Last week, Catherine Zeta-Jones shocked the entertainment industry by announcing that she was entering a mental health clinic for treatment for bipolar II disorder, Meredith Melnick of Time reported on Apr. 13.
According to the article, 2 to 3 percent of those living in United States have the disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) characterizes bipolar disorder as having “intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called mood episodes.”
As Zeta-Jones has demonstrated, with treatment and support, individuals living with the disorder can lead lives just as fulfilling as anyone else.
In fact, the NIMH estimates that annually 26.2 percent of the adult population has a mental disorder. That includes depression, which is considered a mental illness. Of that, only 36 percent are undergoing treatment.
In addition, approximately 24.3 million adults, or 10.9 percent of the adult population, faced serious psychological distress in 2007, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Whereas Zeta-Jones is fortunate enough to afford necessary support, many people rely on the state for access to proper services and treatment.
However, states throughout the country — including Arizona — have cut or slashed their funding toward mental health services.
According to Tim Steller of the Arizona Daily Star, even though a statute was passed in 1979 mandating the state to create a “community residential treatment system” for those with a serious mental illness, the mandate has been ignored.
Furthermore, the legislature threatened to cut it or cut funding for the mentally ill. Gov. Brewer chose the latter route by denying 28,000 seriously mentally ill individuals benefits last year.
While a sizeable group of people in the United States struggles with mental illness, including the families of those with the illness, there still exists a deep stigma in society towards this population.
This fear is wildly unmerited, especially when politicians are among those fueling ignorance and hatred.
Last month in New Hampshire, Sharon Omand, who works at with community mental health, emailed her state representative to share concerns about the budget cuts to state-funded mental health programs.
The Republican legislator, Rep. Martin Harty, replied that “the world is too populated” and there are “too many defective people.” Harty expanded, “You know the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions – the defective people society would be better off without,” Shira Schoenberg of the Concord Monitor reported.
Despite laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the American with Disabilities Act designed to protect the rights and privacy of those with disorders, many still discriminate against mental illness and treat the topic of mental health as taboo.
Sadly, the marginalization against mental illness is enough to divert many people from seeking any help at all.
Yet, it is up to us to no longer tolerate discrimination and irrational fear against innocent people. Will you speak up?
Reach Athena at asalman3@asu.edu
