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Advancements in How We View Mental Health Issues
Mental disorders are common and will affect half of us at some point in our lives. Although effective treatment exists—specifically, a wide range of psychotherapy approaches, medication, or treatment plans that combine therapy and medication—the majority of people with mental health disorders are not treated.
Conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating disorders affect mood, thought, and behavior. If left untreated, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even years, causing needless pain and suffering, not only to the person who has the condition, but also to those who care about them. Untreated, mental disorders can even lead to serious medical problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, or cancer.
If mental disorders are so common and effective treatments exist, why do so many people continue to go untreated? In too many cases, the reason(s) for not seeking treatment include:
- Not knowing how to recognize the symptoms of mental conditions and disorders.
- Being unaware that treatment exists.
- Feeling embarrassed or perceiving stigma is attached to having a mental condition or disorder.
- Not knowing how to confidently access good professional help.
Throughout 4therapy.com you can find information that directly addresses all of these concerns. The Conditions section details mental health disorders, their symptoms, causes, and how they are treated. The confidential tests in the Self Assessment section have been designed to help you become more aware of any habits, attitudes or symptoms that might indicate the presence or precursors of certain conditions. And the About Therapy section provides a range of information that helps "de-mystify” psychotherapy, including how to know when to seek therapy, how therapy works and how to find a therapist in your area that is best suited to your needs and personal preferences by using the Therapist Locator.
A major landmark in the American public’s awareness of mental health issues was reached with the release of the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health on December 13, 1999. In this comprehensive report’s detailed analysis of the country’s current responsiveness to mental health issues, Surgeon General Satcher emphasizes how “mental health is fundamental to (overall) health and human functioning”and explains that the two main goals of the report are to lessen the widespread stigma related to mental health and to increase access to help for mental health problems and illnesses.
Additional evidence of the current appreciation for mental health issues and the growing concern for developing ever more effective treatments is the recent decision to award the Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2000 jointly to three researchers for their discoveries concerning how the brain functions. The Nobel laureates' work is being credited with making significant contributions towards developing new drugs for Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and depression, as well as providing new advancements in the treatment of addiction disorders and various types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Their research provides "tremendous leaps in our understanding of how the human mind learns and remembers, paving the way to advances in treating a host of neurological and psychiatric disorders," said Dr. Story Landis of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
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