Does hardcore capitalism foster serious mental illness?
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"Sogobia" windriver2...@yahoo.com
I remember reading not to long ago that the suicide rate climbs in the U.S.
during conservative political cycles.
From the article: For example, about 26 percent of Americans were judged to have mental illness, compared with only 4 percent of the residents of Shanghai and 5 percent of Nigerians.
-snip-
About 18 percent of Americans had anxiety disorders, versus 12 percent of the French, 11 percent of Lebanese and 10 percent of Colombians. Europeans other than the French were in the 7 percent range, while Nigerians and Chinese were the calmest, at about 3 percent.
(Also check the statistics table on their website: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/health/02mental.html )
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Large Study on Mental Illness Finds Global Prevalence By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
June 2, 2004 Preliminary results from the world's largest survey on mental health indicate that mental illness is widespread and undertreated, and that wealthy people with mild illness receive more and better treatment than poor people with severe illness.
From 1 to 5 percent of the populations of most of the countries surveyed had serious mental illness, according to the findings, being published today in The Journal of the American Medical ***ociation.
And in most of the countries, 9 to 17 percent of those interviewed had had some episode of mental illness in the last year, whether serious or less severe, said the study, by researchers from the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School.
Around the world, the authors found, mental illness causes as many lost days of work as any physical problem like cancer, heart attack or back pain."The level of role impairment we found to be ***ociated with serious mental disorders was staggering: more than a month in the past year when the respondents reported being totally unable to work," said one chief author, Dr. Ronald C. Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard.
In poor countries, about 80 percent of serious cases went untreated, but even in richer countries 35 to 50 percent of cases had not been treated in the last year. The surveys asked about treatment not just by psychiatrists and psychologists but by family practitioners, members of the clergy, shamans and herbalists.
Earlier efforts to ***ess mental health across the globe have been frustrating, experts said. Those efforts either tried to match disparate national surveys or relied on the "global judgments of clinicians," said Dr.
Robert L. Spitzer of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, who was not involved in the new study and who praised Dr. Kessler's work.
Dr. Ronald W. Manderscheid, chief of the Department of Health and Human Services division that does national mental health surveys, said, "It's fantastic and wonderful that data has been collected cross-nationally using a common methodology.'' The findings were based on 60,643 face-to-face interviews with adults in 14 countries. Eight countries were defined as rich: the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Japan; six were deemed poor or nearly poor: Mexico, Colombia, Ukraine, China, Lebanon and Nigeria.
Within each country, whether rich or poor, the study took into account the economic status of respondents.
The 90-minute interviews ***essed a wide range of ills, including agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders, post-traumatic stress syndrome, bipolar disorders, bulimia, major depression, and alcohol and drug abuse.
The study did not try to diagnose schizophrenia, because that requires a psychiatrist, said one of its authors, Dr. Bedirhan Ustun of the Global Program on Evidence for Health Policy at the World Health Organization. "If an interviewer knocks on your door and asks if you are hearing voices," Dr.
Ustun explained, "you are likely to answer no.'' Dr. Kessler acknowledged that his methodology needed refinement. Although some general trends were clear, there were wide unexplained disparities.
For example, about 26 percent of Americans were judged to have mental illness, compared with only 4 percent of the residents of Shanghai and 5 percent of Nigerians.
The differences were even more extreme in smaller categories. The Dutch were found to have 30 times the drinking problems that Italians had, and 4 times the problem of the French.
About 18 percent of Americans had anxiety disorders, versus 12 percent of the French, 11 percent of Lebanese and 10 percent of Colombians. Europeans other than the French were in the 7 percent range, while Nigerians and Chinese were the calmest, at about 3 percent.
"I'm sorry it's so fuzzy, but that's the way it is," Dr. Kessler said. "It sounds like Nigeria is a paradise, but I know there are camps there where lots of people have P.T.S.D.," a reference to refugee camps where people fleeing ethnic violence have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Embarr***ment about disclosing mental illness varies from country to country, Dr. Kessler explained. For example, in Nigeria, he said, women were reluctant to admit being depressed, but might say their mother had been, a response that gave interviewers a clue about truer rates. In addition, he said, "sometimes the language we use doesn't ring a bell in the countries we're in." In China, for instance, no word distinguishes depression from sadness, he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/health/02mental.html
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Our relationship with all living things teaches us about the value of life.
We show reverence for Sogobia (Mother Earth), who brings all life, by walking gently upon her breast.
http://www.isu.edu/~loetchri/part1.htm
"Sogobia" windriver2...@yahoo.com
A graphic to give some idea of the U.S.'s lead in mental illness.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040601/480/nyet2500601... ...
"Sogobia" windriver2...@yahoo.com
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/global_mental_health Study: Mental Illnesses Are Under-Treated Tue Jun 1, 2004 By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer CHICAGO - Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.
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During the last election cycle, while Frist headed the NRSC, the health care industry increased its contributions to Republican candidates to just under $ 4 million and became the largest industry contributor to the party.
???If you look at the money involved, it would be easy to say the medical industry has bought itself a Senator and, now, a Senate,??? says Harleigh.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_1470.shtml
Gore Butterflys Ballots - So confusing I_W...@Wannabe.org
Have you ever seen a study on the suicide rate of the poor?
Going hungry every night. Sleeping in filth because they have no washer and dryer or electricity...
Hummm?
Would you rather be filthy ridh like John F. Heinz-Kerry or poor and living without shoes in the hills of Arkansas?
Choose wisely.
Progressive with an Attitude eeld...@tampabay.rr.com
Gore Butterflys Ballots - So confusing wrote: Capitalism is a win-lose proposition. Many people who lose their jobs go into a deep depression. Bush has no idea of the human misery his policies have created.
"Sogobia" windriver2...@yahoo.com
You're either deceptive or a fool. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy don't benefit the middle or lower cl***es, on the contrary they add to the underfunding of education, healthcare, social services, environmental protection, etc, etc...
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Most US workers saw their earnings fall or stagnate last year, with those at the bottom of the income scale hit hardest.
The trend, coming alongside a slack job market, explains why many Americans feel left out of the economic recovery - and why President Bush faces a tough sell with his campaign-trail message that there is "good strong growth." Democratic rivals point to "two Americas," one for the rich, one for the poor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0211/p03s01-usec.html
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Gore wins under six of nine scenarios Monday, November 12, 2001 The media consortium applied its ballot review to nine scenarios for recounting ballots. The first two attempt to model historical events as closely as possible. The others, while taking court and political party actions into consideration, are more hypothetical. All are based on two out of three reviewers agreeing about whether a mark occurs by a candidate's name.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/gore_wins6of9.html
"Server 13" c-b...@itg.uiuc.edu
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHA!!!
I just love it when they try to pretend Kerry is more out of touch with the poor than Bush is, when Bush comes from a family of rich nazi-financiers and Kerry had to marry his money. lol
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