Mental Health in America

[bucktalk]

Is mental health in America declining or do we simply hear more about mental issues -social media, etc? From news reports alone there appears to be a fairly steady decline in mental health. If there is a documented reliable source of such decline -how can the trend be reversed?

[Pete]

Mental health issues have always been around but until relatively recently, they went largely undiagnosed and untreated.

I stay in contact with a ton of friends from high school and college and it's shocking to hear and realize how many families had these issues, including my own. When I think back on things, there were a bunch of problems throughout my neighborhood when I was growing up, but these things were never even talked about let alone dealt with.

I don't think it's a matter of mental health getting worse, it's just more openly discussed and reported which are good things. At least now, there is a huge industry to help people who need it and much better medications.

Having said all that, apart from very extreme cases, you can't force anyone to seek help. And the much higher standard of living means easier access to addicting substances, like alcohol and meth.

From my experience, all that can be done is for friends and family to look out for those in need and encourage them to get help.

[bucktalk]

Mental health issues have always been around but until relatively recently, they went largely undiagnosed and untreated.

I stay in contact with a ton of friends from high school and college and it's shocking to hear and realize how many families had these issues, including my own. When I think back on things, there were a bunch of problems throughout my neighborhood when I was growing up, but these things were never even talked about let alone dealt with.

I don't think it's a matter of mental health getting worse, it's just more openly discussed and reported which are good things. At least now, there is a huge industry to help people who need it and much better medications.

Having said all that, apart from very extreme cases, you can't force anyone to seek help. And the much higher standard of living means easier access to addicting substances, like alcohol and meth.

From my experience, all that can be done is for friends and family to look out for those in need and encourage them to get help.

Mental issues come with such complications and no quick-fix remedies. I wonder if social pressures (school bullying, social media, etc) push people into mental health crisis? Is a common thread of mass shooters of this year alone is they all have had mental issues their entire life or did something happen to push them into crisis mode? Just wondering out loud.....I realize simple answers can't be found.

[Pete]

Believe me, bullying and other types of abuse were far, far more common in the past than now. Again, simply due to shining a light on these issues.

That stuff still happens but it's better now than it has been in the past.

Today's 24-hour news cycle, tons of outlets and social media have all definitely contributed to mass shootings. In almost all those situations, the culprit is basically committing suicide (there is never an escape strategy) and rather than quietly taking their own life, they all want to get some sort of sick notoriety. There is also a strong copy-cat influence.

For a long time, it was a journalistic principle to not cover suicides. I didn't even realize this until I saw a man jump from a skyscraper in downtown L.A around 2000, and then couldn't find any information about him. That's all obviously changed with a million ways for information to get out. Now the video of that guy jumping would be on Youtube the same day.

[TheTravellers]

Mental issues come with such complications and no quick-fix remedies. I wonder if social pressures (school bullying, social media, etc) push people into mental health crisis? Is a common thread of mass shooters of this year alone is they all have had mental issues their entire life or did something happen to push them into crisis mode? Just wondering out loud.....I realize simple answers can't be found.

Not sure if all mass shooters this year have had mental issues or if they're just hate/racial crimes. Not all shooters have mental issues, be very careful to paint with that broad brush.

[BoulderSooner]

Not sure if all mass shooters this year have had mental issues or if they're just hate/racial crimes. Not all shooters have mental issues, be very careful to paint with that broad brush.

if you murder people you have mental issues ( with maybe a crime of passion situation)

[Plutonic Panda]

Not sure if all mass shooters this year have had mental issues or if they're just hate/racial crimes. Not all shooters have mental issues, be very careful to paint with that broad brush.

I gotta disagree with that. In order to kill a random person for no reason let alone multiple there has to be something wrong with those people.

[Pete]

if you murder people you have mental issues ( with maybe a crime of passion situation)

And as I mentioned above, these shootings are also suicides and that by very definition represents a serious mental health issue.

[TheTravellers]

I gotta disagree with that. In order to kill a random person for no reason let alone multiple there has to be something wrong with those people.

Yes, if you kill someone, you pretty much have to be temporarily insane for a moment, but that's completely different from being bipolar for years and having multiple episodes, and then killing somebody(ies) due to that, and that's different from hating all "other" (black, gay, Jewish, etc.) people and wanting to kill them all. It's complex.

