essays on mental health

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Mental Health Essay

Introduction

Mental health, often overshadowed by its physical counterpart, is an intricate and essential aspect of human existence. It envelops our emotions, psychological state, and social well-being, shaping our thoughts, behaviors, and interactions. With the complexities of modern life—constant connectivity, societal pressures, personal expectations, and the frenzied pace of technological advancements—mental well-being has become increasingly paramount. Historically, conversations around this topic have been hushed, shrouded in stigma and misunderstanding. However, as the curtains of misconception slowly lift, we find ourselves in an era where discussions about mental health are not only welcomed but are also seen as vital. Recognizing and addressing the nuances of our mental state is not merely about managing disorders; it's about understanding the essence of who we are, how we process the world around us, and how we navigate the myriad challenges thrown our way. This essay aims to delve deep into the realm of mental health, shedding light on its importance, the potential consequences of neglect, and the spectrum of mental disorders that many face in silence.

Importance of Mental Health

Mental health plays a pivotal role in determining how individuals think, feel, and act. It influences our decision-making processes, stress management techniques, interpersonal relationships, and even our physical health. A well-tuned mental state boosts productivity, creativity, and the intrinsic sense of self-worth, laying the groundwork for a fulfilling life.

Negative Impact of Mental Health

Neglecting mental health, on the other hand, can lead to severe consequences. Reduced productivity, strained relationships, substance abuse, physical health issues like heart diseases, and even reduced life expectancy are just some of the repercussions of poor mental health. It not only affects the individual in question but also has a ripple effect on their community, workplace, and family.

Mental Disorders: Types and Prevalence

Mental disorders are varied and can range from anxiety and mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder to more severe conditions such as schizophrenia.

• Depression: Characterized by persistent sadness, lack of interest in activities, and fatigue.
• Anxiety Disorders: Encompass conditions like generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and specific phobias.
• Schizophrenia: A complex disorder affecting a person's ability to think, feel, and behave clearly.

The prevalence of these disorders has been on the rise, underscoring the need for comprehensive mental health initiatives and awareness campaigns.

Understanding Mental Health and Its Importance

Mental health is not merely the absence of disorders but encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Recognizing the signs of deteriorating mental health, like prolonged sadness, extreme mood fluctuations, or social withdrawal, is crucial. Understanding stems from awareness and education. Societal stigmas surrounding mental health have often deterred individuals from seeking help. Breaking these barriers, fostering open conversations, and ensuring access to mental health care are imperative steps.

Conclusion: Mental Health

Mental health, undeniably, is as significant as physical health, if not more. In an era where the stressors are myriad, from societal pressures to personal challenges, mental resilience and well-being are essential. Investing time and resources into mental health initiatives, and more importantly, nurturing a society that understands, respects, and prioritizes mental health is the need of the hour.

• World Leaders: Several influential personalities, from celebrities to sports stars, have openly discussed their mental health challenges, shedding light on the universality of these issues and the importance of addressing them.
• Workplaces: Progressive organizations are now incorporating mental health programs, recognizing the tangible benefits of a mentally healthy workforce, from increased productivity to enhanced creativity.
• Educational Institutions: Schools and colleges, witnessing the effects of stress and other mental health issues on students, are increasingly integrating counseling services and mental health education in their curriculum.

In weaving through the intricate tapestry of mental health, it becomes evident that it's an area that requires collective attention, understanding, and action.

  Short Essay about Mental Health

Mental health, an integral facet of human well-being, shapes our emotions, decisions, and daily interactions. Just as one would care for a sprained ankle or a fever, our minds too require attention and nurture. In today's bustling world, mental well-being is often put on the back burner, overshadowed by the immediate demands of life. Yet, its impact is pervasive, influencing our productivity, relationships, and overall quality of life.

Sadly, mental health issues have long been stigmatized, seen as a sign of weakness or dismissed as mere mood swings. However, they are as real and significant as any physical ailment. From anxiety to depression, these disorders have touched countless lives, often in silence due to societal taboos.

But change is on the horizon. As awareness grows, conversations are shifting from hushed whispers to open discussions, fostering understanding and support. Institutions, workplaces, and communities are increasingly acknowledging the importance of mental health, implementing programs, and offering resources.

In conclusion, mental health is not a peripheral concern but a central one, crucial to our holistic well-being. It's high time we prioritize it, eliminating stigma and fostering an environment where everyone feels supported in their mental health journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the primary focus of a mental health essay?

Answer: The primary focus of a mental health essay is to delve into the intricacies of mental well-being, its significance in our daily lives, the various challenges people face, and the broader societal implications. It aims to shed light on both the psychological and emotional aspects of mental health, often emphasizing the importance of understanding, empathy, and proactive care.

• How can writing an essay on mental health help raise awareness about its importance?

Answer: Writing an essay on mental health can effectively articulate the nuances and complexities of the topic, making it more accessible to a wider audience. By presenting facts, personal anecdotes, and research, the essay can demystify misconceptions, highlight the prevalence of mental health issues, and underscore the need for destigmatizing discussions around it. An impactful essay can ignite conversations, inspire action, and contribute to a more informed and empathetic society.

• What are some common topics covered in a mental health essay?

Answer: Common topics in a mental health essay might include the definition and importance of mental health, the connection between mental and physical well-being, various mental disorders and their symptoms, societal stigmas and misconceptions, the impact of modern life on mental health, and the significance of therapy and counseling. It may also delve into personal experiences, case studies, and the broader societal implications of neglecting mental health.

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Here are some of the most moving and illuminating essays published on BuzzFeed about mental illness, wellness, and the way our minds work.

BuzzFeed Staff

1. My Best Friend Saved Me When I Attempted Suicide, But I Didn’t Save Her — Drusilla Moorhouse

"I was serious about killing myself. My best friend wasn’t — but she’s the one who’s dead."

2. Life Is What Happens While You’re Googling Symptoms Of Cancer — Ramona Emerson

"After a lifetime of hypochondria, I was finally diagnosed with my very own medical condition. And maybe, in a weird way, it’s made me less afraid to die."

3. How I Learned To Be OK With Feeling Sad — Mac McClelland

"It wasn’t easy, or cheap."

4. Who Gets To Be The “Good Schizophrenic”? — Esmé Weijun Wang

"When you’re labeled as crazy, the “right” kind of diagnosis could mean the difference between a productive life and a life sentence."

5. Why Do I Miss Being Bipolar? — Sasha Chapin

"The medication I take to treat my bipolar disorder works perfectly. Sometimes I wish it didn’t."

6. What My Best Friend And I Didn’t Learn About Loss — Zan Romanoff

"When my closest friend’s first baby was stillborn, we navigated through depression and grief together."

7. I Can’t Live Without Fear, But I Can Learn To Be OK With It — Arianna Rebolini

"I’ve become obsessively afraid that the people I love will die. Now I have to teach myself how to be OK with that."

8. What It’s Like Having PPD As A Black Woman — Tyrese Coleman

"It took me two years to even acknowledge I’d been depressed after the birth of my twin sons. I wonder how much it had to do with the way I had been taught to be strong."

9. Notes On An Eating Disorder — Larissa Pham

"I still tell my friends I am in recovery so they will hold me accountable."

10. What Comedy Taught Me About My Mental Illness — Kate Lindstedt

"I didn’t expect it, but stand-up comedy has given me the freedom to talk about depression and anxiety on my own terms."

11. The Night I Spoke Up About My #BlackSuicide — Terrell J. Starr

"My entire life was shaped by violence, so I wanted to end it violently. But I didn’t — thanks to overcoming the stigma surrounding African-Americans and depression, and to building a community on Twitter."

12. Knitting Myself Back Together — Alanna Okun

"The best way I’ve found to fight my anxiety is with a pair of knitting needles."

13. I Started Therapy So I Could Take Better Care Of Myself — Matt Ortile

"I’d known for a while that I needed to see a therapist. It wasn’t until I felt like I could do without help that I finally sought it."

14. I’m Mending My Broken Relationship With Food — Anita Badejo

"After a lifetime struggling with disordered eating, I’m still figuring out how to have a healthy relationship with my body and what I feed it."

15. I Found Love In A Hopeless Mess — Kate Conger

"Dehoarding my partner’s childhood home gave me a way to understand his mother, but I’m still not sure how to live with the habit he’s inherited."

16. When Taking Anxiety Medication Is A Revolutionary Act — Tracy Clayton

"I had to learn how to love myself enough to take care of myself. It wasn’t easy."

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• Mental Health Essay

Essay on Mental Health

According to WHO, there is no single 'official' definition of mental health. Mental health refers to a person's psychological, emotional, and social well-being; it influences what they feel and how they think, and behave. The state of cognitive and behavioural well-being is referred to as mental health. The term 'mental health' is also used to refer to the absence of mental disease. 

Mental health means keeping our minds healthy. Mankind generally is more focused on keeping their physical body healthy. People tend to ignore the state of their minds. Human superiority over other animals lies in his superior mind. Man has been able to control life due to his highly developed brain. So, it becomes very important for a man to keep both his body and mind fit and healthy. Both physical and mental health are equally important for better performance and results.

Importance of Mental Health 

An emotionally fit and stable person always feels vibrant and truly alive and can easily manage emotionally difficult situations. To be emotionally strong, one has to be physically fit too. Although mental health is a personal issue, what affects one person may or may not affect another; yet, several key elements lead to mental health issues.

Many emotional factors have a significant effect on our fitness level like depression, aggression, negative thinking, frustration, and fear, etc. A physically fit person is always in a good mood and can easily cope up with situations of distress and depression resulting in regular training contributing to a good physical fitness standard. 

Mental fitness implies a state of psychological well-being. It denotes having a positive sense of how we feel, think, and act, which improves one’s ability to enjoy life. It contributes to one’s inner ability to be self-determined. It is a proactive, positive term and forsakes negative thoughts that may come to mind. The term mental fitness is increasingly being used by psychologists, mental health practitioners, schools, organisations, and the general population to denote logical thinking, clear comprehension, and reasoning ability.

 Negative Impact of Mental Health

The way we physically fall sick, we can also fall sick mentally. Mental illness is the instability of one’s health, which includes changes in emotion, thinking, and behaviour. Mental illness can be caused due to stress or reaction to a certain incident. It could also arise due to genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, child abuse or trauma, social disadvantage, poor physical health condition, etc. Mental illness is curable. One can seek help from the experts in this particular area or can overcome this illness by positive thinking and changing their lifestyle.

Regular fitness exercises like morning walks, yoga, and meditation have proved to be great medicine for curing mental health. Besides this, it is imperative to have a good diet and enough sleep. A person needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night on average. When someone is tired yet still can't sleep, it's a symptom that their mental health is unstable. Overworking oneself can sometimes result in not just physical tiredness but also significant mental exhaustion. As a result, people get insomnia (the inability to fall asleep). Anxiety is another indicator. 

There are many symptoms of mental health issues that differ from person to person and among the different kinds of issues as well. For instance, panic attacks and racing thoughts are common side effects. As a result of this mental strain, a person may experience chest aches and breathing difficulties. Another sign of poor mental health is a lack of focus. It occurs when you have too much going on in your life at once, and you begin to make thoughtless mistakes, resulting in a loss of capacity to focus effectively. Another element is being on edge all of the time.

It's noticeable when you're quickly irritated by minor events or statements, become offended, and argue with your family, friends, or co-workers. It occurs as a result of a build-up of internal irritation. A sense of alienation from your loved ones might have a negative influence on your mental health. It makes you feel lonely and might even put you in a state of despair. You can prevent mental illness by taking care of yourself like calming your mind by listening to soft music, being more social, setting realistic goals for yourself, and taking care of your body. 

Surround yourself with individuals who understand your circumstances and respect you as the unique individual that you are. This practice will assist you in dealing with the sickness successfully.  Improve your mental health knowledge to receive the help you need to deal with the problem. To gain emotional support, connect with other people, family, and friends.  Always remember to be grateful in life.  Pursue a hobby or any other creative activity that you enjoy.

What does Experts say

Many health experts have stated that mental, social, and emotional health is an important part of overall fitness. Physical fitness is a combination of physical, emotional, and mental fitness. Emotional fitness has been recognized as the state in which the mind is capable of staying away from negative thoughts and can focus on creative and constructive tasks. 

He should not overreact to situations. He should not get upset or disturbed by setbacks, which are parts of life. Those who do so are not emotionally fit though they may be physically strong and healthy. There are no gyms to set this right but yoga, meditation, and reading books, which tell us how to be emotionally strong, help to acquire emotional fitness. 

Stress and depression can lead to a variety of serious health problems, including suicide in extreme situations. Being mentally healthy extends your life by allowing you to experience more joy and happiness. Mental health also improves our ability to think clearly and boosts our self-esteem. We may also connect spiritually with ourselves and serve as role models for others. We'd also be able to serve people without being a mental drain on them. 

Mental sickness is becoming a growing issue in the 21st century. Not everyone receives the help that they need. Even though mental illness is common these days and can affect anyone, there is still a stigma attached to it. People are still reluctant to accept the illness of mind because of this stigma. They feel shame to acknowledge it and seek help from the doctors. It's important to remember that "mental health" and "mental sickness" are not interchangeable.

Mental health and mental illness are inextricably linked. Individuals with good mental health can develop mental illness, while those with no mental disease can have poor mental health. Mental illness does not imply that someone is insane, and it is not anything to be embarrassed by. Our society's perception of mental disease or disorder must shift. Mental health cannot be separated from physical health. They both are equally important for a person. 

Our society needs to change its perception of mental illness or disorder. People have to remove the stigma attached to this illness and educate themselves about it. Only about 20% of adolescents and children with diagnosable mental health issues receive the therapy they need. 

According to research conducted on adults, mental illness affects 19% of the adult population. Nearly one in every five children and adolescents on the globe has a mental illness. Depression, which affects 246 million people worldwide, is one of the leading causes of disability. If  mental illness is not treated at the correct time then the consequences can be grave.

One of the essential roles of school and education is to protect boys’ and girls' mental health as teenagers are at a high risk of mental health issues. It can also impair the proper growth and development of various emotional and social skills in teenagers. Many factors can cause such problems in children. Feelings of inferiority and insecurity are the two key factors that have the greatest impact. As a result, they lose their independence and confidence, which can be avoided by encouraging the children to believe in themselves at all times. 

To make people more aware of mental health, 10th October is observed as World Mental Health. The object of this day is to spread awareness about mental health issues around the world and make all efforts in the support of mental health.

The mind is one of the most powerful organs in the body, regulating the functioning of all other organs. When our minds are unstable, they affect the whole functioning of our bodies. Being both physically and emotionally fit is the key to success in all aspects of life. People should be aware of the consequences of mental illness and must give utmost importance to keeping the mind healthy like the way the physical body is kept healthy. Mental and physical health cannot be separated from each other. And only when both are balanced can we call a person perfectly healthy and well. So, it is crucial for everyone to work towards achieving a balance between mental and physical wellbeing and get the necessary help when either of them falters.

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The Importance of Mental Health

Elizabeth is a freelance health and wellness writer. She helps brands craft factual, yet relatable content that resonates with diverse audiences.

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

Westend61 / Getty Images

Risk Factors for Poor Mental Health

Signs of mental health problems, benefits of good mental health, how to maintain mental health and well-being.

Your mental health is an important part of your well-being. This aspect of your welfare determines how you’re able to operate psychologically, emotionally, and socially among others.

