental illness, specifically schizophrenia,
schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression. (Treatment Advocacy Center)

They are known to be riding the subways or buses all night, sleeping on the sidewalk, or hanging
around parks in New York. In recent years, as states have continued to close down state
psychiatric beds, there are suggestions that the problem is getting worse. In Massachusetts, the
homeless population increased by 14 percent from 2010 to 2013. (Treatment Advocacy Center)
Many more hospitals and institutions are closing, leaving many of the patients to wander the
streets begging for food or money. These people oftentimes dont have families willing to take
them in or homes that they can go to. Though it has become widely accepted, seventy-four to
eight-seven percent of the homeless are victimized. This leaves the vulnerable out for the rapists,
murderers, and thieves. If homeless shelters have room, they will often times take only women
and children, leaving the men to fend for themselves.
The need for mental health care is rising due to the increasing amounts of deaths, crime,
and homelessness. These peoples lives are being severely impacted, but because the
Republicans do not support the care necessary to treat these illnesses, they are suffering greatly.
How many more premature deaths is it going to take to open peoples eyes to this major
problem? If we could change the way sufferers are treated, then maybe we could advance as a
society. The next Picasso, Einstein, or Stephen Hawking could have just taken their life right
now. Who knows what the world would be like if mental patients were treated like they need to
be.

Works Cited
"11 Facts About Suicide." DoSomething.org. DoSomething, n.d. Web. 15 June 2016.
<https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-suicide>
Greco, Rachel. "Family of Teen Who Committed Suicide Fighting for Change." Lansing State

Journal. Lansing State Journal, 19 May 2016. Web. 16 June 2016.

<http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2016/05/18/family-teen-whocommited-suicide-fighting-change/84225858/>
"How Many Individuals with a Serious Mental Illness Are Homeless? - Backgrounder Treatment Advocacy Center." How Many Individuals with a Serious Mental Illness Are
Homeless? - Backgrounder - Treatment Advocacy Center. Treatment Advocacy Center,
Nov. 2014. Web. 16 June
2016.
<http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/problem/consequences-of-nontreatment/2058>
McGinley, Tara. "List of Reasons for Admission to an Insane Asylum from the Late 1800s."
DangerousMinds. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 03 June 2016.
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"Mental Health By the Numbers." NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI, n.d. Web.
16 May 2016. < https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers>
Beckett, Lois. "Myth vs. Fact: Violence and Mental Health." Top Stories RSS. ProPublica, 10
June 2014. Web. 16 June 2016.
<https://www.propublica.org/article/myth-vs-fact-violence-and-mental-health>
"Our History." Mental Health America. Mental Health America, n.d. Web. 03 June 2016.
<http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/our-history>
"The Connection Between Mental Illness and Substance Abuse | Dual Diagnosis." Dual
Diagnosis. Foundations Recovery Network, n.d. Web. 14 June 2016.

<http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/the-connection/>
Ludovici, Kelly Erin. "Treatments in Mental Health: A Brief History | Warner Perspectives."
Warner Perspectives. University of Rochester, 10 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 May 2016.
<https://www.warner.rochester.edu/blog/warnerperspectives/?p=756>