More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.
Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest, with 13.7 percent, said the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA.
That is not to say everyone is "crazy". Any of various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors is considered a form of mental illness. That is a very broad definition. If you missed a day from work because you were "just so upset", that might fall under the definition.
When most people think of mental illness they think of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", Straight Jackets, Hannibal Lechter. That is not really the face of mental illness.
The smiling guy next door could be suffering. There are people in your own life that have problems beyond what you can't fathom. I know there are people in my life with problems. There were some people that were very close to me who lost the struggle with their problems.
The original posting might have seemed like I minimized the issue, but I was trying to bring it into the light. I was posting it in a manner that people might read. When the post pops up on other people's blogs, some times they include the pics I include. I wanted a pic that people would be compelled to view.
If you are interested in some material in regard to an Anti-Stigma Campaign,click here
See more here
And now for something totally different.
I had the pleasure of playing this orderly in a high school presentation of "Chamber Music" by Authur Kopit over 30 years ago. No this is not me.
Cypress Hill (NSFW)
And by the topics of the videos, you can see there is a wide variety of uses of the words insane and crazy.
On behalf of all of those who struggle with a mental illness of one sort or another, I appreciate your sensitivity and clarification. I still find the inclusion of pics and videos labelled crazy and insane insulting, but I understand the need to attract blog hits. And I still love your blog.
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