Considering how much of a role your mental health plays in each aspect of your life, it's important to guard and improve psychological wellness using appropriate measures.

Because different circumstances can affect your mental health, we’ll be highlighting risk factors and signs that may indicate mental distress. But most importantly, we’ll dive into all of the benefits of having your mental health in its best shape.

Mental health is described as a state of well-being where a person is able to cope with the normal stresses of life. This state permits productive work output and allows for meaningful contributions to society.

However, different circumstances exist that may affect the ability to handle life’s curveballs. These factors may also disrupt daily activities, and the capacity to manage these changes. 

The following factors, listed below, may affect mental well-being and could increase the risk of developing psychological disorders .

Childhood Abuse

When a child is subjected to physical assault, sexual violence, emotional abuse, or neglect while growing up, it can lead to severe mental and emotional distress.

Abuse increases the risk of developing mental disorders like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or personality disorders.

Children who have been abused may eventually deal with alcohol and substance use issues. But beyond mental health challenges, child abuse may also lead to medical complications such as diabetes, stroke, and other forms of heart disease.

The Environment

A strong contributor to mental well-being is the state of a person’s usual environment . Adverse environmental circumstances can cause negative effects on psychological wellness.

For instance, weather conditions may influence an increase in suicide cases. Likewise, experiencing natural disasters firsthand can increase the chances of developing PTSD. In certain cases, air pollution may produce negative effects on depression symptoms.  

In contrast, living in a positive social environment can provide protection against mental challenges.

Your biological makeup could determine the state of your well-being. A number of mental health disorders have been found to run in families and may be passed down to members.

These include conditions such as autism , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , bipolar disorder , depression , and schizophrenia .

Your lifestyle can also impact your mental health. Smoking, a poor diet , alcohol consumption , substance use , and risky sexual behavior may cause psychological harm. These behaviors have been linked to depression.

When mental health is compromised, it isn’t always apparent to the individual or those around them. However, there are certain warning signs to look out for, that may signify negative changes for the well-being. These include:

• A switch in eating habits, whether over or undereating
• A noticeable reduction in energy levels
• Being more reclusive and shying away from others
• Feeling persistent despair
• Indulging in alcohol, tobacco, or other substances more than usual
• Experiencing unexplained confusion, anger, guilt, or worry
• Severe mood swings
• Picking fights with family and friends
• Hearing voices with no identifiable source
• Thinking of self-harm or causing harm to others
• Being unable to perform daily tasks with ease

Whether young or old, the importance of mental health for total well-being cannot be overstated. When psychological wellness is affected, it can cause negative behaviors that may not only affect personal health but can also compromise relationships with others. 

Below are some of the benefits of good mental health.

A Stronger Ability to Cope With Life’s Stressors

When mental and emotional states are at peak levels, the challenges of life can be easier to overcome.

Where alcohol/drugs, isolation, tantrums, or fighting may have been adopted to manage relationship disputes, financial woes, work challenges, and other life issues—a stable mental state can encourage healthier coping mechanisms.

A Positive Self-Image

Mental health greatly correlates with personal feelings about oneself. Overall mental wellness plays a part in your self-esteem . Confidence can often be a good indicator of a healthy mental state.

A person whose mental health is flourishing is more likely to focus on the good in themselves. They will hone in on these qualities, and will generally have ambitions that strive for a healthy, happy life.

Healthier Relationships

If your mental health is in good standing, you might be more capable of providing your friends and family with quality time , affection , and support. When you're not in emotional distress, it can be easier to show up and support the people you care about.

Better Productivity

Dealing with depression or other mental health disorders can impact your productivity levels. If you feel mentally strong , it's more likely that you will be able to work more efficiently and provide higher quality work.

Higher Quality of Life

When mental well-being thrives, your quality of life may improve. This can give room for greater participation in community building. For example, you may begin volunteering in soup kitchens, at food drives, shelters, etc.

You might also pick up new hobbies , and make new acquaintances , and travel to new cities.

Because mental health is so important to general wellness, it’s important that you take care of your mental health.

To keep mental health in shape, a few introductions to and changes to lifestyle practices may be required. These include:

• Taking up regular exercise
• Prioritizing rest and sleep on a daily basis
• Trying meditation
• Learning coping skills for life challenges
• Keeping in touch with loved ones
• Maintaining a positive outlook on life

Another proven way to improve and maintain mental well-being is through the guidance of a professional. Talk therapy can teach you healthier ways to interact with others and coping mechanisms to try during difficult times.

Therapy can also help you address some of your own negative behaviors and provide you with the tools to make some changes in your own life.

A Word From Verywell

Your mental health state can have a profound impact on all areas of your life. If you're finding it difficult to address mental health concerns on your own, don't hesitate to seek help from a licensed therapist .

World Health Organization. Mental Health: Strengthening our Response .

Lippard ETC, Nemeroff CB. The Devastating Clinical Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect: Increased Disease Vulnerability and Poor Treatment Response in Mood Disorders . Am J Psychiatry . 2020;177(1):20-36. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010020

 Helbich M. Mental Health and Environmental Exposures: An Editorial. Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2018;15(10):2207. Published 2018 Oct 10. doi:10.3390/ijerph15102207

Helbich M. Mental Health and Environmental Exposures: An Editorial. Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2018;15(10):2207. Published 2018 Oct 10. doi:10.3390/ijerph15102207

National Institutes of Health. Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders .

Zaman R, Hankir A, Jemni M. Lifestyle Factors and Mental Health . Psychiatr Danub . 2019;31(Suppl 3):217-220.

Medline Plus. What Is mental health? .

National Alliance on Mental Health. Why Self-Esteem Is Important for Mental Health .

By Elizabeth Plumptre Elizabeth is a freelance health and wellness writer. She helps brands craft factual, yet relatable content that resonates with diverse audiences.

Mental Health - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

This section is dedicated to argumentative and persuasive essays on mental health awareness in the United States. Mental illness and psychological problems are social issues that require a solution. A student can represent their point of view and perspective through an argumentative essay about mental health. What causes this problem and which is the solution would be perfect subjects for this type of paper.

It’s always a challenging task for students to reflect on illnesses, so to get a hint on how to start writing, you can look at the thesis statement and research paper samples on mental health on our website.

As often, start with a coherent introduction, outline, and title planning the structure of a paper. Consult research essay topics and argumentative topics if necessary.

Having studied all the samples, topics for ideas, and mental illness essay examples compose the main part, giving reasons for the mental diseases, ways to cure them, and arguments on why a mental illness should be considered a severe health problem.

Supply of Mental Health Insurance Coverage

Introduction Affordable medical care provisions offers the best services for mental health, this is after the introduction of the Affordable Care Act. The act requires that all individuals and employers subscribe to the insurance benefit plan. Purity in mental health acts like a rectifier of unfairness in the health insurance. However due to the increasing mental problems the total spending has increased, based on results from the health insurance companies (Schroeder, 2012). Another evidence has suggested and found it prudent […]

Mental Health Counseling

I am a mental health social worker at a mental health agency. My major role in the agency is to counsel the mentally ill clients. The counseling is as a result of the ideology that individuals with serious mental illness are examined to encounter a variety of barriers that are likely to impede their development in career. Competencies for the course The mental health counseling has different competencies that include having genuine interest in others. In this, one is required […]

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Particularly most of the trained nurses theatres a vital role in mental health depending on field of specialty. Hence, in this level my main concept of concern will be based psychiatric nurses with which have chosen to pursue for my masters level. Regardless of the education, I am ascertained by the specialization and exposure as it gives skills to handle some of the technical responsibilities with most of the patients. This practitioners serve primarily in the care of mental health […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

Social Media and Mental Health

Technology. Are we better off with it or without it? Can we keep up with the problems that it causes? These are the questions that are on everyone’s mind, especially those of us who deal with adolescents. Those of us who basically grew up last century (1950 – 1980) saw a lot of changes in technology. Those changes for the most part were ones that made daily life better. The television, computers, the internet, and different parts of the medical […]

Mental Health and Obesity

The obesity rate in America is at an all-time high, and it seems there is no end in sight. Obesity not only affects adults, but children as well. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines obesity as “Weight that is higher than what is considered as a healthy weight for a given height.” (CDC, 2016) Soccer not only improves physical health and lessens obesity, but also mental health. Working out at least once a day makes a person […]

Effects of Childhood Trauma on Children Development

Anyone can experience trauma at any time. The trauma can be caused by nature, human beings or by oneself. People endure much when they experience trauma and their ability to handle it can determine the level of the effect of the trauma and their long-term well-being. Reportedly, children are incredibly susceptible to trauma because their brain and coping skills are still developing. Thus, they often grapple with long terms effects of uncontrolled trauma. While childhood trauma may vary regarding pervasiveness […]

Mental Health Concerns for Children in Foster Care

Child maltreatment often results in removal from the parental home and increases the risk for behavioral health concerns.  The foster care experience can further increase this risk.  It is therefore wise to consider aspects of mental health for children in foster care including prevalence, risk, treatment, and policy recommendations. Keywords: child maltreatment, foster care, mental health, behavioral health, adverse childhood experiences Children who have experienced maltreatment are often placed in foster care.  Not only does child maltreatment increase the risk […]

Veterans Mental Health Care

Mental health disparities affect a large amount of population across the United States. However, nobody is more affected by unstable mental health than those members of the military and their families. With the increase in the need for security in different areas of the world, military soldiers are deployed to assist in securing and protecting those areas. Often, these soldiers see combat and are affected in their mental state. Not only are the soldiers affected by the deployment, their families […]

Effects of Childhood Trauma on Development and Adulthood

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The Mental Health Stigma

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Mental Health Problem Solution

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Applied Behavior Analysis and its Effects on Autism

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How Cyberbullying Impact on Mental Health

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The Impact of Friendships on a Woman’s Mental Health

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The Brain of a Psycopath

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How To Write An Essay On Mental Health

Introduction to mental health as an essay topic.

When writing an essay on mental health, it's essential to understand its complexity and significance in today's society. Mental health refers to the state of our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and it also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. In your introduction, define mental health and its importance in maintaining overall well-being. Clarify the specific aspect of mental health you plan to explore, whether it's discussing a particular mental disorder, examining the impact of mental health on various life aspects, or analyzing mental health policies. This introduction should provide a clear context for your essay and highlight its relevance.

Exploring the Various Aspects of Mental Health

Dedicate the main body of your essay to a thorough exploration of your chosen aspect of mental health. If focusing on a specific mental disorder, discuss its symptoms, causes, and treatment options. For a broader approach, you might analyze the factors that contribute to good or poor mental health, such as genetics, environment, lifestyle, and societal influences. Include current research and statistics to back up your points and provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Remember to handle the subject with sensitivity and empathy, especially when discussing conditions that may affect your readers or their loved ones.

Addressing Challenges and Misconceptions

Another critical aspect of your essay should be addressing the challenges and misconceptions surrounding mental health. Discuss the stigma often associated with mental illness and its impact on individuals seeking help or treatment. Examine the barriers to accessing mental health care, such as cost, lack of resources, or cultural attitudes. You can also explore common misconceptions about mental health and how they hinder societal understanding and support for those affected. This section is crucial in shedding light on the obstacles faced in the realm of mental health and advocating for a more informed and supportive approach.

Concluding with the Importance of Mental Health Awareness

In your conclusion, summarize the main points discussed in your essay and reflect on the significance of mental health awareness and support. Emphasize the need for open dialogue, education, and comprehensive care to promote mental well-being. Discuss how increasing mental health awareness can benefit individuals and society as a whole, leading to a more empathetic and healthier community. Your conclusion should not only tie together your analysis but also inspire readers to recognize the importance of mental health and advocate for better support and resources in their communities.

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100 Mental Health Essay Topics

Essay topics on the subject of mental health are many and varied. If you are charged with writing an essay on mental health, you could choose to focus on any number of subtopics related to the field.

But to craft a well-written essay on mental health, there are a few basics you should keep in mind to ensure your writing is informative, authoritative, and most importantly, accurate.

To help you create a mental health essay that hits all the right marks, we’ve put together this guide covering everything from outlining to research to writing your conclusion. We’ve also created a list of 100 mental health essay topics to help get you started.

Getting Started: How to Write a Mental Health Essay

Before you start writing your mental health essay, it’s essential to understand the assignment’s requirements. Pay close attention to the prompt or question you’ve been given, as this will help you determine the focus and direction of your essay.

Once you understand what’s required, you can start brainstorming ideas and developing a thesis statement. This will be the foundation of your mental health essay, so it’s important to take the time to get it right.

Your thesis statement should be clear and concise, and it should state the main argument or point you will be making in your essay. For example, if you are writing an essay on the importance of early intervention programs for mental health, your thesis statement might look something like this:

“Early intervention programs are essential for improving mental health outcomes and preventing serious mental illness.”

Once you have your thesis statement, you can develop an outline for your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your argument flows smoothly.

Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In your introduction, you will want to grab the reader’s attention and give them an overview of what you will be discussing in your essay.

Your body paragraphs will be where you make your argument and support it with evidence. And in your conclusion, you will want to sum up your main points and leave the reader with a strong impression.

If you’re struggling to get started, try looking at some mental health essay examples. This can give you a better understanding of how to structure your own essay and the different elements you should include.

Doing the Research

Once you have a thesis statement and outline, it’s time to start doing research for your mental health essay. This is an important step, as it will help to ensure that your essay is accurate and well-informed.

When researching your mental health essay, you will want to look for reputable sources that are relevant to your topic. For example, try to find scholarly journal articles, government reports, or other reliable sources of information.

If you’re not sure where to start, try looking in the mental health section of your local library or searching for mental health essay examples online.

When taking notes from your research, be sure to record the author’s name, the title of the article, and the publication date. This will make it easier to create citations for your essay later on.

Writing the Essay

Now that you’ve done your research, it’s time to start writing your mental health essay. Begin with an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and gives them an overview of your argument.

Your body paragraphs should each focus on one central point, and they should be supported with evidence from your research. Be sure to include in-text citations whenever you use information from a source.

And finally, conclude your mental health essay with a strong conclusion that sums up your main points and leaves the reader with a positive impression.

If you’re struggling to write your essay, try looking at some mental health essay examples for inspiration. Just be sure to use your own words and ideas, and don’t plagiarize.

Editing and Proofreading

Once you’ve finished writing your mental health essay, it’s important to edit and proofread it before you submit it. This will help to ensure that your essay is well-written and free of any errors.

Start by reading your essay aloud, as this can help you spot any errors or awkward phrases. Then, revise your essay for clarity and conciseness. And finally, proofread your essay carefully to catch any typos or grammatical errors.

If you’re struggling to edit and proofread your work, try reading your essay backwards. This will help you focus on each word and catch any errors you might otherwise miss.

You can also try using a grammar checker or having someone else read your essay. Just be sure to give yourself enough time to make revisions, as rushing this process can result in mistakes being missed.

