So why should the public care about Mental Health anyways?

So for members of the general public who may not have experienced the mental health system, why should this issue matter to them? In the MH community it is common knowledge that 1 in 5 people will be seriously affected by a mental health issue, whether in an official diagnosis or not. So what does that mean? In today's society we seem to attribute value with productivity, taxes and other quantitative factors. Social factors are not easily valued by many.

So for those people who are defined by the numbers, here is an economic argument to consider.

Imagine you have a business, and one of your best employees suffers from a mental illness; you don't know when they will come back, and even if they do, a relapse can happen at anytime. How does that affect the viability of your business, how does it affect your clients and your staff? What is the cost if you are aware of this and improperly manage the situation because of your ignorance?

If you are an insurance company, what are the costs for short and long term disability payouts. What are you doing to help employers (your clients) avoid health and payout issues. Are you proactive on this or you just prefer to create such high standards of proof for disability, you don't pay out anyways. Imagine the legal and court costs of this strategy, is it really more cost effective? Ethics aside of course.

If you are an administrator of the medical system, how many bed stays are for mental health related conditions? How many secondary health issues are there with people who have not been able to manage their mental health issues? How is this affecting your funding? Are you fully engaged in the world of mental health to know what the medical system is entitled to? Are we looking at alternative therapies that may be more efficient, which require less expensive visits to doctors.

If you are a family member who has a relation suffering from a disorder, how does this affect your life? Do you choose to downplay and ignore it? If your spouse, sibling or relative has to miss countless days of work, how does that affect their ability to support themselves economically.

I am not quite sure how to add up these costs, but these are not pie in the sky scenarios; these are real conditions, with real consequences, it demands a true understanding. People can no longer hide from the issue, it affects everyone! We need to cut through the ignorance, stigma and misinformation around Mental Health issues. Discussions need to be open, compassionate, constructive and need to have subsequent actions.

Truly, it is costing us alot, it is costing people's lives.

J Peachy

Visual Artist and Creative Catalyst
jay.peachy@yahoo.com
jpeachy.carbonmade.com


Producer Sound Therapy Radio
CJSF 90.1 FM
soundtherapyradio.com