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By James D. Cowart, Ph.D.
In December of 2000, the Surgeon General issued the first report from his office on mental health issues. Dr. David Sacher has made an important contribution to the public health debate. Some of the major points found in the encyclopedic report are the following:
Mental health disorders are very common and often untreated.
The efficacy of treatments is well established for many of these disorders.
There is still a very large and powerful stigma in our society regarding mental health disorders, which often prevents people from getting needed treatment.
The full report is available on the Internet at:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home
In my view, the stigma that Dr. Sacher writes about is so frightening to people that many don't admit to themselves, or others, when they are experiencing real problems. The stigma is at work when people tell jokes, or make fun of people with these types of problems. Unfortunately, it is still "acceptable" to do that in our society even though we have progressed to the point that we don't often make fun of those with other medical problems like cancer, diabetes, etc. The stigma is also at work when insurance company executives feel free to not cover mental health disorders or to provide coverage that is only a fraction of what the coverage is for other medical problems. We can all do our part to help weaken this stigma, by not "going along" with jokes or comments that strengthen prejudice toward those with mental health disorders.
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