With the detailed guide above, you should have no trouble writing a mental health essay on your own. But if you’re struggling to choose a topic, here are 100 mental health essay topics to consider:

Mental Health Essay Topics About Mental Illness

• What are the most common mental illnesses?
• How can mental illness be diagnosed?
• What are the causes of mental illness?
• How does mental illness impact a person’s life?
• What are the treatments for mental illness?
• Are there any effective preventative measures for mental illness?
• How does society view mental illness?
• Are there any stigma surrounding mental illness?
• What are the challenges of living with mental illness?
• How does mental illness affect relationships?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Mental Health Treatment

• What are the different types of mental health treatment?
• How effective is mental health treatment?
• What are the side effects of mental health treatment?
• How can mental health treatment be accessed?
• Who provides mental health treatment?
• What are the challenges of mental health treatment?
• Can mental health treatment be forced?
• What are the rights of mental health patients?
• How does mental health treatment impact a person’s life?
• Are there any alternatives to mental health treatment?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Mental Health in the Workplace

• What are the impacts of poor mental health in the workplace?
• How can poor mental health in the workplace be prevented?
• What are the challenges of addressing mental health in the workplace?
• How can employers support employees with mental health issues?
• How does mental health affect productivity in the workplace?
• What are the legal implications of poor mental health in the workplace?
• How does mental health discrimination impact the workplace?
• What are some successful workplace mental health initiatives?
• How can employers create a mentally healthy workplace?
• What role does management play in supporting employees with mental health issues?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Mental Health in Schools

• How does poor mental health affect academic performance?
• What are the impacts of bullying on mental health?
• How can schools create a positive and supportive environment for students with mental health issues?
• What is the role of teachers in supporting students with mental health issues?
• What are some effective intervention strategies for mental health issues in schools?
• How can school counselors support students with mental health issues?
• Are there any legal implications for schools regarding mental health?
• What are the challenges of implementing mental health programs in schools?
• What are some successful examples of mental health initiatives in schools?
• How can the stigmatization of mental health be addressed in schools?

Mental Health Essay Topics About the Mental Health of Children

• What are the most common mental health disorders in children?
• How can mental health disorders in children be diagnosed?
• What are the causes of mental health disorders in children?
• How do mental health disorders impact a child’s life?
• What are the treatments for mental health disorders in children?
• Are there any effective preventative measures for mental health disorders in children?
• How does society view mental health disorders in children?
• Are there any stigma surrounding mental health disorders in children?
• What are the challenges of living with a mental health disorder as a child?
• How do mental health disorders affect relationships?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Mental Health Disorders

• What’s the difference between paranoia and anxiety disorders?
• How do depression and eating disorders differ?
• What is PTSD, and how does it differ from other anxiety disorders?
• What are the causes of schizophrenia?
• Is there a difference between mental illness and insanity?
• How do experts diagnose clinical vs. environmental mental illnesses?
• Is there a genetic component to mental illness?
• How do different cultures deal with mental illness?
• What is the difference between a nervous breakdown and a mental breakdown?
• What are some of the most common alternative therapies for mental illness?

Mental Health Essay Topics About The Mental Health Of Veterans

• What are the most common mental health disorders among veterans?
• How does military service impact mental health?
• What are the risk factors for mental health disorders among veterans?
• What are the treatments for mental health disorders among veterans?
• Are there any effective preventative measures for mental health disorders among veterans?
• What mental health issues are specific to veterans and not the civilian population?
• How does the Veterans Affairs system deal with mental health disorders?
• What are the challenges of diagnosing and treating mental health disorders among veterans?
• What are some successful examples of mental health initiatives for veterans?
• How can the stigma surrounding mental health be addressed among veterans?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Alternative Mental Health Therapies

• What is art therapy, and how does it work?
• What is music therapy, and how does it work?
• What is drama therapy, and how does it work?
• What are the benefits of using alternative mental health therapies?
• Are there any risks associated with using alternative mental health therapies?
• How do alternative mental health therapies compare to traditional therapies?
• What are the challenges of using alternative mental health therapies?
• Are there any successful examples of using alternative mental health therapies?
• How can the stigma surrounding mental health be addressed through alternative therapies?
• What role do alternative mental health therapies play in treating mental health disorders?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Outdated Mental Health Therapies

• What are the differences in how mental health was treated 100 years ago and how it is treated today?
• What are some outdated mental health therapies that are no longer used?
• Why were mental health therapies from the ’50s considered effective at the time?
• How have mental health therapies evolved over the past decade?
• Are there any risks associated with using these outdated therapies?
• What can we learn from these outdated therapies?

Mental Health Essay Topics About the Impact of Technology on Mental Health

• How has social media impacted mental health?
• Are there any benefits to using technology in treating mental health disorders?
• Are there any risks associated with using technology to treat mental health disorders?
• How does cyberbullying impact mental health?
• What is the impact of social media on body image and eating disorders?
• How does technology addiction impact mental health?
• What are the challenges of treating mental health disorders exacerbated by technology?
• What are some successful examples of using technology to treat mental health disorders?
• How can the stigma surrounding mental health be addressed through technology?
• What role does technology play in treating mental health disorders?

Mental Health Essay Topics About Trauma and Mental Health

• What is trauma?
• How does trauma impact mental health?
• What are the risk factors for developing mental health disorders after trauma?
• What are the treatments for mental health disorders caused by trauma?

With these 100 mental health essay topics combined with a list of helpful writing tips, you should be well on your way to writing a great mental health essay. Just remember to choose a topic you are passionate about and do some research to find reliable sources.

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Mental Health in the United States Essay

Target population, summary of articles.

Mental health is a crucial problem that has to be addressed by the government to avert local communities from missing out on productive lives, healthy families, and strong interactive relationships. Practically any person from younger children to old adults may be suffering from a variety of mental health disorders due to the prevalence of unsafe behaviors and risky attitudes that might lead them to ultimate self-destruction. As Heun-Johnson et al. (2018) put it, suicide was almost in the top ten leading causes of death across the United States, which is a scary indicator that cannot and should not go unnoticed. Accordingly, mental health illnesses could also be associated with numerous physical states that could be associated with the inability to keep one’s mental health intact. In other words, cancer or diabetes could occur in a person even in the case of severe anxiety or stress, causing the body to respond in unpredictable ways.

Heun-Johnson et al. (2018) also contributed to the existing discussion by stating that the long-lasting effects of mental disorders may be hard to mitigate due to the extensive economic and psychosocial costs of interventions and consequences. Nevertheless, there is still hope that mental health disorders can be managed appropriately, as the growing body of evidence hints at the idea that the burden of mental issues could be reduced significantly. The existing project serves as an assessment of the Downers Grove, Illinois community and a thorough review of how previous experience could be utilized to develop a decent strategy to address the mental health of the target population and improve the quality of mental health care in the region. This project might become a pathway to a stronger Downers Grove community where individuals would not be afraid to share their thoughts on how to approach the issue and collaborate with care providers to reduce the stigma of mental health issues as well.

When picking the most appropriate target population for the current project, the author decided to consider numerous variables describing the populace, such as gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geolocation. There is also a need to include specific social conditions in order to gain as much insight as possible into the given community. Some of these were interpersonal relations, intrafamilial and community dynamics, school conditions, and social backing. The information provided in the SAMHSA (2017) report disclosed the presence of numerous risks associated with mental health issues in Illinois youth. This is a hint at the fact that there are not enough resources currently available to the Downers Grove community to establish safe places for the target population to interact and contribute to overall change concerning the attitudes toward mental health issues across the State of Illinois.

On the other hand, that same report published by SAMHSA (2017) is the key to understanding that the biggest population currently affected by mental health illnesses is youth. It is a warning sign for the Downers Grove community, as at least one major depressive episode per annum was found in at least 20% of Illinois youth residents. The percentage seems to increase, as in 2014, that same community reached about 14% of youth residents being exposed to major depressive episodes. In addition, the problem is that less than half (approximately 38%) of Illinois youth received appropriate treatment for their mental health issues. This can be important as well because some of the respondents might be too afraid to ask for help due to certain circumstances such as the socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or gender.

Ultimately, the target population can be described as male, female, or transgender respondents aged from 15 to 24 who are either suffering from major mental health issues or get exposed to certain episodes that damage their mental health time after time. One of the major trends included in SAMHSA (2017) report is the growing prevalence of psychotic disorders in youth. This problem slowly becomes prevalent because it increases the rates of stigmatization among peers and adults and also increases the time of hospital stays. Depending on the primary reason for hospitalization, care providers have to pick the right approach to their patients, which also means that local youth often faces the challenge of not being enrolled in follow-up care. The lack of appropriate prevention measures makes the Downers Grove youth community an especially vulnerable population that has to be protected.

The article written by Buchholz et al. (2015) discloses a number of important points that have to be considered when thinking about the best strategy related to youth coping with mental health issues. The researchers investigated the process of youth disclosing mental health issues to their parents or teachers and reviewed the possible social implications of such communication. Buchholz et al. (2015) found that mental health challenges are exceptionally hard to discuss when there is a risk of being misunderstood or ridiculed in front of others, so many young individuals tend to keep their anxiety and worries to themselves in order to protect themselves from unsafe outcomes. Nevertheless, further communication could be helpful when trying to reduce stigma and build effective relationships with the environment. The results of research conducted by Buchholz et al. (2015) could be utilized to manage possible disclosure decisions in the future and help local youth discuss their mental health issues more without obstruction.

Vohra et al. (2019) touched upon the question of how mental illnesses impact mortality and morbidity in youth. In order to introduce a decent prevention measure, they investigated the potential benefits and challenges associated with the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) strategy when utilized to address the prevalence of mental health issues in youth. Even though Vohra et al. (2019) could not achieve any specific results in terms of finding any relevant evidence regarding the effectiveness of MBSR in youth with mental health issues, their research allowed them to evaluate the efficacy of this strategy and see how psychological interventions could help when treating mental health issues in youth. The results of the study showed that MBSR could be an effective way for youth to cope with the potential stigma and improper emotional responses linked to the advent of mental health issues.

The article written by Mustanski et al. (2016) dwelled on the possibility of reducing the amount of cumulative victimization that LGBT youth representatives could be exposed to while also suffering from mental disorders. In order to complete their research, the investigators picked a sample including transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay youth and screened them for depression and anxiety in order to establish the potential level of stigma that these respondents could be facing on a daily basis. The findings published by Mustanski et al. (2016) showed that in addition to depressive episode, LGBT youth in Illinois was at an elevated risk for PTSD symptoms. Overall, the research concluded that there was an extreme amount of victimization affecting the LGBT youth living across the State of Illinois.

Buchholz, B., Aylward, S., McKenzie, S., & Corrigan, P. (2015). Should youth disclose their mental health challenges? Perspectives from students, parents, and school professionals. Journal of Public Mental Health , 14 (3), 159-168.

Heun-Johnson, H., Menchine, M., Goldman, D., & Seabury, S. (2018). The cost of mental illness: Illinois facts and figures [PDF]. USC Schaeffer. Web.

Mustanski, B., Andrews, R., & Puckett, J. A. (2016). The effects of cumulative victimization on mental health among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents and young adults. American Journal of Public Health , 106 (3), 527-533.

SAMHSA. (2017). Illinois 2017 Mental Health National Outcome Measures (NOMS): SAMHSA Uniform Reporting System [PDF]. Web.

Vohra, S., Punja, S., Sibinga, E., Baydala, L., Wikman, E., Singhal, A.,… & Van Vliet, K. J. (2019). Mindfulness‐based stress reduction for mental health in youth: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Child and Adolescent Mental Health , 24 (1), 29-35.

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IvyPanda. (2024, March 27). Mental Health in the United States. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mental-health-in-the-united-states/

"Mental Health in the United States." IvyPanda , 27 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/mental-health-in-the-united-states/.

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IvyPanda . 2024. "Mental Health in the United States." March 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mental-health-in-the-united-states/.

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IvyPanda . "Mental Health in the United States." March 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mental-health-in-the-united-states/.

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Mental health

The right to bathe

Water is a great healer. Can New York’s public pools and ‘blue spaces’ be engineered for collective hydrotherapy?

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Stories and literature

Saved by Infinite Jest

Bereft and suicidal, I lay on my sofa. Only David Foster Wallace’s novel kept me tethered to life, and still does

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Trauma on a loop

I was the victim of a carjacking. The trauma from that experience was unendurable. Then I discovered eye movement therapy

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People not professionals

Training individuals to support one another through difficult times is a profound step forward in our mental health crisis

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Analysis for the people

Group therapy promised to be both democratic and radical, but it failed to take hold. Has its time finally come?

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Negative capability

When it comes to our complicated, undecipherable feelings, art prompts a self-understanding far beyond the wellness industry

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Tōjisha-kenkyū

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A thickness in the air

The spooky sensation that someone or something else is right there haunts us all. But what does this felt presence mean?

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The space between us

In order to understand and heal mental distress, we must see our minds as existing in relationships, not inside our heads

James Barnes

Selected before birth

Embryo risk screening could lower the odds of illnesses ranging from depression to diabetes. Can it be ethically done?

Todd Lencz & Shai Carmi

Secrets hurt their holders

Holding back the truth can take a huge toll on your relationships and your mental health. Why? And is there a better way?

Michael Slepian

Under the mkone tree

When I returned to Kenya, where I grew up, I found biomedicine and traditional medicine in conversation about mental health

Priya Basil

The helpful delusion

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From back pain to addiction – one man’s struggle with opioids, as told to his sister

Why we crave

The neuroscientific picture of addiction overlooks the psychological and social factors that make cravings so hard to resist

Zoey Lavallee

Bad therapy

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Yevgeny Botanov, Alexander Williams & John Sakaluk

Consciousness and altered states

Pivotal mental states

Spiritual highs and mental breakdowns are both products of the same evolved brain system granting us the power to transform

Ari Brouwer

The humane asylum

As a society we are failing people with severe, persistent mental illness. It’s time to reimagine institutional care

Madeleine Ritts & Daniel Rosenbaum

When crushes become crushing – how to know if you’re in a ‘limerent episode’

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Family life

An artist grapples with the loss of his brother, and the problem of canine abduction

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Mood and emotion

Radical acceptance

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• Our Process

Mental Health Essay Topics with Outline & Examples

Published by Ellie Cross at April 5th, 2022 , Revised On January 3, 2024

Mental health studies are a discipline that looks into various mental illnesses to see how they affect people, their causes, and what we can do about them. On the other hand, selecting the right topic for an argumentative essay is crucial to addressing a specific mental health issue. In other words, mental health essay topics have equal importance as the idea of mental health itself. 

Students who have a real passion for any particular area of mental health should spend considerable time searching and finding the right topic for their essays. 

This article presents many good mental health essay topics for your argumentative essay that you can use right away. These unique ideas will make it easier for students to address unique mental health issues through their arguments. 

Mental Health Essay Topics to Write About

Everyone is affected by a mental illness at some stage in their lives. So how do you explain what other people in the world are going through without feeling their pain, emotions and anxiety? The success of your argumentative essay largely depends on the quality and uniqueness of the topic. Here are some exciting and intriguing mental health essay topics you can consider:

• The relationship between obesity and mental health
• The relationship between teenagers and self-harm
• How does a returning soldier deal with his mental health problems?
• The causes of post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers and its treatment
• What does anorexia nervosa mean?
• It is recognising and addressing indicators of a loved one’s mental health.
• What do you think about people who have “dark” thoughts?
• What does ADHD mean, and what factors may play a role in its development?
• An analysis of gender with most of the mental health problems
• The possible treatment options for obsessive-compulsive disorder
• The most common mental disorders in geriatric people
• The treatments that are used most frequently in depressed patients
• Identifying the main influences on brain screening
• The impact of depression on overall mental wellbeing
• Differences between anxiety disorders and key protective factors for mental health
• Do video games have an impact on a person’s mental health?
• How does music affect mental health?
• How do graphic images affect mental health?
• The effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder on human activity
• How to identify mental illness
• What makes you feel anxious?
• How can stress cause depression?
• What are anxieties, and why do people fear everyday objects?
• Examine the mental health of Holocaust survivors.
• Postpartum depression is a real problem. 
• What are the benefits of a cognitive health crisis? 
• How does poverty affect mental health? 
• The importance of improving psychological and emotional health 
• Common mental health problems of women and men
• What role do school programs play in addressing mental health?

