Sanders came under fire after the March 6 Democratic presidential primary debate in making comments about the mental health of the Republican candidates: “And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health.” While the comment garnered laughter from all parties, it also has generated challenges given that amid persistent stigma, it can be deemed acceptable to trivialize or jest about issues that have very serious, and sometimes fatal, consequences.
Here are some numbers to illustrate the gravity of mental illness:
What these figures demonstrate is that while there remains inadequate understanding of mental illness, the gravity makes such lighthearted comments as those in the recent debate far from appropriate. It was not a comment made with a nefarious intent on the part of the Senator, though this is not the first time that his mental health-related comments have reinforced some unfortunate stereotypes, given the frequent nexus between Sanders’ discussions of mental illness and mass shootings. Despite the common emphasis on personal characteristics of the candidates and the broad strokes discussions of party platforms, presidential campaigns and downticket races nevertheless present opportunities to discuss in meaningful ways as a nation the importance of investing in expanded mental health care for patients spanning a range of socioeconomic groups, addressing persistent challenges of underinsurance, and investing in research toward new medical and therapeutic treatments. While financial limitations are a key contributor to individuals reluctance to seek treatment for mental illness, given persistent stigmas, it is imperative that those vying for the American presidency not also use this class of illness as a political punchline.
Here are some numbers to illustrate the gravity of mental illness:
- $57.5 billion: cost of mental health care in the United States in 2006 (equivalent to cost of cancer care)
- $100 billion: total economic cost of untreated mental illness each year in the United States
- 1/3: The amount of disability attributable to depression alone
- 2: global rank of depression as cause of disability
- $193.2 billion: annual losses in earnings due to serious mental illness
- $2.5 trillion: global cost (direct and indirect) of mental illness in 2010
- 80%: national unemployment rate among those receiving public mental health services
- 5-10: years that those with depression die earlier than those without mental illness
- 10-20: years that those with bipolar illness die earlier than those without mental illness
- 117: number of Americans who die by suicide every day
What these figures demonstrate is that while there remains inadequate understanding of mental illness, the gravity makes such lighthearted comments as those in the recent debate far from appropriate. It was not a comment made with a nefarious intent on the part of the Senator, though this is not the first time that his mental health-related comments have reinforced some unfortunate stereotypes, given the frequent nexus between Sanders’ discussions of mental illness and mass shootings. Despite the common emphasis on personal characteristics of the candidates and the broad strokes discussions of party platforms, presidential campaigns and downticket races nevertheless present opportunities to discuss in meaningful ways as a nation the importance of investing in expanded mental health care for patients spanning a range of socioeconomic groups, addressing persistent challenges of underinsurance, and investing in research toward new medical and therapeutic treatments. While financial limitations are a key contributor to individuals reluctance to seek treatment for mental illness, given persistent stigmas, it is imperative that those vying for the American presidency not also use this class of illness as a political punchline.
RSS Feed