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Despite the amazing advances we’ve seen in medicine over the last decade and the increased open-mindedness of most citizens, many people still don’t know much about mental illness. Whether it’s because they haven’t been informed, requiring increased awareness, or because they simply don’t care, it’s inexcusable that so many United States citizens don’t know what the deal is with mental health.
And it’s even worse when you find out that as many as one out of five New Yorkers suffers from mental illness of one sort or another. The data came from a report issued by Ney York Mayor de Blasio, as he is going to announce soon his plan for approaching mental illness over the next three years.
Mental illness in New York
According to the published report, major depressive disorder in the number one cause of disability in New York, with over half a million adults living in the city suffering from the condition at any given time. However, only about forty percent report to actually receive treatment for it.
Even worse, some 73,000 public high school students around the city report major depression, feeling hopeless every month, and some eight percent of them even attempted suicide at one point or another. And this brings us to another issue – the excessive consumption and addiction to drugs and alcohol that is running rampant throughout the city.
Drug addiction, alcohol abuse and depression cause billions in losses every year, and are spreading fast throughout the city. Most of the times, all three are caused by traumatic events in childhood. Such as divorce, abuse, neglect, financial strain, and low-income neighborhood, all of which New York is full.
Three-year mental health plan
Even though it hasn’t yet been followed by anything, the report is soon going to introduce Mayor de Blasio’s proposal for managing mental care next week. He hasn’t said anything about it yet, although his wife said in August of last year that there are some $386 million available for mental health care projects over the next three years.
And regarding Chirlane McCray, she has become sort of a favorite for different groups of New Yorkers, as she has always been an advocate for mental health and attempting to offer help to those particularly by the mental health crisis in the city – the poor and the minorities.
Additionally, the family has a long history with mental illness, with McCray’s parents both struggling with depression and her daughter being involved in a triangle of substance abuse. All in all, the couple seem like they have the best in mind, at least when it comes to providing adequate mental health care to the denizens of Mayor de Blasio’s city.
Image source: Wikimedia
