The State Column today covers a CDC report that claims "about half of all Americans will experience some form of mental health problems during their lifespan." The article then wonders why "there is a high rate of mental illness in the U.S. or what factors are influencing mental health."
I don't want to go all Tom Cruise on the field of psychiatry, but I will take a chop at criticizing the legions of psychologists, counselors, therapists, and other talkers without medical degrees who chat away about other people's feelings- on the public dime. The reality is there are certain diseases which occur in the brain and can be documented by measurable symptoms. Psychiatrists can, to an extent, treat some of these ailments with a combination or drugs and treatment. But too often conduct is pathologized and feelings are made into a sickness. Being sad can be a symptom of clinical depression, which is a consequence of a deep sickness of the physical brain. But it can also just mean one is sad.
Our present "let the state or insurance pay for it" approach to medical care means patients have every incentive to characterize behavior and feelings as a sickness. Because their costs are subsidized, people are going seeking mental health treatment more than ever. And the people who treat them, believing virtually everyone of life's speed bumps equates to mental trauma, cater to these requests for help from the all knowing medical establishment.
The State Column reviews concerns related to mental illness and concludes "most shocking from the report is the cost associated with treatment."
And those costs are only going to increase, because like any bureaucracy subsidized with blind government support, it will never resolve the underlying problem. The bazzilions of people who work in the mental health industry will always find a way to justify their existence. At the lowest level their intent is usually good and they are naive about their errors. At the corporate and governmental level, where profits and careers are made, sometimes this action is deliberate.
Addressing the growth of mental health problems, the CDC report "recommends increased efforts to monitor mental illness and anxiety disorders."
Of course it does. The CDC should call Senator/Opthamologist Paul for suggested treatments for severe mypoia.
More from State Column: "These numbers may seem alarming, but more importantly, it brings attention to an overlooked issue. Mental health illnesses are increasing in the U.S. and understanding for how to help people deal with them is important. Thus more programs should be made available to help people and their families."
Absolutely not. What needs to occur is the realization that too many people are being diagnosed as sick when what they really need is a pat on the back, new gym membership, or twenty minutes walking a puppy (always cheers me up).
There are certainly some individuals who desperately need professional psychiatric care. And there are some who might benefit from non-medical, face to face advice sessions. I would favor the USG being excluded from involvement in both groups. But if we insist in federally addressing these concerns, let's stick to the real mental illnesses. Let the CDC and company work on schizophrenics. For people who are feeling down and need to talk with someone- let them get their own insurance. Or call a friend. Or go to church. Or walk a puppy.
This might seem heartless but is it as cruel as continuing a system which is economically unsustainable? When the epidemic of inflation hits the USG, how will the CDC triage mental health care? Will the people with legitimate sicknesses receive needed care or will the collapse of the system take down all protections, necessary and unnecessary?
State managed health care is impractical and inefficient. But constantly growing, unchecked bureaucracies can extend beyond wasteful and into destructive. In order to preserve today's less than ideal federally subsidized mental health care system, we must guard it from over expansion. The USG must shed the elements of that system which continue to metastasize, always seeking more funding, always seeking a new purpose, and concentrate on actual concerns.
Anything else would be inhumane.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.