Grave Mental Health Essay Topics

You may also write about some more serious mental health topics. However, acing a mental health essay on a grave mental health issue will require you to relate your content to people’s real-life experiences and start accumulating arguments to support your claims. Here are some interesting but super specific mental health essay topics. 

• Identify and discuss the role of physiotherapy in maintaining mental health.
• Sigmund Freud’s contributions to mental health
• What role does parenting stress play in depression?
• The influence of nightmares on depression
• The contribution of insomnia to depression
• Is it possible to keep the brain healthy to protect its health?
• Is it possible to forget painful memories?
• What educational credentials are required to practice psychiatry?
• What role do horror films play in anxiety?
• Why do people watch scary films?
• Discuss the relationship between mental health and therapy
• What measures are taken to treat mental health problems in the UK?
• Why are so many artists mentally ill?
• Do you think that living in the limelight causes mental illness?
• Discuss COVID-19 and mental health.
• How can you tell if someone is suffering from anxiety?
• An unintended consequence of online learning
• The impact of divorce on children’s mental health
• Why dropping out can harm a student’s mental health
• There is a link between physical violence and mental illness. Discuss

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Topics on Mental Illness Argumentative Essay

• Writing about a mental illness in your essay will require you to have an in-depth understanding of the illness you will investigate. If you pursue one of those in-depth mental health topics, you can surely impress your professor. TV shows that can benefit people with mental illnesses
• In the LGBTQ community, mental illness is common.
• Why are the people of the black community facing more mental illness?
• How can child abuse lead to mental illness?
• How is substance abuse related to mental illness?
• What are coping mechanisms most prevalent in mental illness?
• What is the impact of trauma on mental health?
• School-based programs to support students with mental health problems will be considered.
• What is the most common mental illness faced by raped victims? Discuss each of them.
• How lack of confidence can affect mental health
• Discuss the most recent developments in the field of clinical depression
• Anxiety caused by sexual assault in the metaverse
• How does anxiety affect the ability to cope with your daily life activities?
• Does women’s mental health matter in the nation?
• What are the most common mental illnesses faced by children?
• How can mental health be promoted at colleges and universities?
• How did music come to be associated with mental health?
• Mental health and its connection with peer groups
• How images of homeless people can affect a person’s mental health
• How can people on low incomes receive mental health care?
• The value of forgiveness for mental health
• Name and explain why one of the countries in the world has the highest rate of mental illness.
• The role of society in mental health problems
• Can a change of environment improve mental wellbeing?
• How can love help people who have a mental illness, and how can it not?

Good Essay Topics on Mental Health

• The role of extremists in the deterioration of mental health care in their holy places
• What happens when parents ignore their children, and how does it affect their mental health?
• The difference between religious counselling and professional counselling
• What does it mean to be anti-social, and how can you change or support someone who is?
• Recognise and explain the role of chronic stress and anxiety disorders in long-term loneliness. Discuss the impact of remote working on mental health and how to manage it.
• Talk about ways to deal with unhappy feelings to avoid slipping into chronic mental health problems.
• How can you tell if a person’s mental health is okay?
• How can you empower a handicapped person to pursue their goals without becoming depressed because of physical limitations?
• How can the general public best respond to someone suffering from a mental illness?

Cause-Effect Essay Topics on Mental Health

• What role does physical health play in maintaining mental health?
• The effects of post-traumatic stress disorder are severe. Explain why?
• Does emotional stress affect the immune system?
• How can break-ups help or hurt your mental health?
• How does early retirement affect or worsen mental health?
• What can a child do if they are diagnosed with schizophrenia, and how can they be helped?
• What are some of the potentially harmful behaviours that can exacerbate mental illness?

Argumentative Essay Topics on Mental Health

• People who are mentally ill are not religious. Argue on this perception
• Religion has both negative and positive influences on an individual’s mental health
• Anxiety is influenced by discrimination
• Depression can also be caused by self-awareness
• There are five reasons why mental illness is so prevalent
• Depression is a common problem among young people and is never taken seriously
• Suicide is a result of ignoring mental illness at its early stages. Argue

So now, when you have an opportunity to dazzle your teachers by working on these unique mental health essay topics, you must also know about the basic structure of a mental health essay. We have created a brief outline for you guys to understand the structure before delving into the topics. 

Outline of the Essay

It would be best to write down what you want to cover in your essay after conducting your research on a topic. Do not forget to find and review different academic sources when writing a mental health essay. 

Mental Health Essay Introduction

Your essay must have a hook that attracts the reader. Next, you need to establish a thesis statement to show you understand the significance of the topic you are exploring. You can also use your introduction to tell a story or share an experience.

Use proverbs, statistics, or anything that you feel is relevant to your topic in an introduction. Before concluding your introduction, give background information about your essay so that the reader knows what it is about.

The body is divided into paragraphs that support your thesis with evidence and arguments. In general, the body should consist of five paragraphs . However, each sentence must contain a topic sentence linked to independent thought on the topic of mental health. You can also write each sentence with a definite purpose, convincing arguments, supporting details, and examples.

The conclusion sums up the content that you have presented in your essay. You can include a statement of your thesis at the end of your conclusion, and you can even ask a rhetorical question about the future of mental health. However, it would help if you did not make any new arguments in conclusion.

Important Tips when Writing Mental Health Essay

• Present sufficient knowledge of the actual topic
• Know the difference between mental health/illness and emotions
• A generalisation of the term “Mentally Ill” should be avoided
• Use neutral terms, be precise in your arguments/claims
• Emphasis on the treatment and positive vibes through your content
• Get professional assistance if you struggle with your medical or nursing essay.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to write an excellent essay on mental health.

To write an excellent essay on mental health, research the topic thoroughly, provide personal insights, use a clear structure, support your arguments with evidence, and offer practical solutions. Prioritize empathy and awareness throughout.

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Mental Health Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on mental health.

Every year world mental health day is observed on October 10. It was started as an annual activity by the world federation for mental health by deputy secretary-general of UNO at that time. Mental health resources differ significantly from one country to another. While the developed countries in the western world provide mental health programs for all age groups. Also, there are third world countries they struggle to find the basic needs of the families. Thus, it becomes prudent that we are asked to focus on mental health importance for one day. The mental health essay is an insight into the importance of mental health in everyone’s life. 

Mental Health

In the formidable years, this had no specific theme planned. The main aim was to promote and advocate the public on important issues. Also, in the first three years, one of the central activities done to help the day become special was the 2-hour telecast by the US information agency satellite system. 

Mental health is not just a concept that refers to an individual’s psychological and emotional well being. Rather it’s a state of psychological and emotional well being where an individual is able to use their cognitive and emotional capabilities, meet the ordinary demand and functions in the society. According to WHO, there is no single ‘official’ definition of mental health.

Thus, there are many factors like cultural differences, competing professional theories, and subjective assessments that affect how mental health is defined. Also, there are many experts that agree that mental illness and mental health are not antonyms. So, in other words, when the recognized mental disorder is absent, it is not necessarily a sign of mental health. 

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

One way to think about mental health is to look at how effectively and successfully does a person acts. So, there are factors such as feeling competent, capable, able to handle the normal stress levels, maintaining satisfying relationships and also leading an independent life. Also, this includes recovering from difficult situations and being able to bounce back.  

Important Benefits of Good Mental Health

Mental health is related to the personality as a whole of that person. Thus, the most important function of school and education is to safeguard the mental health of boys and girls. Physical fitness is not the only measure of good health alone. Rather it’s just a means of promoting mental as well as moral health of the child. The two main factors that affect the most are feeling of inferiority and insecurity. Thus, it affects the child the most. So, they lose self-initiative and confidence. This should be avoided and children should be constantly encouraged to believe in themselves.

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How to Write a Mental Health in College Students Essay

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Writing is a skill that takes time to build. Essays force you to practice research, critical thinking and communication skills – college is the perfect time for you to practice these. However, there’s only so much you can learn about writing through preparation. If you’ve been assigned an essay on mental health, you may not be sure where to begin. You might also wonder if you should choose mental health as a topic for a college paper. Here’s how to write a “mental health in college students” essay. 

• What Not to Do

If you’re trying to choose a topic for a college application essay, mental health is usually not the way to go. Your personal statement should show colleges why you’re the best candidate to attend their school. Because many students write about mental health , your essay may get lost in the crowd. In addition, your mental health journey is only a part of who you are. 

It can be difficult for many students to write about personal mental struggles without seeming overdramatic. Unless mental health struggles have shaped your whole life, it’s best to discuss other topics. If you mention mental health, stay brief and matter-of-fact. Don’t let it become the whole point of your essay. 

• Review the Instructions

If you’re writing this essay for a college course, start by looking over the assignment instructions. Don’t just listen to what your teacher says – look up the assignment on the syllabus to see if you can find a rubric or other relevant information. 

Highlight the important points to make sure you know what matters to your professor. The instructions are parameters you can operate in to create an essay you enjoy. Make sure you check word count, essay structure and review corrections on past essays. If you’re confused about something, don’t hesitate to ask your professor for clarification. 

• Do the Research 

Regardless of what class you’re writing for, this is the kind of topic that requires hard numbers. You don’t want to make general claims about rates of student anxiety or mental illness – to be credible, you need specifics. Be careful with your wording to avoid all-or-nothing statements. Everyone experiences mental health differently. 

Your professor may or may not allow you to pick the specific mental health topic you write about. However, you can ensure that your paper is well-researched and organized clearly. Before you start writing, create at least a basic outline showing the flow of ideas. This will make the writing phase much faster because you’ll always know what to say next. 

• Write It Out 

Writer’s block often stems from perfectionism. This paper won’t be perfect the first time, so don’t worry about writing it perfectly! Start with an interesting line that gets your reader’s attention and make sure you have a clear thesis statement. Taken by itself, this sentence should describe the contents of your entire paper. 

Build your paragraphs to the right word length by using specific examples. You should start each paragraph with a topic sentence that takes your reader one step in your paper’s argument. Then, describe a specific example that further explains this idea. You can find specific examples in your research or simply explain more about what you mean. 

• Edit Your Work

Editing is an important final step before you turn an essay in. It gives you an opportunity to look at your writing as a whole and ensure everything makes sense. If possible, you should set your first draft aside for a while before you reread it. This will help you see your work with fresh eyes so you can edit it. 

Editing involves strengthening your paper’s organization, rewriting specific sentences and checking for errors. You should make major edits first and then do a final read-through to catch punctuation and spelling mistakes. It can be helpful to read your paper out loud or have a friend look it over as well. 

One Key Takeaway for Writing a Mental Health in College Students Essay

Many students struggle with mental health while in school. Whatever topic you choose and however you organize your essay, make sure to write it with a sensitive tone. This topic is nuanced and shouldn’t be treated as a black-and-white issue. Write from an informed and compassionate point of view and offer your readers hope. 

Use this guide to write an essay on mental health in college students that astounds and delights your professor. Putting in the work will build research and communication skills you’ll use for years – whether you’re a psychology major, a premed student or studying the arts at school. 

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Mental Health — The Importance of Mental Health Awareness

The Importance of Mental Health Awareness

• Categories: Mental Health Social Isolation Stress Management

About this sample

Words: 1622 |

Updated: 4 November, 2023

Words: 1622 | Pages: 4 | 9 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, mental health awareness, video version, emotional well-being, psychological well‐being, social well-being.

• Health Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.aginglifecarejournal.org/health-effects-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness/.
• Top of Form Mental Health Myths and Facts https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/mental-health-myths-facts
• Mental Health Care Services by Family Physicians Position Paper. American Academy of Family Physicians Web site. http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/m/mentalhealthcareservices.htm. Accessed February 11, 2013. [Google Scholar]
• Newman, T. (2017, August 24). Mental health: Definition , common disorders, and early signs. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.php.
• Bottom of Form Rodriguez, B. D., Hurley, K., Upham, B., Kilroy, D. S., Dark, N., & Abreu, E (n.d.).Happiness and Emotional Well-Being. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/understanding/index.aspx.
• World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease, 2004 Update. Part 4, Burden of Disease, DALYs. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf . Accessed January 10, 2013. [Google Scholar]

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Essay on Mental Health

Students are often asked to write an essay on Mental Health in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Mental Health

Understanding mental health.

Mental health is as important as physical health. It refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act.

The Importance of Mental Health

Good mental health allows us to handle stress, make choices, and relate to others. It’s crucial at every stage of life, from childhood to adulthood.

Factors Affecting Mental Health

Many factors can impact mental health, including biological factors, life experiences, and family history of mental health issues.

Mental Health and Stigma

Unfortunately, there’s a stigma around mental health. People with mental health problems are often misunderstood and judged.

Mental Health Care

It’s important to seek help if you’re struggling with mental health. Therapy, medication, and self-care can all help improve mental health.

Also check:

• Speech on Mental Health

250 Words Essay on Mental Health

Introduction.

Mental health, an often overlooked aspect of overall well-being, is as significant as physical health. It encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how we think, feel, and act.

Mental health is integral to living a balanced, fulfilling life. It influences our ability to cope with stress, relate to others, and make decisions. In the college years, mental health is especially crucial as students deal with academic pressure, social changes, and the transition into adulthood.

Challenges to Mental Health in College

College students face unique mental health challenges. The pressure to perform academically, social anxiety, and the struggle to fit into new environments can all contribute to mental health issues. These can manifest as depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and more.

The Role of Society and Institutions

Society and institutions play a substantial role in promoting mental health. By creating an environment that acknowledges mental health issues and provides support, we can help mitigate these challenges. Colleges should provide mental health resources and encourage students to seek help when needed.

Mental health is integral to our overall well-being. As we navigate through life, particularly during challenging college years, it’s essential to prioritize mental health, seek help when needed, and create environments that support mental wellness.

500 Words Essay on Mental Health

Mental health, a critical aspect of overall wellbeing, is often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of modern life. It’s a broad term encompassing our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, influencing our handling of stress, relationships, and decisions.

Mental health is as vital as physical health. It contributes to our cognitive functions, behavioral patterns, and emotional stability. Good mental health enhances our productivity, effectiveness, and ability to contribute to our community. Conversely, poor mental health can lead to severe complications like depression, anxiety, and even suicide.

Various factors contribute to mental health problems. Biological factors include genetics and brain chemistry. Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse, can also play a role. Additionally, family history of mental health problems can make individuals more susceptible.

Stigma and Mental Health

Stigma is a significant barrier to mental health care. It can lead to discrimination and misunderstanding, discouraging individuals from seeking help. Education is crucial to dispel myths and stereotypes, fostering a more supportive and understanding society.

Mental Health in College Students

College students are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues. They face unique challenges such as academic pressure, social struggles, and the stress of transitioning into adulthood. Colleges should prioritize mental health services, providing resources and support to students in need.

The Role of Therapy

Therapy is a powerful tool for managing mental health. It provides a safe space for individuals to express their feelings and learn coping strategies. Therapists can help identify underlying issues and develop personalized treatment plans.

