In any given year 26 percent of American adults suffer from mental disorders, based on guidelines in the official handbook for diagnosing mental illness, the DSM-IV. Only about a fifth of the cases are serious enough to cause a major disruption of everyday life, however, which has prompted some experts to call for more stringent diagnostic criteria. Others counter that tracking mild symptoms is important for preventing their escalation into more severe illness. The chart below lists many of the most prevalent mental illnesses in Americans older than 18 years, according to a 2005 survey by the National Institute of Mental Health. Nearly half of all people who have one illness also suffer from at least one more.
This article was originally published with the title Mental Illness in America.
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4 Comments
Add CommentAny cross-cultural comparisons available? Different groups in the States, or the US cfd with other nations?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's a lot of cases. About one in four adults really suffers from a mental disorder? Can this be true for all communities? It seems that out of all of the people that I have met, not that many could have possibly suffered or are currently nursing a mental illness. More information on this would be lovely.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Technically" just about EVERYONE can be labeled with SOME "problem".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe whole field is full of politics.
Come on...they took homosexuality (with really IS an organic mental disorder) out. It's no longer an "official" listed mental disorder.
Please...who do you think you're fooling guys...
When discussing paedophilia we should all remember that other 'scourge' of sexual aberration: self abuse.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor almost 100 years psychiatrists, church, politicians, teachers, indeed 99% of 'polite' society got THAT horribly wrong.
The current anti paedophile hysteria has demonised men generally in the UK to the extent that we have withdrawn en masse from all but the most minimal contact with children, especially boys.
Parents are scared witless and keep children indoors or ferry them everywhere they go. A new gadget is doing the rounds, worn like a watch it's a device which allows neurotic parents to track their 'angels' on a computer map when they are occasionally 'released' outside.
Organisations which require male volunteers, e.g. scouts, cubs, boys clubs, football teams etc are in many cases either closing or making do with female 'leaders'.
Boys have never been more troublesome than they are now with police visiting schools on a regular basis, unheard of before the paedo hysteria.
Without question a new approach is required. We could begin by differentiating between paedophiles and child abuser and by replacing emotive language for paedophile 'crimes' to more realistic and less alarmist terms e.g. unlawful sexual activity instead of indecent assault where no actual assault takes place (the domain of the child abuser).
And unlawful sexual intercourse instead of the word rape, again where no force is used.
This will begin to take the heat out of the equation and allow investigators an easier task of reviewing the whole issue of paedophilia.
The current state of play is unsustainable. Change is inevitable, so let's get on with it.