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U.S. Sees Slowdown in Spending on Mental Health
Posted 5 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 4 – The amount of money spent on psychiatric drugs in the United States continues to grow but at a much slower rate than in previous years, a new federal government study has found. From 2004 to 2005, spending on psychiatric drugs rose 5.6 percent, compared with an increase of 27.3 percent between 1999 and 2000, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The agency's analysis of health-care costs from 1986 to 2005, the latest year comparable data is available, also found that spending on behavioral health accounts for a decreasing portion of overall health-care costs. Of the $1.85 trillion spent on all health-care services in the United States in 2005, behavioral health spending accounted for 7.3 percent ($135 billion). During the 20 years analyzed in the study, spending for mental health and substance abuse health care grew more slowly ... Read more
Related support groups: Anxiety, Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Anxiety and Stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Mania, Schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder, Paranoid Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, Sexual Dysfunction, SSRI Induced, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Autism, Postpartum Depression, Psychosis
For Many, Stigma of Mental Illness Lingers
Posted 24 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24 – Persistent efforts to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness haven't succeeded as well as hoped, suggesting that new strategies might be necessary. For decades, a number of organizations have been trying to persuade the public that mental illnesses such as depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia are neurobiological disorders, not just people behaving badly, hoping that harsh judgments would subside. Even drug ads unintentionally bolstered the view of the mentally ill as having "lifelong" or permanent problems, with their emphasis on science-focused explanations of the brain mechanisms behind some mental illness, claims a study appearing in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. This study compared people's responses to vignettes describing individuals with mental illness in surveys conducted a decade apart, in 1996 and 2006. ... Read more
Related support groups: Anxiety, Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Anxiety and Stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Mania, Schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder, Paranoid Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Postpartum Depression, Psychosis, Psychiatric Disorders, Dysthymia, Neurosis, Seasonal Affective Disorder
How Bad Feelings Can Harm Your Health
Posted 12 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 27 – A depressed emotional state – feelings of hopelessness and apathy – could have a direct effect on your physical health, new research indicates. A study of stroke survivors found a slower rate of recovery among those experiencing apathy, caring little about themselves and the world around them. And a study of healthy middle-aged women found an association between hopelessness and unexpected thickening of the carotid artery, the main blood vessel to the brain. Both findings are reported in the Aug. 27 issue of Stroke. The apathy study was triggered by a 2006 paper on Parkinson's disease in a different journal, said Nancy E. Mayo, a professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal, and lead author of the apathy study. "It said that if patients were apathetic the best thing was just to leave them alone," she said. "I was incensed that the author said we just ... Read more
Related support groups: Depression, Postpartum Depression, Dysthymia, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Neurotic Depression, Depressive Psychosis
Psych Drugs Gaining Widespread Acceptance
Posted 16 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, July 31 – A growing number of Americans now have a positive opinion on psychiatric medications, a new study contends. About five out of six people surveyed felt psychiatric medications could help people control psychiatric symptoms, but many also expected the medications could help people deal with day-to-day stresses, help them feel better about themselves and make things easier with family and friends. "People's attitudes regarding psychiatric medications became more favorable between 1998 and 2006," said study author Dr. Ramin Mojtabai, an associate professor in the department of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Mojtabai expressed concern, however, that people's attitudes were increasingly positive, even in situations where there might not be a proven benefit to the drugs. "My hope would be for people to be more discriminating in ... Read more
Related support groups: Anxiety, Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Insomnia, Anxiety and Stress, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Trazodone, Citalopram, Pristiq, Social Anxiety Disorder