Mental Health and Technology

Technology has revolutionized mental health care. Digital platforms provide access to therapy and self-help tools, making mental health resources more accessible. However, the overuse of technology can negatively impact mental health, highlighting the need for balance.

In conclusion, mental health is an integral part of our lives. It’s crucial to understand its importance, recognize the factors that affect it, and work towards reducing stigma. As society becomes more aware of mental health, we can hope for a future where mental health care is as mainstream and accepted as physical health care.

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100+ argumentative essay topics on mental health | example & outline, bob cardens.

• September 2, 2022
• Essay Topics and Ideas

Argumentative Essay Topics on Mental Health. Mental health is an important and often overlooked topic. In this article, we’ll explore some argumentative essay topics related to mental health .

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Argumentative Essay Topics about Mental Health

1. Is there a connection between mental health and physical health? 2. How does mental illness affect a person’s ability to function in society? 3. What are the most effective treatments for mental illness? 4. Are there any effective prevention strategies for mental illness? 5. What is the relationship between mental health and substance abuse? 6. How does poverty affect mental health? 7. What are the most common mental disorders? 8. What are the consequences of untreated mental illness? 9. What are the risk factors for developing mental illness? 10. How can mental illness be effectively diagnosed?

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Argumentative essay topics about depression

1. Depression is a real mental health condition.

2. Depression is more than just feeling sad.

3. Depression can lead to serious physical health problems.

4. Depression is treatable with medication and therapy.

5. People with depression can lead happy, fulfilling lives.

6. Untreated depression can be deadly.

7. Depression is often misunderstood and stigmatized.

8. Depression is not a sign of weakness or a character flaw.

9. Anyone can develop depression, even people who seem to have it all together.

10. There is no single cause of depression, but there are risk factors that can make someone more likely to develop the condition.

Argumentative Essay Topics on Mental Health. Mental health is an important and often overlooked topic. In this article, we’ll explore some argumentative essay topics related to mental health.

Argumentative essay about mental health in schools

1. Mental health should be taught in schools. 2. There should be more support for mental health in schools. 3. Mental health should be taken more seriously in schools. 4. Schools should do more to prevent mental health problems. 5. Schools should do more to help students with mental health problems. 6. Mental health problems are increasing in schools. 7. school counselors are not trained to deal with mental health issues 8. most school don’t have a mental health policy 9. lack of awareness about mental health among school staff 10. stigma and discrimination against mental health patients

Argumentative essay on mental health stigma

Argumentative essay topics about mental health can be very controversial and sensitive. However, there are many people who are open to discussing these topics and raising awareness about mental health. Here are twenty argumentative essay topics about mental health that you can use for your next essay.

1. How does society view mental health? 2. Do we need to break the stigma around mental health? 3. How can we better support those with mental health conditions? 4. What is the link between mental health and addiction? 5. How does trauma affect mental health? 6. What are the most effective treatments for mental health conditions? 7. Are there any natural remedies for mental health conditions? 8. How does diet affect mental health? 9. How does exercise affect mental health? 10. What is the link between sleep and mental health? 11. What are the warning signs of a mental health condition? 12. When should someone seek professional help for a mental health condition? 13. How can family and friends support someone with a mental health condition? 14. What are the most common myths about mental health? 15. How does stigma impact those with mental health conditions?

16. How can we destigmatize mental health? 17. What is the link between mental health and violence? 18. How does mental health affect overall health? 19. What are the most common mental health disorders? 20. What are the most effective treatments for mental health disorders?

Mental health debate topics for students

1. The definition of mental health 2. The different types of mental illness 3. The causes of mental illness 4. The treatments for mental illness 5. The side effects of mental illness 6. The impact of mental illness on society 7. The cost of mental health care 8. Mental health in the workplace 9. Mental health in the media 10. Stigma and discrimination against those with mental illness 11. The impact of trauma on mental health 12. Mental health during pregnancy and postpartum 13. Children’s mental health 14. Geriatric mental health 15. Global perspectives on mental health 16. Religion and mental health 17. Cultural competence in mental health care 18. Social media and mental health 19.Nutrition and mental health

20. Exercise and mental health

Expository essay topics about mental illness

1. How does mental illness affect one’s ability to work? 2. What are the most common types of mental illness? 3. How can mental illness be prevented? 4. What are the most effective treatments for mental illness? 5. How does mental illness impact relationships? 6. What are the financial costs of mental illness? 7. How does stigma affect those with mental illness? 8. What are the most common myths about mental illness? 9. How does mental illness differ from addiction? 10. What are the early warning signs of mental illness?

Debates about mental health

1. The definition of mental health is contested and argued by professionals in the field. 2. Some people argue that mental health is a social construction, while others believe that it is a real and valid medical condition. 3. Mental health is often stigmatized in society, and those who suffer from mental illness are often seen as weak or crazy. 4. Mental health is often viewed as something that can be cured, when in reality it is a lifelong battle for many people. 5. Mental illness is often seen as an individual responsibility to deal with, when in reality it affects not just the individual but also their families and loved ones. 6. It is often said that people with mental illness are not able to function in society, when in fact many people with mental illness are high-functioning individuals. 7. Mental health is often viewed as an all-or-nothing proposition, when in reality there is a spectrum of mental health conditions that range from mild to severe. 8. People with mental illness are often treated differently than other people, and they are often discriminated against. 9. There is a lot of misinformation about mental health, and this leads tomisunderstanding and fear. 10. Mental health is a complex issue, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to addressing it.

Persuasive topics related to mental health

1. The link between mental health and physical health. 2. The benefits of therapy and counseling. 3. The importance of early intervention for mental health issues. 4. The impact of trauma on mental health. 5. The correlation between mental health and substance abuse. 6. The connection between mental health and chronic illness. 7. The relationship between mental health and chronic pain. 8. Mental health in the workplace. 9. Mental health in the military. 10. Mental health in schools. 11. Children’s mental health issues. 12. Teens and mental health issues. 13. Elderly mental health issues. 14. Cultural issues and mental health. 15. Religion and mental health. 16. The stigma of mental illness. 17. Mental health awareness and education. 18. Mental health advocacy. 19. Funding for mental health services. 20. Access to mental health care.

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Speaking Up About Mental Health

National essay contest.

SUBMIT YOUR ESSAY The contest is open to high school students ages 16-18

PROMOTION TOOLKIT Help spread the word with social media and email tools

December 1, 2023

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January 16, 2024

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Mental health is an important part of overall health across all life stages. However, far too often, symptoms are not addressed or recognized among teens.

Speaking Up About Mental Health is an essay contest that challenges high school students ages 16-18 to raise awareness of mental health. The contest gives students a platform to share ways to eliminate and/or reduce mental health stigma faced by young people, especially in diverse communities.

This contest is soliciting essays that:

• Discuss ways to eliminate and/or reduce mental health stigma faced by young people, especially in diverse communities
• Share resilience and coping strategies to overcome mental health issues such as social isolation and loneliness, depression, and anxiety
• Address mental health stigma
• Encourage conversations about mental health, social media, and/or technology
• Suggest school policies or practices that could help reduce stigma
• Describe barriers to mental health treatment
• Cover other areas of concern to individuals and their communities with respect to mental health

Get details on contest rules and submit your entry on Challenge.gov

Promotion toolkit : Help promote the Speaking Up About Mental Health essay contest

The contest is led by:

National Institute of Mental Health

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Page updated Jan. 23, 2024

September 2022: NIH Announces Winners of High School Mental Health Essay Contest

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Mental Health Stigma

How medical psychiatry may worsen mental-health stigma, challenging the received wisdom about mental health..

Posted April 25, 2024 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

• Seeing mental illness as having a biological cause tends to make stigma worse, not better.
• Trauma-based explanations of mental illness do not seem to have these negative effects.
• We should reconsider public messaging about mental health in light of these findings.

In the 1980s and 90s, an emerging theory was that mental disorders like depression , bipolar disorder , or schizophrenia were due to faulty brain chemicals, and ultimately, faulty genes.

This message was popularized by books like Nancy Andreasen’s 1985 The Broken Brain , Solomon Snyder’s 1986 Drugs and the Brain , and Jon Franklin’s 1987 Molecules of the Mind .

In this view, schizophrenia was due to dopamine imbalances. Depression involved serotonin imbalances. Bipolar disorder involved lithium imbalances. And drugs like Prozac worked by reversing these imbalances.

While simplistic versions of many of these theories were disproven , the “chemical imbalance” metaphor still has a powerful grip on the professional and public imagination .

Journalists, doctors, and activists thought that this messaging would help end stigma by showing that you’re not to blame for your mental health problems, any more than you’re to blame for breast cancer.

New research, however, is calling this received wisdom into question. This research is showing that medical framings of mental health problems actually make some kinds of stigma worse , not better.

Challenging the Received Wisdom

Over the last decade, a group of psychologists have investigated new questions about mental health stigma .

For example, if I think that your mental illness is caused by your brain or your genes, how does that affect my desire to interact with you? This is known as the desire for social distance .

Similarly, if I think that your mental illness is caused by your brain or your genes, how does that affect my belief that you will recover? This is known as prognostic optimism .

The upshot of this research is that biological explanations of mental illnesses have their own dangers. They tend to increase people’s desire for social distance . If I think your mental illness is caused by your brain or genes, I’m more likely to see you as potentially dangerous and unpredictable, and to want to keep my distance from you. They also decrease prognostic optimism: If I see your mental illness as having a biological cause, I have less hope that you’re going to recover.

On the plus side, these mindsets do reduce the perception of blame: If I think your schizophrenia or depression is caused by your genes, I’m less likely to blame you for it.

One of the most troubling findings in this new research is that, by several measures, stigma towards schizophrenia has actually gotten worse over the last 30 years, not better. This may be related to the greater acceptance of the medical paradigm.

Making Stigma Worse?

Research carried out last year, while confirming those main findings, raised new puzzles of its own. This research was led by sociologist Marta Elliott of the University of Nevada, Reno and published in August, 2023 in Psychiatric Services [1]. Elliott sought to better understand what happens when conditions like schizophrenia, depression, or addiction are presented as having a genetic, versus an environmental, cause. Her team also wanted to know what happens when we combine different sorts of explanations, such as biological and environmental ones.

As they put it, “to our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to manipulate multiple attributions and treatability and to test their independent and interactive effects on stigma with a large sample representative of the U.S. adult population.”

To this end, they recruited over 1,600 participants and presented various hypothetical scenarios to them (“vignettes”). In one vignette, a man consults a physician and is told his mental disorder is genetic. In another, he is told his mental disorder is caused by trauma. In yet another, he is told his mental disorder is caused by both genes and trauma.

The participants were then asked questions, such as how willing they would be to spend an evening socializing with the man or making friends with him.

Predictably, biological explanations increase the desire for social distance, regardless of which mental illness is in question. The desire for social distance was far stronger for schizophrenia and addiction than for depression.

New Puzzles

Elliott's research, however, raised two new puzzles. First, she found no negative impact on public stigma when mental illness was presented as caused by life trauma. If I see your depression as the result of, say, profound grief , I’m just as likely to want to socialize with you or be friends with you. Knowing that your mental health problems stem from negative life events seems to have a powerful humanizing influence on how people think about those who suffer from mental illnesses.

Second, when offered an explanation that combined life trauma with genetics , participants’ desire for social distance increased almost as much as it did when the biological account was presented alone. It’s as if the “genetic” part of the explanation cancels out the humanizing impact of the traumatic event.

It seems to me that one possible explanation for these findings is that if I see your mental illness as a meaningful response to the problems of life, I’m less likely to see it as defining your very identity .

The authors note that these results may have implications for how psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, as well as the media, discuss mental illness: “Portraying mental illness in exclusively genetic terms may perpetuate stigma, encourage discrimination , and harm the mental health of people living with psychiatric diagnoses.”

As psychologists Eleanor Longden and John Read put the point, when it comes to mental illness, it may be time to start seeing “ people with problems ” rather than “patients with illnesses.”

Elliott, M., Ragsdale, J. M., and LaMotte, M. E. 2024. Causal Explanations, Treatability, and Mental Illness Stigma: Experimental Study. Psychiatric Services 75: 131-138. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20230169

Justin Garson, Ph.D., is a philosopher and author of Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (Oxford, 2022) and The Biological Mind: A Philosophical Introduction, Second Edition (Routledge, 2022).

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‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’ tries to pinpoint our mental health crisis

Amanda montell casts a wide net in her new essay collection. maybe too wide..

Every generation has its own crisis, the linguist and podcaster Amanda Montell writes. In the 1960s and ’70s, young Americans organized against “physical tyrannies” such as voter suppression and workplace discrimination. But times have changed.

The 21st century brought a shift in our attention from external threats to internal ones, Montell says. Rates of anxiety and depression among U.S. teens and adults have spiked. Loneliness is a public health threat . We’re glued to our phones, alienated from loved ones and surrounded by misinformation.

People everywhere, Montell writes, are facing a crisis of the mind.

From this grim landscape emerges “ The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality ,” Montell’s third book and a sweeping look at mental health, behavioral science, misinformation and online culture in the 2020s. In it, she argues that the ills of the internet era are best explained by looking back on humanity’s history, when our minds developed shortcuts to improve our odds of survival. Those shortcuts are called cognitive biases, and they may lead us to do strange things like fall for a conspiracy theory or accept mental health advice from an untrained influencer .

Montell leads us through an engaging roundup of “21st century derangement,” from celebrity worship to tradwife discourse , examining how cognitive biases may contribute. But by positioning her work as a response to America’s broad struggle with mental health, Montell promises more than she delivers. Rather than focusing on a tour of our shared cognitive glitches, she juggles meta-commentary on such vast topics as the modern mind and the internet, dropping balls along the way.

The book opens with an account of Montell’s struggles with anxiety and overwhelm, as well as the steps she took to feel better. “My most cinematic attempt at mental rehab involved picking herbs on a farm in Sicily under a light-pollution-free sky,” she writes.

Eventually, she had an aha moment: The same cognitive biases she encountered while researching toxic social groups for her second book, “ Cultish ,” could explain why the internet age felt like a “mass head trip.” Glutted with more information in a day than we can ever hope to process, we fall back on mental habits developed when humans were simpler creatures, Montell writes. For example, social media celebrity worship could be fueled by the “halo effect,” where we assume a person with one good quality (writing hit pop songs) has other good qualities (a perfectly tuned moral compass). Or perhaps we spend hours comparing ourselves with other people on Instagram because the “zero-sum bias” has convinced us that life is a game of winners and losers.

Montell backs up her connections in many instances with nods to evolutionary biology. For early humans, it made sense to attach ourselves to the strongest and most powerful, so now we glom onto Taylor Swift or Charli XCX. Resources like mates and status were limited in ancient human communities, Montell notes, so it’s natural that we view hot people on Instagram as immediate threats to our survival.

Montell finds examples of cognitive bias in internet culture flash points, such as the millennial obsession with New Age therapy-speak. Faced with big problems, such as anxiety or depression, our minds seek big explanations, such as childhood trauma or a scarcity mind-set, rather than examining all the smaller problems at play.

In other spots, she shares stories from her own life. In her late 20s, she struggled to end an abusive relationship, terrified that giving up meant she’d wasted years of her life — a classic “sunk cost fallacy.” Humans are social creatures, Montell notes, afraid of inviting scrutiny by admitting mistakes.

