Why is there a lack of mental health services in America??

For the past 4 years I have come to ask my self this question.

Why is there a lack of mental health services in America?

I have worked in the mental health field for almost 10 years. I have done many things to improve the quality of care at the health system where I work.

One thing I notice from working here for so long is the amount of people who are very ill, some who are not safe enough to be in the community, some who are afraid of them selves, and some who wants to end their own life. Many of these feelings and behaviors come from a dark place in humanity. Things that have happened to us at a point of time in our lives may have contributed to the way we are today. For some these things are good, and for others they are not.

Mental Health is a big part of humanity, things we put in our bodies can be effecting the way we behave, how we see ourselves and how we view reality. Environmental conditions can also effect the way we behave and how we think. People who live a struggled life may be more protective of things they worked hard for. People who lived a good life where things were handed to them, may still be subjected to mental issues but in a different way. Everything we do can effect our mental health.

If you think about it, everyone is sick in their own way, we all have little quirks, small little issues that we don’t see as a big problem. Some people have issues with big crowds of people, some people don’t like to be alone at night outside or alone at home at night. Some people do things to avoid interacting with other people. All these things fit inline with anxiety and depression.

It’s when we don’t do anything to counteract the symptoms is when the illness gets worse. You find that you have completely changed how you live your life.

People wait years before they seek services to help them, some go as far as taking anti depression or anti anxiety medications that were prescribed by their primary health care provider.

Yeah the medications may work for a while but then they find there is a deeper issue rising, and they don’t know what it is. Soon they find out that they are not behaving normally, maybe their friends and family are noticing something is off.

These things go on for years before the person gets help, and when they start seeking it they find that there is a lack of help in their demographical area.

There is a small percentage of real mental health help in America, most people travel to the east coast because there are more hospitals and facilities that can treat both medical and mental health issues on that side of the country. Some of these facilities find themselves overwhelmed with individuals needing help and not being able to accommodate them.

This becomes a problem, and not many people get the help they need because of overcrowded facilities, or insurance problems.

Why is this? Why has America been ignoring this problem?