[Bill Robertson]

Believe me, bullying and other types of abuse were far, far more common in the past than now. Again, simply due to shining a light on these issues.

That stuff still happens but it's better now than it has been in the past.

Today's 24-hour news cycle, tons of outlets and social media have all definitely contributed to mass shootings. In almost all those situations, the culprit is basically committing suicide (there is never an escape strategy) and rather than quietly taking their own life, they all want to get some sort of sick notoriety. There is also a strong copy-cat influence.

For a long time, it was a journalistic principle to not cover suicides. I didn't even realize this until I saw a man jump from a skyscraper in downtown L.A around 2000, and then couldn't find any information about him. That's all obviously changed with a million ways for information to get out. Now the video of that guy jumping would be on Youtube the same day.

I was bullied relentlessly in 7th, 8th and 9th grade, 73 to 75. And I was far from the only one in my schools in my position.

[shartel_ave]

I'm so glad cell phones, the internet, and social media were not a thing when I graduated high school.

I can't imagine growing up going to school now with social media.

Kids are way more bullied than ever before it is just not as physical. It only takes a matter of minutes for a social media post to reach the entire school

[RangersYear]

Believe me, bullying and other types of abuse were far, far more common in the past than now. Again, simply due to shining a light on these issues.

That stuff still happens but it's better now than it has been in the past.

As someone who has worked in the school trenches for almost 30 years, in my experience, overall bullying in schools is far worse today than it was decades ago. Bullying has just changed form. The days of a bully throwing a kid against the locker, teasing them in the halls, or knocking their food tray over at lunch have largely disappeared. Don't get me wrong, those things still occur, but not even close to the amount I saw 30 years ago. Instead, it is far more effective to cyber-bully others and there are a TON of students who are victims, almost all of whom never tell anyone that they are being harassed.

We've also seen lines between "friends" become increasingly blurred over the years. The things and manner in which kids tease their friends about today is exponentially different than that of two generations ago. 30 years ago, when kids teased their friends at school, it wasn't as hateful as it is today and only a dozen others heard or saw it. Now when a kid is teased, even by a friend, they do it on social media and hundreds quickly dogpile, laugh, and share. It's brutal for a kid to think that thousands of people all over the country are laughing at your haircut, new shirt, braces, or dropped pass for a touchdown. Sadly, this (and much worse) happens a lot.

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

My therapist has had a backlog of new patients she can't fit into her schedule since the pandemic began.
Last year I had a referral from primary doc to a psychiatrist, took 3 months to even find a place with open appointments.

Not easy.

[shartel_ave]

My therapist has had a backlog of new patients she can't fit into her schedule since the pandemic began.
Last year I had a referral from primary doc to a psychiatrist, took 3 months to even find a place with open appointments.

Not easy.

VA has a two month wait unless it’s serious than you don’t wait which is a great thing about the VA

[jedicurt]

As someone who has worked in the school trenches for almost 30 years, in my experience, overall bullying in schools is far worse today than it was decades ago. Bullying has just changed form. The days of a bully throwing a kid against the locker, teasing them in the halls, or knocking their food tray over at lunch have largely disappeared. Don't get me wrong, those things still occur, but not even close to the amount I saw 30 years ago. Instead, it is far more effective to cyber-bully others and there are a TON of students who are victims, almost all of whom never tell anyone that they are being harassed.

Very much this.... physical bullying i think has improved significantly, but back when i was in school, you mostly got away from it when you went hope. especially in grade school and middle school. when i was in high school was when pretty much every kid started to get a cell phone, and that is when i really noticed it start to change were you could never get away from it. so it might not be physical, but the mental ramifications of the bullying actually got significantly worse, because you didn't feel as though you could have a safe space anywhere as long as you had your phone.

[Brett]

Is mental health in America declining or do we simply hear more about mental issues -social media, etc? From news reports alone there appears to be a fairly steady decline in mental health. If there is a documented reliable source of such decline -how can the trend be reversed?

I'm certain Big Pharma has a solution to reverse the mental health decline trend.

