USA Today launched a series on “the financial and human toll for neglecting the mentally ill” this Mental Health Awareness Month, and we thought it was worth sharing here. Below is an excerpt from Liz Szabo’s May 12 article, including a video, and I hope you’ll click the link below to read more.
Suicide claims the lives of 38,000 Americans a year — more than car accidents, prostate cancer or homicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 90% of suicides are related to mental illness, says Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
People with mental illness die early for a variety of reasons, Insel says. Some are victimized by violence. Others are too sick to take care of their health. On average, people with serious mental illness die up to 23 years sooner than other Americans, giving them a life expectancy on par with people in Bangladesh, Insel says.
Many with untreated mental illness are too sick to work. Insel notes that 44% of those receiving federal disability payments have a serious mental illness.