Mental health has become one of the United States’ biggest problems and it continues to grow and cause even bigger problems that have to be faced. The United States should work towards solving these problems. Many people face mental illnesses throughout their life and they are hard to treat because of the lack of resources and the shortage of doctors that study these diseases. Many people in the United States live with mental illnesses and pose no threat to their surrounding communities but there are mentally ill people who do pose a threat. Mental health in the United States should be invested in because it can help prevent mass shootings, can better the quality of life for people with mental illnesses, and increase economic contribution and promote growth.
Mental health raises great concerns and is believed to be linked to most mass shootings and suicides that occur in the United States. House Speaker Paul Ryan states that “mental illness plays a great role in the number of mass shootings that occur in the United States which raises the concern of investing more money” (“GOP Lawmakers”). Many people with mental illnesses are perceived to be more dangerous and more irritable than people who do not have illnesses. Laura Wilson states that in past studies “someone with mental illnesses were perceived to be a great risk of being dangerous and preferred to be separated from social activities and beings than those who do not have illnesses”. Also, if the United States invests in mental health, many mass shootings and suicides can be prevented and also will lead people to having more positive thoughts than they would if the hadn’t gotten help. Laura Wilson also goes onto say that, “the suspects that committed the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; and Blacksburg, Virginia, all had mental illnesses that could of possibly led them to committing the crime that they committed”. This statement leads many people to support the cause of mental health being invested in because it could possibly prevent these crimes that are committed.
The quality of life can also be impacted for people who have mental illnesses if the United States invested more into mental health. People with mental illnesses have normal lives at the start but as they get older their quality of life deteriorates. Sharpe says “that studies show a link between mental health and quality of life was moderated by gender and age but not by socio-economic status or ethnicity” (Sharpe). This means that people of different ages and genders are impacted differently than other people, but, ultimately, mental health can affect almost anyone. Also in the article, Sharpe states that “studies have shown that mental health and quality of life are related but not the same thing and that one can be impacted by the other” (Sharpe). The results of Sharpe’s studies show that children with mental illnesses are at a high risk for a poor quality of life when they get older (Sharpe). This shows that if mental health is invested in more that it could potentially improve the quality of life for kids who are battling mental illnesses in the long run and towards the middle to end of their lives.
If the United States were to increase investment in mental health, economically there would be a return on the investment along with new growth in the economy. Each year the United States is estimated to lose $105 billion in productivity and almost $200 billion in lost earnings due to mental illnesses. Currently, the government spends, on average, only 3% of their health budget on mental health (Vecchio). By providing more funding, there would be increased access and availability of mental health services and interventions. For example, many clinics in smaller areas have extremely long wait lists and have to turn people away. These people usually do not have other choices for mental health treatment because of a lack of providers and other clinics in their areas, so they go without any treatment or services. These services could help by providing treatment resulting in more people being able to work and less time taken off for mental health crises. Vecchio states “there is growing recognition that providing necessary treatment and services to people with mental illness brings a significant return on investment. Every dollar spent on mental health programs results in $3-$5 in new economic contributions and years of healthy life”. With increased investment in mental health, the United States would see an improvement in economic productivity and growth throughout the workforce.
Counter 1, 2 and 3
Many people in the United States believe that the government should not invest in mental health. Mass shootings committed by those with a mental illness account for a small fraction of total mass shootings within the United States. Those against the increased investment in mental health believe that more money invested towards a such a small fraction of the overall problem of mass shooting in the US could be better invested elsewhere, like gun control reforms (“GOP Lawmakers”). Many people who have mental illness also face other obstacles that decrease their quality of life. Improvements in quality of life for those with mental illness could be made elsewhere, like towards decreasing poverty, better funding for education, and more affordable housing. Counter-arguments could be made that an investment in mental health is not the best investment when trying to improve quality of life .
Although many people believe mental health should not be invested in, it is actually very important that it should be. Mental health is one of the biggest problems in the United States. It should be invested in because it can help prevent mass shootings, improve the quality of life for people with these illnesses, and increase economic contribution and promote growth. For people who believe that mental health should not be invested in, they are terribly mistaken. Mental health should be invested in because it is a direct link to a substantial amount of mass shootings that have occured in the United States. Laura Wilson also says that “the suspects that committed the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; and Blacksburg, Virginia, all had mental illnesses that could of possibly led them to committing the crime that they committed”. This shows that mental health should be invested in because they could have helped these people before they committed these horrible acts of violence. Also, if mental health was invested in it would improve the quality of life for people with these mental illnesses. Sharpe’s studies show that people who have mental illnesses are at a major risk of having a poorer quality of life as they grow older. Mental illness and quality of life are related and can very much impact each other. By increasing investment in mental health services, resources, and accessibility, the United States would also be investing in creating a higher quality of life for those living with mental illnesses.
Mental health impacts people’s everyday life even if it is not known. That is why the United States should invest in it to help the US citizens who have mental illnesses. If mental health was invested in more, it would cause the United States to be a better place. If mental health was invested in, it would help lower the number of mass shootings, improve the quality of life for citizens, and reduce economic costs. It could help prevent mass shootings by getting people with problems help before they even think about committing such a horrific crime. Also, if mental health was invested in it could help improve the quality of life for people who have been suffering from these illnesses. Mental health being invested in could also reduce the economic costs because if the United States put mental health resources into society for people to use instead of them going to the hospital, it would lower costs for the hospitals. Mental health is important for people in the United States and around the world.