“My hope is for these chapters to make some sense of the senseless,” Montell says early on. “To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in.” And indeed, in some moments, her sharp descriptions of behavioral foibles and her talent for cutting through doublespeak clear room for hope: Maybe noticing our warped thinking will make its effects less painful. Maybe our generational “crisis” is a story of not-enough-neurons encountering too-many-terabytes.

When confidence in Montell’s analysis wavers, it’s because the targets are too broad, the claims imprecise. For instance, we’re never quite sure of the shape of the national mental health crisis she repeatedly references. Early on, she draws a distinction between Americans’ current mental health struggles and 20th-century battles against bodily oppression. This neat separation doesn’t reflect reality — “The Age of Magical Overthinking” was published after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and during ongoing fights for voter access, health care and the right to protest. It also doesn’t reflect what science has shown about illnesses like depression, which are often tied up with a person’s physical and political well-being. Ultimately, we’re left with the sense that Montell’s crisis of the mind begins and ends with the vague feelings of anxiety and dread many people feel after scrolling on social media apps.

Montell implies that the breakdown of Americans’ mental health began after 2000, brought on by internet access and introspection. Conflating “the internet” with social media, she draws loose connections between online scrolling and mental turmoil, making no reference to the complicated science around how social media use affects our brains. Some studies have found bumps in anxiety and depression associated with social media use, but more recent meta-analyses call their methods and findings into question . To date, researchers have found no consistent causal link between spending time on social apps and experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Of course, future research may uncover new ways to measure how social media use or other online activities affect the mental health of different populations. Perhaps we should rely on a different measure altogether, like qualitative research into young people and their families. Rather than critique the existing science or offer an alternative lens, Montell picks two studies that support her thesis and hand-waves at the dire state of things.

Finally, although Montell says cognitive biases affect everyone, she aims her jabs at the safest of targets: “Disney adults,” “male girlbosses,” “Facebook-addicted Karens.” Readers hoping for fresh or counterintuitive takes on internet culture — and its heroes and villains — may walk away disappointed.

Montell says from the jump that her analysis of 2020s malaise is “not a system of thought,” likening her work instead to a Buddhist koan — meant to be pondered, not understood. That’s fine, and “The Age of Magical Overthinking” ultimately features interesting topics, fun research and vivid stories. But in Montell’s effort to critique the spirit of our times, she asks imprecise questions and offers unsatisfactory answers.

Tatum Hunter is a consumer technology reporter at The Washington Post based in San Francisco. Her work focuses on health, privacy and relationships in the internet era.

The Age of Magical Overthinking

Notes on Modern Irrationality

By Amanda Montell

Atria/One Signal. 272 pp. $28.

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• v.94(3); 2017 Jun

Sexual Identity, Stigma, and Depression: the Role of the “Anti-gay Propaganda Law” in Mental Health among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Moscow, Russia

Emily hylton.

1 Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Room E7141, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA

Andrea L. Wirtz

Carla e. zelaya, carl latkin.

2 Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA

Alena Peryshkina

3 AIDS Infoshare, Moscow, Russian Federation

Vladmir Mogilnyi

Petr dzhigun, irina kostetskaya.

4 Department of Statistics, The University of Haifa, Mt Carmel, Israel

Chris Beyrer

Associated data.

Depression is a major public health problem in the Russian Federation and is particularly of concern for men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM living in Moscow City were recruited via respondent-driven sampling and participated in a cross-sectional survey from October 2010 to April 2013. Multiple logistic regression models compared the relationship between sexual identity, recent stigma, and probable depression, defined as a score of ≥23 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. We investigated the interactive effect of stigma and participation in the study after the passage of multiple “anti-gay propaganda laws” in Russian provinces, municipalities, and in neighboring Ukraine on depression among MSM. Among 1367 MSM, 36.7% ( n  = 505) qualified as probably depressed. Fifty-five percent identified as homosexual ( n  = 741) and 42.9% identified as bisexual ( n  = 578). Bisexual identity had a protective association against probable depression (reference: homosexual identity AOR 0.71; 95%CI 0.52–0.97; p  < 0.01). Those who experienced recent stigma (last 12 months) were more likely to report probable depression (reference: no stigma; AOR 1.75; 95%CI 1.20–2.56; p  < 0.01). The interaction between stigma and the propaganda laws was significant. Among participants with stigma, probable depression increased 1.67-fold after the passage of the anti-gay laws AOR 1.67; 95%CI 1.04–2.68; p  < 0.01). Depressive symptoms are common among MSM in Russia and exacerbated by stigma and laws that deny homosexual identities. Repeal of Russia’s federal anti-gay propaganda law is urgent but other social interventions may address depression and stigma in the current context.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11524-017-0133-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction

Depression and other mental health disorders represent a large proportion of the global burden of disease and are the second leading cause of global disability [ 1 , 2 ]. In the Russian Federation, this trend is consistent, if not magnified, among men. Here, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in men residing in urban areas has been reported as high as 23% in 1999–2000, as defined by a score of ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale [ 3 ]. As of 2011, the suicide rate among Russian men was estimated at 35.1 per 100,000 persons—one of the highest in the world. [ 4 ] Global reports suggest that men who have sex with men (MSM) often have higher prevalence of depression than heterosexual men [ 5 ], and the little research that has been conducted in Russia on the topic suggests that such patterns may persist among MSM [ 6 ]. Analysis of HIV-infected MSM found that over one-third have reported symptomology indicative of probable depression and more than half of MSM in Moscow have reported hazardous or harmful levels of alcohol abuse that may be related to depression [ 7 ].

Across settings, research among MSM has shown that homophobia and social stigma may contribute to depression [ 8 ]. While less is known from the Russian Federation, research from similar epidemiologic settings in Central Asia has provided some insight, demonstrating that even where homosexuality has been decriminalized, stigmatization of homosexuality persists [ 9 ], and MSM who regularly practice the receptive role during anal intercourse experience increased levels of stigma [ 10 ]. Social stigma in Central Asia has been associated with reduced access to health and social services among MSM [ 9 , 11 ], including key HIV prevention and treatment services [ 9 ]. Depressive symptoms among MSM in Central Asia has been explained in part by high prevalence of community-level stigma [ 9 ]. Research from other countries with similar contexts in which homosexuality is decriminalized but where there is no legal protection for MSM against discrimination [ 12 ] have demonstrated the association between increased levels of perceived and experienced stigma and depression among MSM [ 13 , 14 ] and inconsistent use of condoms and depression among MSM [ 15 ]. Social support [ 16 ] and social cohesion [ 13 ] within the MSM community, however, appear to have a protective effect against depression among MSM in these countries.

Recent events within Russia provide context and rationale for understanding the factors associated with poor mental health outcomes among MSM. In June 2013, the Russian government issued the “anti-gay propaganda law,” a national ban on “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relations” that criminalized the sharing of information related to same sex practices. The law effectively legitimized public stigma and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT) in Russia [ 17 , 18 ]. This came on the heels of similar laws in the City of St. Petersburg (March 2012) that would fine individuals up to 500,000 rubles (approximately $17,000 USD) for spreading “homosexual propaganda,” as well as other related legislation in multiple oblasts (administrative divisions) across the Russian Federation, and a widely praised draft law in neighboring Ukraine (October 2012) that would impose up to 5 years imprisonment for spreading “propaganda of homosexuality [ 19 ].” While Russia’s national anti-gay propaganda law was not passed until 2013, the St. Petersburg, other provincial laws, and Ukraine bill (subsequently revoked in 2015 after the conclusion of this study) [ 20 ] received heavy media attention at the time, prompted considerable political and social discussion around the acceptance of homosexuality in Russia, and built substantial support for a possible federal law in Russia. Subsequently, a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013 found that nearly three in four Russians believed that society should not accept homosexuality [ 21 ]. Political analysts have since suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stance that homosexuality is a threat to Russian society [ 17 ] is part of a political narrative that deliberately links non-traditional sexualities to an imperialistic West [ 18 ]. Given related literature [ 22 ] and current events in Russia, this research sought to assess the level of depression among MSM in Moscow, Russia, explore the relationship between sexual identity and depressive symptoms among MSM in Russia, and explore the role of environmental changes in acceptance of homosexuality in the Russian Federation as it relates to depression.

The data for this analysis was gathered through a cross-sectional, NIH-funded study conducted in Moscow, Russia, between October 2010 and April 2013. The research was a collaborative effort conducted jointly by Johns Hopkins University and AIDS Infoshare, a local non-governmental organization that provides anonymous HIV testing and counseling and STI screening and treatment in an LGBT-friendly context in Moscow. All sampling, data collection, and biologic testing methods have been previously described [ 7 , 23 ].

Participants

Inclusion criteria required participants to be fluent in Russian, assigned male at birth, aged 18 years or older, currently reside in Moscow, report anal sex with a man in the past 12 months, and provide verbal informed consent. Participants were recruited via respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a chain recruitment method that is used to reach hidden or hard-to-reach populations [ 24 ]. Participants were provided 1000 rubles (approximately $40 USD) as reimbursement for their participation in the study and 500 rubles ($20 USD) for each peer recruited into the study. Thirty-one waves of recruitment produced a sample of 1367 participants for the analysis [ 23 ].

Informed by formative research [ 25 ], cognitive testing [ 26 ], and pilot testing methods, the structured survey was designed to gather information on sociodemographic characteristics, sexual practices and identity, substance use, experienced and perceived stigma, and mental health symptoms. Depression symptoms were the outcome of interest and sexual identity, stigma, and other known correlates [ 13 , 15 , 27 – 30 ] of depression were covariates of interest for this analysis. Measures of sexual identity and practices were adapted from the US CDC’s National Health Behavior Survey [ 31 ] and included questions about sexual identity (“heterosexual,” “homosexual,” “bisexual,” or “other”) and about the sex of the respondent’s sexual partners in the last 12 months (male or female).

The CES-D scale [ 32 ] was used as a screening tool for current (past 7 days) depressive symptomology (Cronbach’s α 0.889). The CES-D score was stratified into three categories: “unlikely to be depressed” (CES-D <16), “possibly depressed” (CES-D 16–22), and “probably depressed” (CES-D ≥23) [ 32 ]. Given that 36.7% endorsed a score of probably depressed ( n  = 505) and 11% of the sample scored in the possibly depressed range ( n  = 121), coupled with our interest in understanding the factors that were correlated with greater probability of depression [ 33 ], scores were transformed to a binary variable: “unlikely or possibly depressed” (CES-D <23) and probably depressed (CES-D ≥23).

A five-item scale was used to identify recent (last 12 months) experienced stigma (Cronbach’s α 0.713). This was a subscale of a larger stigma scale that had been developed from qualitative research [ 25 ], underwent cognitive testing [ 26 ] among MSM participants for further refinement, and were reviewed by MSM participants to assess face validity. The experienced stigma subscale included experience of public mocking, poor treatment by family members, experience of physical assault, being forced to move accommodation, and experiencing poor treatment within healthcare facilities due to sexual preferences. A positive indication for any one of these five variables was defined as a recent experience of stigma. The alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT), a validated scale in Russia, was included in the survey for identification of alcohol use in the last 12 months (Cronbach’s α = 0.80) [ 34 ]. AUDIT scores were stratified into three groups: a score <8 representing abstinence or low use, 8–15 “hazardous use,” and ≥16 “harmful use,” including those with potential alcohol dependency (score of 20 or higher), according to WHO categories [ 35 ].

Statistical Analysis

Survey data were analyzed using the STATA version 14 statistical software (Stata Corporation, College Station, USA). Depression, measured by the CES-D score, was the primary outcome of interest. Descriptive analysis was performed using Pearson’s chi-squared test. Sensitivity analyses were performed first using binary logistic analysis with unlikely to be depressed and a combined “possibly or probably depressed” and then using ordered logistic analysis with all three categories. A final sensitivity analysis was performed to test whether the model results changed with the inclusion of bisexual behavior (reporting both male and female sex partners) in place of bisexual identity.

Data collected via RDS recruitment are often weighted during statistical analysis to provide population prevalence estimates. Population estimates for the population characteristics and depression were calculated using the RDS-II estimator (Volz-Heckathorn) and bootstrapping with 1000 iterations to produce 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) [ 36 ]. Both crude sample proportions and RDS-weighted population prevalence estimates are provided in Appendix .

On exploratory analysis, the linear relationship between CES-D scores and time in which participants were surveyed was evaluated given increasing homophobia and the ultimate passage of the propaganda law. This relationship was significant, thus, we included the date of when participants completed the survey as a covariate in the model. This was transformed to a binary variable with March 7, 2012 as a breakpoint: the date in which the governor of St. Petersburg signed a law banning the sharing of homosexual propaganda [ 37 ]. While our study took place in Moscow City, political and media attention to the St. Petersburg law created an atmosphere of increased violence and discrimination against the LGBT population across Russia. The category for participation in the survey after the passage of the law is also inclusive of other key time periods that signify the deteriorating climate for LGBT populations, including the passage of the draft Ukraine law that received wide support and discussion in Russia (October 2012) and the date when the anti-gay propaganda law was introduced to the Russian Parliament (January 2013) [ 38 ]. Our model tests for an increase in the odds of probable depressive symptoms before and after the St. Petersburg law as a binary variable and as an interaction term with experienced stigma.

Variables known to be associated with depression symptoms (income, sexual identity, experience of stigma, social connectedness, alcohol use) [ 13 , 15 , 27 – 30 ] or with a p value of p  < 0.10 in bivariate analysis were included in the multivariable model. The Furnival-Wilson leaps-and-bounds algorithm was used to perform variable selection on a wide array of models with depression as the outcome of interest and socioeconomic, demographic, experiential, and behavioral factors as predictor variables. Akaike’s information criteria were used to select the best model, and multiple logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for the variables in the selected model. Collinearity for the model was checked using variance inflation factors (VIFs). While the VIF for the interaction between survey date and experience of stigma was 2.88, all other VIFs were well under 2.0, indicating that collinearity is not of concern. Pearson’s goodness-of-fit test was used to check model fit.

Ethical Review

The study was approved by both the Ethics Committee of the State Medical University, IP Pavlov, St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board, Baltimore, Maryland.

A total of 1376 MSM with a median age of 30 years [IQR 24–36] were enrolled in the study, 85.7% of whom were born within Russia. Over half (55%) identified as homosexual, 42.9% identified as bisexual, and 2.1% identified as other sexual identities, including heterosexual. By contrast, 64.6% reported only male sexual partners, while 35.4% reported both male and female partners in the last 12 months. Thirty-six percent reported experiencing stigma due to their sexual preferences. Over one-third (36.7%) qualified as probably depressed ( n  = 505), 11% as possibly depressed ( n  = 151), and 52.3% unlikely to be depressed according to the CES-D ( n  = 720).

Table ​ Table1 1 presents the participant demographic and behavioral characteristics stratified by depression symptomatology. Appendix Table 1 presents the RDS-weighted estimates stratified by depression symptomatology. Those with symptoms indicating probable depression (CESD ≥23) were more likely to have full-time employment (59.7%) than those with symptoms indicating unlikely or possible depression (CESD <23; 51.4%, p  = 0.03). MSM in the probable depression group were more likely to identify as homosexual (64.7% vs. 49.5, p  < 0.001) and less likely to report feeling comfortable with their sexual orientation (86.5 vs. 93.2%; p value <0.001) than those in the unlikely/possible depression group. Those with probable depression scores reported higher levels of experienced stigma (62.7 vs. 39.4%; p value <0.001) than those who were possibly/unlikely depressed. A larger proportion of those with probable depression had been detained in jail or prison (8.6%) than those with unlikely/possible depression (4.6%; p value <0.01). A greater proportion of those in the group with probable depression participated in the survey after the “propaganda law” was signed into law in St. Petersburg (61.4%) compared to those in the unlikely/possibly depressed group (48.7%; p value <0.001).

