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| Since its introduction in 1986, Prosac has been prescribed to over 50 million patients worldwide to treat many symptoms of the mentally ill. |
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The State Planning Council on Mental Health recently released its agenda for the 2006 calendar year. The agenda aims to provide “less expensive, more effective services to people with both substance abuse and mental health disorders.”
The Planning Council also presented awards to several Idaho citizens for their work on behalf of people in their communities with mental illnesses.
Among those receiving awards were Representative Elmer Martinez of Pocatello and Judge Richard St. Clair of Idaho Falls.
Mental illnesses among adults in Idaho are below the national average. Since 2000, only about 10 percent of Idahoans have been diagnosed with some kind of mental illness.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 22.1 percent of Americans 18 and older — more than 1 in 5 adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that 80 to 90 percent of mental health issues are treatable by counseling, medication or a combination of both.
“We are much, much further in our understanding of mental illnesses, how they work, and therefore their treatment,” said Shanna Hurlock, a practicing neuropsychologist and expert on mental illnesses. “In … the last 40 years, we’ve been able to find effective methods of treatment for most mental illnesses.”
Hurlock said that while it is possible to die as a result of a mental illness, it is highly unlikely.
“Even suicide from depression is not as common as the media would lead you to believe,” Hurlock said.
Citing a study by JAMA, Linda Johann, chair of the Planning Committee said, “59 percent of people with severe mental illness also are affected by substance abuse.”
“Idaho is following the national trend with an increase in drug use and increasing involvement with the legal court systems,” Johann continued.
The awards presented were for the various council members’ efforts to reverse these trends for the benefit of the mentally ill.
