日前，美国疾病预防与控制中心（U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）公布了最新的全国性调查结果，预计“约有一半的美国人在他或她的一生中的某个时刻将会患精神病或心理障碍，如抑郁、创伤后应激综合征和自杀等。”这项在2009年完成的调查显示：“仅在2002年全美就花费了约3000亿美元用于治疗和护理精神病患者，仅在2008年约有八百四十万美国人抱有自杀的念头，其中二百二十万美国人拥有自杀的计划。”笔者认为，对一个仅有３亿人口的国家而言，这组数据是非常庞大的，同时也提示政府有关部门和民众需要高度关注心理与精神健康问题。该调查报告还指出，精神或心理疾病并不完全能够归结于社会、经济等原因，亦与某些躯体性疾病特别是心脏病与癌症有关。由此可见，防治精神或心理疾病之方法也必须是综合的，特别是乐观向上、直面困难或困境、相信未来，即做生活中的强者之人生态度尤为重要。

Half of Americans Will Suffer From Mental Health Woes, CDC Says

Much more needs to be done to help spot those at risk and assist them, experts say

THURSDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) -- About half of Americans will experience some form of mental health problem at some point in their life, a new government report warns, and more must be done to help them.

Mental health issues run the gamut from depression to post-traumatic stress disorder to suicide, and many of those suffering presently do not get help, experts say.

The new report, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tallied the national burden of mental illness based on country-wide surveys.

There are "unacceptably high levels of mental illness in the United States," said Ileana Arias, principal deputy director of the CDC. "Essentially, about 25 percent of adult Americans reported having a mental illness in the previous year. In addition to the high level, we were surprised by the cost associated with that -- we estimated about $300 billion in 2002."

The high cost includes care for the illness and lost productivity, Arias said.

It isn't clear why so many Americans suffer from mental illness, Arias added. "This is an issue that needs to be addressed," she said, not only because of the illness itself, but because mental disorders are associated with other chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.

And while having a psychiatric illness is tough enough, the stigma surrounding these diagnoses adds to the burden, experts said.

"Mental illness is frequently seen as a moral issue or an issue of weakness," Arias explained. "It is a condition no different from cancer or other chronic diseases. People need to accept the difficulties they are having and avail themselves of the resources that are available."

The report was published Sept. 2 as a supplement to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

One survey done in 2009 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that 11 million people -- nearly five percent of the population -- experienced serious mental illness during the past year, defined as conditions that affected the ability to function.

In addition, some 8.4 million Americans had suicidal thoughts in the past year and 2.2 million made plans to kill themselves. One million attempted suicide, the report found.

Information from other sources confirmed these numbers, with slight variations, the report said.

Dr. John Newcomer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, believes the problem may be even bigger than the CDC report indicates.

For example, state Medicaid programs spend a great deal on drugs to treat mental illness, which the CDC didn't take into account, Newcomer said. "For several years the top three drugs were antipsychotic drugs," he noted.

Also, many people with mental illness hide the problem from others, Newcomer said. The CDC report looked at people already in the health-care system, "but there is a big problem with underdiagnosis and undertreatment," he said.

Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said healthy living -- getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising -- can help people avoid some mental illness.

"Understanding how to deal with psychological stresses is also important," he said. "How to deal with emotional reactivity and stress tolerances are also important skills to develop early in life."

Manevitz said people should always seek help for mental health troubles whenever "you are not functioning well in your life and isolating yourself."

SOURCES: Ileana Arias, Ph.D., principal deputy director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; John Newcomer, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Alan Manevitz, M.D., clinical psychiatrist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Sept. 2, 2011, CDC, report, Mental Illness Surveillance Among Adults in the United States