Demographic and behavioral characteristics of MSM in Moscow, Russia, by depression symptomatology from 2010 to 13 ( N  = 1376)

Table ​ Table2 2 displays the bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses of sexual identity, stigma, passage of the anti-gay propaganda laws, and other correlates with probable depression. After controlling for other confounders, the odds of probable depression was 29% lower among those identifying as bisexual (AOR 0.71 95%CI 0.52–0.97; p  = 0.03) as compared to those reporting homosexual identity. The adjusted odds of depression was nearly twice as high for those who reported experiencing stigma in the last 12 months (ref: little/no stigma; AOR 1.75; 95%CI 1.20–2.56; p  < 0.01). Those who reported discomfort with their sexual identity had almost sixfold increased odds of depression relative to those who reported feeling comfortable with their sexual identity (AOR 5.85; 95%CI 2.71–12.64; p  < 0.001). A history of jail or detention was associated with a nearly twofold increased odds of probable depression (AOR 1.78; 95%CI 1.00–3.17; p  = 0.05) compared to those who did not have a history of detention. Probable depression was also 35% lower for those with five or more sexual partners in the last 6 months (ref: ≤1 partner; AOR 0.54; 95%CI 0.37–0.81; p  < 0.01).

Crude and adjusted relative odds of depression ( N  = 1376)

a Adjusted model includes income, marriage to a woman, sexual identity, comfort with sexual preference, number of sexual partners, experience of stigma, social connectedness to gay space, alcohol use, history of detention in jail or prison, date of taking survey, and time-stigma interaction

Prior to including the interaction between time and experienced stigma in the multivariable model, the adjusted odds of depression for those who were surveyed after the signing of the St. Petersburg propaganda law was 1.5-fold greater than that of participants who were surveyed before the approval of the law (AOR 1.65, 95%CI 1.23–2.22; p  = 0.001). After including the interaction between time and experience of stigma in the final model, the adjusted odds of depression associated with the survey date was no longer significant (AOR 1.34, 95%CI 0.95–1.91; p  = 0.10). The interaction itself, however, was significant, and computed estimates for the combination with the interaction were highly significant. In this case, among people with experienced stigma, depression increased twofold after the passage of the St. Petersburg law (ref: participation prior to the law; AOR 2.24; 95%CI 1.49–3.39; p  < 0.001). Finally, in the period after the law was passed, the odds of probable depression among people with experienced stigma were almost threefold that of those without experienced stigma (AOR 2.92; 95%CI 2.02–4.24; p  < 0.001).

A sensitivity analysis was performed with the same multivariable model but including the variable measuring behavioral bisexuality in terms of the gender of reported sex partners in the last 12 months (in lieu of bisexual identity). Here, the association became stronger as the adjusted odds ratio dropped from 0.71 (95%CI 0.52–0.97, p  = 0.03) in the previous model to 0.58 (95%CI 0.42–0.81; p  < 0.01).

Depression is common in the Russian Federation, and particularly so for MSM. Over a third of MSM in this sample qualified with “probable depression” according to the CES-D scale, and nearly half scored high enough to qualify as at least “possibly depressed.” These estimates for MSM in Russia exceed the general estimates of 23% for possible depression (CES-D cutoff of 16) in men in urban areas of Russia [ 3 ]. While methodological differences and temporal effects may play a role, differences may also be explained, in part, by the high prevalence of experienced stigma and its strong relationship with depressive symptoms.

Evidence has shown that sexual identity may be a correlate of depression and other mental health outcomes. In this study, bisexual identity appears to provide a protective effect against depression among MSM in Russia. Discomfort with sexual identity was also strongly associated with depressive symptoms. The protective relationship between bisexual identity and depression contradicts the general body of research, which predominantly originates from the USA, that has demonstrated increased risk for poor mental health outcomes with bisexual identity and similarly high risk for poor social wellbeing compared to those who identify as homosexual or heterosexual [ 22 ].

One reason for this surprising discrepancy may be the context of increasing and state-sanctioned homophobia in Russia. In a country that has criminalized information related to same sex behaviors, and ultimately criminalized LGBT visibility, the political and social environment has become increasingly hostile towards MSM. The discourse around the anti-gay movement has promoted traditional morals, masculinity, and traditional sexual relations and has been associated with increased violence towards LGBT populations and may decrease individual comfort with one’s sexual identity [ 18 ]. It is possible that endorsing a level of opposite-sex attraction in addition to same-sex attraction allows a degree of psychological refuge from feelings of exclusion, self-stigma, and experiences of violence. Discomfort with sexual identity may further be measuring underlying, internalized homophobia, which has demonstrated significant impact on mental health, including anxiety and depression [ 39 ].

The experience of detention in jail or prison also had a strong relationship with depressive symptoms. While we did not collect information about the reason for imprisonment, it would be interesting to know if sexual identity played either a real or perceived role in the justification for imprisonment.

Several factors limit the inferences of this study. The study was cross-sectional, limiting our ability to determine the temporal relationship between sexual identity and depression and prevents causal association. However, the use of recall periods for experiences of stigma (past 12 months) and depression (past 7 days) allows some interpretation of temporality. We utilized a tool to measure depression symptoms rather than depression diagnosed by a mental health professional, which may potentially misclassify participants; however, the CES-D has been well-established and validated in the Russian context. Enrollment and testing methods, criteria for study inclusion, and financial incentives may have influenced our sample. It is also possible that RDS did not reach particular subgroups within the MSM community. However, this study is unusual in its success of recruiting a large number of MSM (31 waves and over 1300 MSM) in a highly stigmatized setting. Despite potential limitations, RDS seems to have been one of the most productive pathways of recruiting MSM in this context [ 23 ].

Our results show that homosexual identity, experience of stigma, and experience of imprisonment are all associated with depressive symptoms in MSM in Russia. The passing of anti-gay propaganda laws in the region in 2012 and in the Russian Federation in 2013 [ 40 ], which effectively criminalizes information related to homosexual and bisexual identity, further modifies the relationship between stigma and depression among MSM. Because social support has been shown to be protective against depression in MSM in this context [ 41 ], interventions that build social support in the MSM community in Russia and enable access to non-stigmatizing mental health services may help to combat the negative effects of stigma and help protect against depression in this population.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(DOCX 35 kb)

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank SANAM clinic and Tatiana Bondarenko for insight, support, and use of the SANAM clinic for conduct of qualitative research and the Be Safe study. We appreciate the efforts put forth by Irina Deobald and Konstantin Dyakonov in the formative phases of this project. We are deeply thankful to the participants who contributed their time and personal experiences to this study.

Authors’ Contributions

CB, ALW, CEZ, NG, VM, AP, and CL collaborated in the design and oversight of the overall study. PD and KI collected data. EH conducted data analysis. ALW reviewed and provided input to the statistical analysis. EH and ALW wrote the initial drafts of this manuscript. All authors had full access to the data, reviewed and edited the manuscript, and all take responsibility for its integrity as well as the accuracy of the analysis.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Funding for this study came from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH R01 MH085574-01A2) “High Risk Men: Identity, Health Risks, HIV and Stigma” funded from 2009 to 2014. Drs. Wirtz, Latkin, Galai, and Beyrer are also supported by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research (P30AI094189).

Vol 5, No 1 (2024)

• By Sections

Celebrating a Storied History: Moscow Preobrazhenskaya Mental Hospital Marks its 245 th Anniversary

• Authors: Burygina L.A. 1 , Golubev S.A. 1 , Filipchenko O.V. 1
• Mental-health Clinic No. 4 named after P. B. Gannushkin
• Issue: Vol 4, No 1 (2023)
• Pages: 64-72
• Section: INFORMATION
• URL: https://consortium-psy.com/jour/article/view/3704
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/CP3704

About the authors

Supplementary files.

In 2022, Mental-health Clinic No. 4 named after P. B. Gannushkin, one of the oldest mental health institutions in Russia known as Preobrazhenskaya Hospital before the October Revolution of 1917, celebrated its 245 th anniversary. The history of the hospital reflects all stages of the evolution of the basic principles and aspects of mental health care in Russia. On many occasions, the institution served as a platform for eminent researchers and clinicians to achieve scientific breakthroughs and their application in practice. This article is a review of the major milestones in the history of the hospital. It highlights the great achievements of its psychiatrists and presents some previously unpublished archival documents that offer a new perspective on the history of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital.

INTRODUCTION

In 2022, Mental-health Clinic No. 4 named after P. B. Gannushkin, one of the oldest mental health institutions in Russia known as Preobrazhenskaya Hospital before the October Revolution, celebrated its 245 th anniversary. This represents the number of years since Catherine the Great signed a decree establishing the Moscow House of Invalids, where several dozen beds were set aside for the mentally ill. The document, issued in 1777 [ 1 ], laid the foundation not only for Moscow’s first specialized institution that could accommodate patients with mental disorders, but also, without exaggeration, for the entire field of Russian psychiatry.

The implementation of the Pinel reform in Russia, the introduction of the concept of “moral treatment”, the first scientific conferences and open clinical discussions, all these stages in the evolution of the basic principles and aspects of mental health care have found their reflection in the history of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital over the past 245 years. This is why Vasily Gilyarovsky poetically referred to the Hospital as “the cradle of Russian psychiatry” [ 2 ].

Each page in the history of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital is not only an impressive list of achievements and innovations, but also a unique gallery of distinguished names [ 3–7 ]. It served as a basis for the greatest medical luminaries of the time, such as V. F. Sabler, V. R. Butzke, V. A. Gilyarovsky, N. N. Bazhenov, A. V. Snezhnevsky, D. E. Melekhov, T. I. Yudin, S. G. Zhislin, and G. Y. Avrutsky, from which to make their scientific discoveries and validate them in practice; this was also the place where such luminaries of Russian psychiatry as S. S. Korsakov, A. U. Frese, E. K. Krasnushkin, P. E. Snesarev, A. S. Tiganov, and I. Y. Gurovich, and many others, began their medical careers.

It is a well-known and undisputed fact that Preobrazhenskaya Hospital was the first (and almost only one until the end of the 19 th century) psychiatric hospital to appear in Moscow. But historians and researchers in psychiatry have spent more than 100 years trying to dig up documents that could allow them to determine the exact year of its founding.

Starting in the second half of the 19 th century, the question has frustrated many eminent physicians of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital, including S. I. Steinberg [ 8 ], I. V. Konstantinovsky [ 9 ], N. N. Bazhenov [ 10 ], M. A. Dzhagarov [ 11 ], and A. B. Alexandrovsky [ 12 ]. Their work can now help us to form a fairly comprehensive view of how the State and society gradually, step by step, developed an awareness of what such an independent institution as a psychiatric hospital was all about. They painstakingly assembled scattered documents and facts to finally pinpoint with certainty the day it all began and the events that could be considered key milestones in the hospital’s history.

FROM FIRST MENTIONS TO 19th CENTURY REFORM

The first building that hosted Preobrazhenskaya Hospital, originally known as Moscow Dolgauz, opened its doors on June 15, 1808. In the 20 th century, it became routine to trace all anniversaries of the institution back to that date. But is that right? Could the mere fact that the hospital acquired its own building be considered the seminal event of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital in Moscow?

On July 13, 1777, Catherine the Great signed a decree mandating the opening of the House of Invalids in Moscow, with one of its “wards” dedicated to the care of the mentally ill. This is the date that, 100 years later, the doctors at Preobrazhenskaya Hospital referred to as the starting point in the history of their institution [ 8 ]. One of their main arguments was the fact that, on May 17, 1792, Catherine the Great issued a decree [ 1 ] establishing for the first time the position of Special Doctor at the mental health hospital. Hence, this decree confirms that this type of social institution for people with mental disorders already existed in 1792.

According to the decree signed by Catherine the Great, the primary role in the observation of patients was assigned to the warden, who was in charge not only of the guards (retired soldiers), but also of the doctor responsible for the professional supervision of patients. In reality, however, the staff physician had to juggle work at the mental health hospital with his duties in the nursing home, the hospice, and the almshouse. As a result, his attention was limited to those patients who had a chance of recovery [ 13 ].

When assessing the efforts of the first doctors at the mental health hospital, such as F. Raschke, then C. Pouliard, A. Blimmer, J. Karas (and all this happened long before the hospital had its own building), N. N. Bazhenov wrote in his book about Preobrazhenskaya Hospital: “It is important to note that even then there was a firm belief that the insane person was a patient, with all that such a conclusion entailed, including examination by a physician, admission to the mental health hospital for treatment (no matter how crude and primitive that treatment might have been), and finally discharge when the physician was satisfied that the goal of admission (a cure) had been achieved” [ 10 ].

Other doctors at Preobrazhenskaya Hospital also left their mark in the history of Russian psychiatry of the 19 th century. For example, Zinovy Ivanovich Kibalchich, Chief Doctor of the hospital in 1811–1828, left us a documented description of the prevailing realities in a mental hospital at the beginning of the 19 th century. In his 1821 article “Report on the House of the Insane in Moscow and the Methods of Treatment Used There” published in the Journal of the Imperial Philanthropic Society (issue No. 11, 1821), he not only described in detail Moscow Dolgauz and the methods of treatment used there, but he was also one of the first to point out the existence of mental disorders that are now referred to as “borderline conditions” [ 14 ].

Vasily Fedorovich Sabler, chief doctor of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital in 1828–1871, was a true “revolutionary” in the early history of psychiatric care in Russia (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Vasily Fedorovich Sabler (1797–1877) — chief doctor of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital in 1828–1871.

A brilliant clinician and talented scientist, V. F. Sabler provided evidence for the nosological independence of progressive paralysis, described its accompanying mental and neurological disorders, and developed humanistic principles of individual approach to patients. He was one of the first to hypothesize that some forms of illness can evolve into others, and that severe somatic illness accompanied by high body temperature (fever) can contribute to the cure of psychosis.

In the history of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital, V. F. Sabler played an equally prominent role as an outstanding manager. With a radical reform of the hospital’s management system, he ensured that the Chief Doctor would become the actual head of the institution. He supervised all areas of the hospital’s activities and prepared reports on the clinic that were published in the press (including in Europe).

This administrative reform marked a dramatic shift in attitudes toward the mentally ill. V. F. Sabler was greatly influenced by Philippe Pinel’s concept, which led him to completely overhaul the patient management system, finally replacing the chains used on violent patients with straitjackets and restraint chairs with straps.

It was the first instance when treatment was given priority over charity. This included the first patient histories (known as “case sheets”, see Figure S1 in the Supplementary) and prescription books. Depending on the course of their disease, patients were categorized as acute or chronic and treated using a different therapeutic approaches.

