Very good article.
A lot of people want to dismiss mental illness, and have been fairly successful. Many insurance companies have even established lower coverages for prescriptions for mental illness.
Take Lamictal, for example. Lamictal is a medication used to treat epilepsy, but it has also shown to be effective at limiting mood swings caused by mental illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder. Before it went generic, a friend of mine was paying over $100 a month for their prescription after the insurance discount - 150mg of Lamictal for treating Bipolar Disorder. Another friend was paying under $25 a month for their prescription after the insurance discount - 300mg of Lamictal for treating epilepsy. They had the same insurance provider and the same group plan.
We're beginning to see a lot of research and evidence pointing to the validity of mental illness. We're starting to see more and more diagnoses of mental illness having been caused by physical trauma to the brain. Disorders that were once thought to be purely organic have now been shown to be caused by physical trauma to the brain such as from a car accident. The most interesting thing is that many of these cases have occurred in people with no documented personal or family history of mental illness.
For this reason, along with political pressures, we're starting to see fairer treatment of mental illness in both the medical industry and in dealing with health insurance. Hopefully that will keep going.
*** Public Service Announcement *** [Think cheesy monologue at the end of 80s - 90s sitcoms when they had an episode about a particular issue]
If you or a member of your family struggles with depression or mental illness, please seek help. Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean that you're crazy, or wacko, or whatever. It is a physical problem that manifests itself often with mental and emotional symptoms. Some illnesses can be cured over time, some can only be treated, but most can be managed well with help and/or medication.
Also, for family members of a person with a mental illness, I strongly encourage you to visit
NAMI, a non-profit (I think) organization dedicated to education and support for people and their families who are struggling with mental illness. One of the best things about the organization is that they encourage, educate, and support the family members, not just the person struggling with their illness. This is vitally important for both the families and the individual, and can really make or break a successful treatment. They will often have local support groups specifically for family members, to encourage and help them in dealing with their family member who is suffering.
Family members who understand the illness and know how to properly handle situations and help the individual can, in many cases, almost do more for the individual than their doctors and medication. In almost any situation, family members who shun or improperly deal with the individual can undo any good that could be done by the doctors and medication.
*** End public service announcement ***
