Even though one in five Americans lives with a mental illness, many feel their mental illness is not being adequately addressed, a new West Health/Gallup survey finds. , suggests that three out of four Americans believe that mental health conditions are not identified and treated in the same way as physical illnesses. health condition.
According to surveys, approximately 60% of Americans give poor or failing ratings for methods of treating mental health conditions.
“size [of the problem] I was really surprised,” said Tim Rush, president of West Health. He says the United States is failing not just in its performance, but also in terms of the number of people with unmet needs at the system level.
The survey shows the impact of mental health issues is high, with 51% of people saying they had experienced depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions in the past year.
Even more worryingly, 22% of them said their mental health was so poor that it interfered with normal activities such as going to work and doing household chores.
Seven in 10 Americans believe society views people with mental health conditions negatively, and stigma is a major barrier to care, the survey found.
“It’s very difficult for patients to bring up mental health issues,” said Dr. Vidush Athiyar, a family physician at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego.
“The onus is probably on the doctor to spot the signs,” Athiyal said, emphasizing the importance of health care providers actively incorporating mental health into routine patient visits.
While the stigma surrounding mental health persists, experts hope expanded dialogue will spur change.
“As our society becomes more comfortable talking about mental health, we hope that patients will also become more comfortable talking to their doctors about mental health,” Atyal said. “There’s no need to be too hesitant about following your doctor’s instructions.”
He also emphasizes that mental health issues often manifest as physical symptoms.
“Many of the symptoms we encounter in primary care, such as migraines, back pain, and heart palpitations, have an underlying psychosocial component. Eventually we ran all the tests and everything was normal. And then finally someone tries to dig a little deeper,” Asiyar said, adding, “A stressful event in the patient’s life that caused this. ” may be revealed. [response]”
Experts say the study emphasizes that mental health should not take a back seat in U.S. health care. Mental health experts say mental health is just as important as physical health, and the two are closely linked.
“We have a long way to go,” Rush said. “But there is hope. Mental health needs to be accepted by society as a core part of overall health, and it is vital that we achieve parity.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, confidential and free support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call or text National Lifeline 988.
Ruchi Lachmer, MD, MPH, is chief resident in the Preventive Medicine Residency Program at UT Tyler School of Medicine in Tyler, Texas, and a member of the ABC Medical News Unit.
Parina Kaur, MD, MPH is a family medicine resident at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, California and a member of the ABC Medical News Unit.
Dr. Jade Cobern contributed to this report.