[Pete]

Very much this.... physical bullying i think has improved significantly, but back when i was in school, you mostly got away from it when you went hope. especially in grade school and middle school. when i was in high school was when pretty much every kid started to get a cell phone, and that is when i really noticed it start to change were you could never get away from it. so it might not be physical, but the mental ramifications of the bullying actually got significantly worse, because you didn't feel as though you could have a safe space anywhere as long as you had your phone.

Very good points.

And beyond all this, despite the many good things that come from the free flow of information, there is also all types of crazy crap on the Internet that not only sucks unstable people in (Qanon is only the tip of the iceberg), but there are also groups and discussion forums where violence and even suicide are cheered on.

And all this affects people of any age, not just kids.

[Bunty]

I was bullied relentlessly in 7th, 8th and 9th grade, 73 to 75. And I was far from the only one in my schools in my position.

I was bullied from the 7th to 12th grade from being ugly and sickly. I had severe asthma and the steroids I took to treat it made my bones brittle. Consequently, I could not participate in PE class and school sports, making me different from other kids. As far as myself for being ugly, years later it was pointed out to me that the male kid who most often told me I was ugly was likely gay and that was his sarcastic way for dealing with himself for being gay and attracted to me. To this day, he may very well be the biggest closet case in town. If I'm right, he never married a girl. Closeted gay kids bullying other kids at school they are sexually attracted to is pretty bad and sad.

Still later and just recently I was shocked but not overly surprised when it was revealed to me by his childhood neighbor that this kid who bullied me when little kept dolls and even had a doll buggy to take them strolling in the neighborhood! Doing that as a little kid in my neighborhood on the other side of town never remotely occurred to me as a thing to do. Back then I was fascinated by a girl who liked to get out a shovel and build dams in the creek at the park across the street from her house. One time I helped her. She would also like to play football with her neighborhood boys. But she went on to be a lesbian. Further strangely enough, she had a little brother who stayed indoors to play with his dolls and went on to be gay!

Kids like me who were bullied and outcasted can hopefully later on find a new hobby or two to devote themselves to, along with finding a decent paying job or career to also devote themselves to. Doing all that is great for good mental health.

[mugofbeer]

My take is that when many of us were young, those who were on the fringe of thought didn't have any sort of validation so they kept to themselves. Now they have social media where they can always find someone to validate their thoughts, no matter how crazy, bizarre or absurd. This seems to be the case for virtually any subject.

I see people as being pack animals, even those who are not socially graced or have a lot of friends can now communicate with others via social media. This does not always lead to healthy outcomes. How many times have you heard or seen someone make a post that says "I thought I was the only one who (did, thought, felt) this way?" There may have been many people at our schools when we were young who had suicidal, homicidal or some sort of deranged thoughts but never did anything about it because they didn't see others doing it or didn't have someone on social media validating their thoughts.

I am more and more convinced that children who spend too much time online and are not engaged in physical and outside activities (literally outside) are going to be prone to having problems adjusting later on in life. So many people have gotten into the role of being activists for so many things that children are being inundated with confusing teachings, contradicting opinions, demands, pressures and outright idiotic ideas that it's a wonder there seem to be so many mental cases doing desperate things today.

[Bill Robertson]

I was bullied from the 7th to 12th grade from being ugly and sickly. I had severe asthma and the steroids I took to treat it made my bones brittle. Consequently, I could not participate in PE class and school sports, making me different from other kids. As far as myself for being ugly, years later it was pointed out to me that the male kid who most often told me I was ugly was likely gay and that was his sarcastic way for dealing with himself for being gay and attracted to me. To this day, he may very well be the biggest closet case in town. If I'm right, he never married a girl. Closeted gay kids bullying other kids at school they are sexually attracted to is pretty bad and sad.

Still later and just recently I was shocked but not overly surprised when it was revealed to me by his childhood neighbor that this kid who bullied me when little kept dolls and even had a doll buggy to take them strolling in the neighborhood! Doing that as a little kid in my neighborhood on the other side of town never remotely occurred to me as a thing to do. Back then I was fascinated by a girl who liked to get out a shovel and build dams in the creek at the park across the street from her house. One time I helped her. She would also like to play football with her neighborhood boys. But she went on to be a lesbian. Further strangely enough, she had a little brother who stayed indoors to play with his dolls and went on to be gay!

