Written by Taylor Jones.
Yesterday, I got to witness first hand the issue with budget cuts, when my intake for a psychiatric treatment center was cancelled, due to the doctors not being able to accept more patients. Something I had been planning for for weeks, something I was ready for, and something I put my faith into let me down entirely. I’m a mental health advocate, and I’m supposed to tell you it’s okay. But the truth is, sometimes it’s not okay.
When health budgets get slashed the first thing to go is mental health budgets.
I fear we’re going to be seeing this more and more, especially because when health budgets get slashed the first thing to go is mental health budgets. Will we not be able to see our doctors? Will we not be able to get our meds? What if we don’t want to live in this country, and want more affordable healthcare? Will we be treated like we’re crazy there? Will we be locked up? Will we even be able to have access to treatment if we fly somewhere we think will be safer?
People with mental illness who are struggling with the budget crisis are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We need to put money into getting better mental health care, and to have affordable mental health care.
America is so hyper focused on things that aren’t major concerns (ie education budgeting, gun control) when a lot of our problems could be fixed with trying to fix the broken mental health system in our country. We need to put money into getting better mental health care, and to have affordable mental health care. We need prescriptions to cost less, and therapists to not have to deny services because they don’t have enough people on board. By adding money into our broken system, we would see a decrease of suicide rates, we would see more people off disability, and we would improve the quality of living for so many humans.
I can assure you, mental illness is real; it is scary, it is dangerous, and it’s around 24/7.
Mental illness is still discredited by many people in the United States, politicians included. Maybe it’s because they’re lucky enough to not have to endure life with a mental illness. Ignorance is bliss, and it must be hard to comprehend a mental illness when you’re not suffering from one. But I can assure you, mental illness is real; it is scary, it is dangerous, and it’s around 24/7. It is life threatening, and unpredictable. But it is entirely manageable, especially if/when our government steps into play and recognizes we need help.
Schizophrenic.NYC Mental Health Clothing Line Blog Post
Schizophrenic.NYC Mental Health Clothing Line Blog Post