Kids like me who were bullied and outcasted can hopefully later on find a new hobby or two to devote themselves to, along with finding a decent paying job or career to also devote themselves to. Doing all that is great for good mental health.

Sounds like you had it worse than me. I was just the wimpy, uncoordinated, unathletic kid that the big, athletic guys preyed on.
But I turned out fine. After getting through school I was a competent bicycle racer, a decent golfer and played softball for two and sometimes three teams at a time. I wasn't great but I was pretty good. And I've put together a fabulous career of jobs that both payed very well and except for a couple I very much enjoyed doing. Now I'm five to ? years away from retirement depending on what I feel like doing and whenever that does happen I'm looking forward to whatever that brings. If success and happiness after being bullied in school is winning then I kicked their a$$!!!!

[Bill Robertson]

My take is that when many of us were young, those who were on the fringe of thought didn't have any sort of validation so they kept to themselves. Now they have social media where they can always find someone to validate their thoughts, no matter how crazy, bizarre or absurd. This seems to be the case for virtually any subject.

I see people as being pack animals, even those who are not socially graced or have a lot of friends can now communicate with others via social media. This does not always lead to healthy outcomes. How many times have you heard or seen someone make a post that says "I thought I was the only one who (did, thought, felt) this way?" There may have been many people at our schools when we were young who had suicidal, homicidal or some sort of deranged thoughts but never did anything about it because they didn't see others doing it or didn't have someone on social media validating their thoughts.

I am more and more convinced that children who spend too much time online and are not engaged in physical and outside activities (literally outside) are going to be prone to having problems adjusting later on in life. So many people have gotten into the role of being activists for so many things that children are being inundated with confusing teachings, contradicting opinions, demands, pressures and outright idiotic ideas that it's a wonder there seem to be so many mental cases doing desperate things today.

I can see a lot to this. When the first kid bullied me in school the other big, big headed guys saw him and saw I wasn't going to fight back so they followed suit. Now with social media the ability to jump in to bullying some poor kid is much easier for a much bigger pool of bullies.

[mugofbeer]

It was said earlier that if a kid is prone to thoughts of mass shooting or suicide, for example, there are groups and people on social media and dark media that will educate and encourage action. Even in more traditional matters, all the self-serving activists demand "action" on their pet peeve of the day. Prior to today's uncensored internet, kids didn't have twisted advocacy groups.

It's like ISIS followers. There are kids who have gone out and tried to commit or have actually committed heinous acts of violence solely because of what they have read online from Islamist butchers. Too much time and too many people supporting someone who is experiencing life problems can lead to horrible outcomes and it comes mainly from online.

Unfortunately, without controlling and censoring the internet and imposing changes to basic child online habits, I don't know how to change things.

[Bill Robertson]

It was said earlier that if a kid is prone to thoughts of mass shooting or suicide, for example, there are groups and people on social media and dark media that will educate and encourage action. Even in more traditional matters, all the self-serving activists demand "action" on their pet peeve of the day. Prior to today's uncensored internet, kids didn't have twisted advocacy groups.

It's like ISIS followers. There are kids who have gone out and tried to commit or have actually committed heinous acts of violence solely because of what they have read online from Islamist butchers. Too much time and too many people supporting someone who is experiencing life problems can lead to horrible outcomes and it comes mainly from online.

Unfortunately, without controlling and censoring the internet and imposing changes to basic child online habits, I don't know how to change things.

I agree. And the controlling or censoring the internet ship sailed a while ago. At least here.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

988 national mental health line is now live. It's a national system, so not every state is equally well staffed but it's a big thing.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Is mental health in America declining or do we simply hear more about mental issues -social media, etc? From news reports alone there appears to be a fairly steady decline in mental health. If there is a documented reliable source of such decline -how can the trend be reversed?

There is data on mental health diagnoses longitudinally at national and world wide levels. There are point prevalence numbers and there are lifetime diagnoses numbers. By and large, serious mental illness dx remain stable (1% worldwide for schizophrenia, stable numbers for bipolar disorder) but there are some trending numbers that are troubling researchers and a big one is suicide.
To the question about reliable resources for numbers, SAMHSA.gov is excellent starting point.