The new emphasis was not only on the medical observation of the patients, but also on their moral challenges and re-education. Patients were no longer seen as “dangerous madmen” but as “unreasonable children” who needed proper care and exercise. That is why occupational therapy was considered so important. According to the instruction “On the Exercises for the Sick People Placed at the Mental Health Hospital” published in 1834, each patient was assigned a strictly individual occupation. It was then that Preobrazhenskaya Hospital established a sewing shop, a tailor’s shop, a shoemaker’s shop, a dyer’s shop, a paint shop, a plasterer’s shop, and a vegetable garden. The women could also knit socks and embroider canvas.

V. F. Sabler initiated the effort to draft legislation on the mentally ill, which provided the impetus to address a long overdue problem in the patient examination process. For centuries, medical matters had been handled by officials with no expertise in diagnosing mental illness, and during the reign of Nicholas I, the authorities began committing patients to institutions “pending further orders” rather than “pending recovery”, as had always been the case. It was not until February 18, 1835, that a decree was issued establishing a procedure for forensic psychiatric examination that required convincing evidence of mental illness from credible medical experts.

In 1841, the so-called “special patient examination procedure” was introduced and implemented for the first time at Preobrazhenskaya Hospital. If in St. Petersburg the “lunatics” continued to be transported to the Provincial Board, in Moscow the “subjects” were now sent to Preobrazhenskaya Hospital for “expert examination” and placed in a ward specially purposed for such subjects in a section of St. Catherine’s Almshouse. Membership in the Patient Examination Committee was also established at that time and did not change until 1917. It included the hospital doctor, his/her assistant, the provincial marshal of the nobility, the chief of the district police or the head of the city. Patients were discharged only after a new examination, which could take place at the end of a two-year “observation” period, and this period could be shortened only by special decision of the Senate.

The hospital owes both its name, Preobrazhenskaya, and the confirmation of its new official status as a medical institution to V. F. Sabler. It was he who on May 31, 1838, petitioned Emperor Nicholas I to sign a decree renaming the Moscow Dolgauz as the Preobrazhenskaya Mental Hospital.

Assessing the changes that took place in the hospital during the first hundred years of its existence, historians of psychiatry are quite right to note that as early as the middle of the 19 th century Preobrazhenskaya Hospital had made the transition from a “charity house” to an in-patient psychiatric institution and had evolved into “the center of not only practical but also scientific psychiatry, which became the tradition of the Moscow psychiatric school, distinguishing it from the St. Petersburg psychiatric school” [ 7 ].

These changes, most of which were introduced during V. F. Sabler’s leadership, allowed Samuil Ivanovich Shteinberg (the hospital’s chief doctor in 1872–1877) to begin work on the institution’s first collection of scientific papers in the run-up to the centennial of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital in 1877. The preserved documents (“Preobrazhenskaya Hospital Office File on the Centennial Anniversary...”) show that the preparations for this anniversary had begun well in advance. As early as in February 1876, the chief physician, S. I. Shteinberg, wrote a letter to the trustees of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital with a detailed plan of the celebration. A circular letter was sent to the staff instructing S. S. Korsakov, N. I. Derzhavin, and V. R. Butzke to begin preparing articles identifying the major milestones in the history and development of the hospital (Figure S2 in the Supplementary).

In the 1870s and 1880s, the hospital attracted a cadre of brilliant and exceptionally gifted young physicians who introduced the most advanced methods of patient care into existing medical practice. First of all, this applies to Sergey Sergeyevich Korsakov, the founder of the nosological branch of psychiatry, the creator of the Moscow scientific school and the author of a classic course in psychiatry [ 4 , 5 ]. His name is closely connected with the history of the “therapeutic revolution” at Preobrazhenskaya Hospital. The energy and reputation of S. S. Korsakov helped to complete and irretrievably establish “moral treatment” at the hospital and the “open door” policy (from 1889), followed by out-of-hospital care, which radically changed the entire approach to patients.

20 th CENTURY: TRANSFORMATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Looking back, it is impossible to ignore one obvious fact: almost all the chief doctors of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital in the period before the Russian Revolution of 1917 acted as reformers of the entire Russian psychiatric care system. An honorable place in this gallery of illustrious figures is occupied by Nikolai Nikolaevich Bazhenov, chief doctor of the hospital in 1904–1917 (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Nikolai Nikolaevich Bazhenov (1857–1923) — chief doctor of the hospital in 1904–1917.

Preobrazhenskaya Hospital owes its vast expansion and the introduction of the then — revolutionary system of “advanced care” to this fascinating figure of Russian psychiatry, outstanding clinician, ingenious manager, and respected teacher.

In the new “advanced care” system, the uneducated wardens and nannies were replaced by young medical interns and sisters of mercy. The doors to the wards were unlocked, the bars on the windows were replaced with tempered glass, and the straitjackets were displayed as museum pieces [ 15–17 ]. To ensure that patients were under continuous and competent supervision, the interns were required to live in the hospital, rotate on round-the-clock duty, welcome new admissions, and complete patient histories and observation diaries. All direct patient care was assigned to mid-level medical staff. Thirty-two sisters of mercy washed and fed the patients, gave them baths, accompanied them on walks, etc. Each ward had a head nurse who distributed medications, served lunch and dinner, was in charge of laundry, and performed other household duties. Nannies and servants were assigned only janitorial duties. In the spirit of those times, the hospital widely applied a system of moral influence, a prototype of today’s psychosocial therapy that included respectful treatment and support of patients, their socialization, and involvement in various activities.

At the beginning of the 20 th century, with N. N. Bazhenov’s contribution, the hospital was transformed into a research and treatment institution, which became a center of advanced psychiatric knowledge. The scope of N. N. Bazhenov’s innovations is quite impressive: in just a few years the clinic, where at the turn of the century treatment of patients resembled more that in a prison than in a medical institution, was transformed into a modern hospital, on par with the best that Europe could offer [ 15–17 ].

Preobrazhenskaya Hospital was also the place where the Law on the Mentally Ill, a revolutionary act for its time, was proposed 80 years before the adoption of the Russian Federal Law on Psychiatric Care in 1992. The legal principles outlined by N. N. Bazhenov at the first congress of the Russian Union of Neuropathologists and Psychiatrists in 1911 are still relevant today:

“The following issues need to be brought to the forefront of mental health care and legislated:

a) The principle of extending state care to all mentally ill people in the country, and specifying the measures to implement this task and the central and local authorities responsible for these tasks.

b) Conditions for allowing treatment at home in the patient’s own family.

c) Sufficient safeguards must be in place to ensure that the principles of inviolability of the person and individual liberty can only be violated when the mental illness of the person in question makes this imperative” [ 18 ].

N. Bazhenov is also connected with the first commemoration of the foundation of the hospital celebrated in the 20 th century. In December 1909 the 100 th anniversary of the opening of the first building hosting Preobrazhenskaya Hospital on Matrosskaya Tishina Street was commemorated in gushing but solemn fashion, with the participation of the general public.

By that time the clinic had already received a plot of 11 dessiatins of land with the two and three-story buildings of the former Kotov factory (known as “Kotov’s Half”) (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Kotov factory. Photo of the beginning of the 20 th century.

The factory buildings were refurbished, and a dormitory for the staff was equipped with ventilation, plumbing, and even central heating, which allowed N. N. Bazhenov to write proudly that “now Preobrazhenskaya Hospital has such premises for the staff that few Russian or even Western European hospital institutions can boast of” [ 10 ].

However, the problem of overcrowding could be solved only by the construction of new buildings on Kotov’s Half, which required additional funds. So, N. N. Bazhenov decided to organize a gala evening for the city’s dignitaries on the former Kotov estate.

The day of the anniversary celebration was packed with events, including a solemn liturgy and breakfast for 300 guests; in the afternoon, there was a large concert by professional musicians from Moscow; a festive tea ceremony for patients, distribution of anniversary souvenirs, such as cups with the hospital insignia; and in the evening a banquet for 200 guests was held at the Kotov’s cottage located in a picturesque setting on the border of the Preobrazhenskaya and Sokolnicheskaya groves.

In addition to the concert, the highlight of the “cultural program” was the exhibition, for which N. N. Bazhenov selected not only everyday objects from psychiatric hospitals of different centuries (straitjacket, restraint chair, and “case sheets”), but also the creative works of patients (paintings and caricatures, wood and paper crafts, embroidery, and knitting). The models of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital and the Eiffel Tower were particularly popular with the public, because of their size and resemblance to the originals.

In addition to the gala dinner, the guests were treated to a theatrical performance, which included an act from the play “The Marriage of Krechinsky”, with a reference to Preobrazhenskaya Hospital, and, at the end of the evening, fireworks from an area near the buildings in Kotov’s Half — N. N. Bazhenov did not miss a single opportunity to draw the attention of the patrons and city authorities to the matter of financing the future construction. In 1910–1914, his work culminated in the successful completion of three new buildings and repairs to the old factory facilities on Kotov’s Half.

But let’s take a closer look at the year of this anniversary: Why was it celebrated in 1909? For a long time, 1809 was mistakenly considered the year in which the first specialized hospital for the mentally ill was opened. It was mentioned both in the Historical Essay on the Imperial St. Catherine’s Almshouse by V. Molnar [ 13 ] and in the Historical Essay on Preobrazhenskaya Hospital by I. V. Konstantinovsky [ 9 ]. For this reason, the anniversary was celebrated in 1909 and the following plaque was installed on the facade of the building: “1809–1909: To the centenary of the Preobrazhenskaya Mental Hospital, the first in Moscow designed specifically for psychiatric purposes”.

Only later, while working on the manuscript of his book “The Moscow Dolgauz” or “Essays on the History of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital” did N. N. Bazhenov study the documents in the hospital archives and found out that the new mental health hospital in Preobrazhenskoye was opened earlier, in June 1808, when 53 patients from the house of the former Secret Expedition were transferred to the building on Matrosskaya Tishina 1 [ 10 ].

By the beginning of the 20 th century, the records had cemented all three major milestones in the history of the establishment of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital: 1777, 1808, and 1838. One might think that this would have settled the question of the first dates for future celebrations once and for all.

However, the revolution of 1917 and the subsequent division of the hospitals sowed confusion into the “question of anniversaries”. In the spirit of Soviet traditions, Preobrazhenskaya Hospital was stripped of its former name in 1920 and became Moscow City Hospital No. 1. What’s more, in 1931, it was divided into two independent medical institutions with different goals and missions. The hospitals kept changing names, numbers, internal organizational structure, and overall scope of activities, and only relatively recently, in 2017, did the two hospitals return to their historical roots by merging under the name of P.B. Gannushkin Mental-health Clinic No. 4 (Figure 4).

Figure 4. The history of the renaming of the hospital in the 20 th century.

Over the next 100 years, Kotov’s half of Preobrazhenskaya Hospital acquired a different, but equally illustrious, name — Gannushkin Hospital. In the second half of the 20 th century, it maintained its position as an advanced center of research and practice, with many pioneering milestones in the history of Russian psychiatry:

– It developed the system of maintenance therapy, which is so important in preventing relapses.

– For the first time in the USSR, it began to use insulin shock therapy (under the direction of M. Y. Sereisky), as well as electroconvulsive therapy (with the contribution of G. A. Rotshtein).

– It also marked the beginning of the “psychopharmacological treatment era in psychiatry” with the trials of many medications that were subsequently integrated into mainstream clinical practice.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Reflecting on the title of this article, “Celebrating a Storied History”, one may note that in 2022 the institution historically known as Preobrazhenskaya Hospital will celebrate its anniversary for the first time in more than a century since that memorable evening organized by N. N. Bazhenov at the former Kotov estate. How does Gannushkin Hospital, the illustrious heir to the great traditions established by Preobrazhenskaya Hospital, look at the new generation in the year of its 245 th anniversary?

More recently, just 3–4 years ago, it got a facelift after extensive repair and construction work to restore the buildings dating back to the early 20 th century. Most importantly, the reorganization allowed for more streamlined psychiatric care, created a common information space, rationalized territorial localization, and brought patient treatment and routing patterns into a consolidated format.

With four specialized clinics in operation since 2020, the hospital now has several new structural units, including a clinic for affective and suicidal disorders, a clinic for borderline conditions, a clinic for first psychotic episodes, a clinic for pharmacoresistant conditions, and a clinic for mental disorders that are compounded by substance abuse. The Mental Health Counseling Center, opened in 2021, provides outpatient care for individuals suffering from various mental disorders including somatoform, stress-related, and neurotic disorders.

Today Gannushkin Hospital boasts a center for complex diagnostics, a clinical and diagnostic department with specialized clinics (such as dentistry, ophthalmology, gynecology, ENT, ultrasound), an anesthesiology and intensive care unit, a clinical and diagnostic laboratory, a psychological and psychotherapeutic center, a social and legal assistance center, as well as a physiotherapy department (including a transcranial magnetic stimulation room and xenon therapy room), pharmacy, X-ray rooms, and a physiotherapy room.

At the moment, the hospital has 9 outpatient branches known as Psychoneurological Dispensaries (PNDs), some of which have a history spanning more than 100 years. 2 Three Memory Clinics were founded on the basis of PND. These medical and rehabilitation units are designed to help elderly patients with early signs of dementia and mild cognitive decline.

The staff of the oldest psychiatric hospital in Moscow has carefully passed down to younger generations traditions that combine the utmost sense of humanity and the highest level of professionalism in helping patients with mental disorders. These traditions are the cornerstone that enables the team at Mental-health Clinic No. 4 named after P. B. Gannushkin to live its mission every day by providing personalized and comprehensive mental health care based on the principles of partnership and trust, with the aim of restoring and maintaining a high quality of life for its patients.

Authors’ contribution: All the authors made a significant contribution to the article.

Funding: The research was carried out without additional funding.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary data

Supplementary material related to this article can be found in the online version at doi: 10.17816/CP3704

1 The house on Myasnitskaya Street, formerly owned by the Secret Expedition, was transferred to the Public Charity Office in the early 19 th century. This is where the patients of the House of Invalids and the Madhouse were accommodated in 1801.

2 PND No. 8, for example, was founded in 1919 and made psychiatric history as the prototype of the emerging district-level psychiatric care in Soviet Russia.

Larisa A. Burygina

Cand. Sci (Med.), Director

Sergey A. Golubev

Dr. Sci (Med.) , Deputy Medical Director

Oksana V. Filipchenko

Cand. Arts, Head of Information and Analysis Department

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Novel study quantifies immense economic costs of mental illness in the u.s..

(Illustration by Michael S. Helfenbein)

Mental illness costs the U.S. economy $282 billion annually, which is equivalent to the average economic recession, according to a new study co-authored by Yale economist Aleh Tsyvinski .

The first-of-its-kind study integrates psychiatric scholarship with economic modeling to better understand the macroeconomic effects of mental illness in the United States.

The study was prepared as a working paper of the National Bureau of Research, a private nonprofit U.S. organization that includes researchers from leading U.S. universities, economics professional organizations, and the business and labor communities.

The $282 billion estimate — which amounts to about 1.7% of the country’s aggregate consumption — is about 30% larger than previous approximations of mental illness’s overall cost in epidemiological studies.

While those earlier studies focused on income loss relating to mental illness and the costs of mental health treatment, the new study also accounted for a host of additional adverse economic outcomes associated with mental illness, including the fact that people with mental illness consume less, invest less in a house, stocks and other risky assets, and may choose less-demanding jobs, Tsyvinski said.

“ In this paper, we develop the first integrated model of macroeconomics and mental health building on classic and modern psychiatric theories,” said Tsyvinski, the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and professor of global affairs in the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. “We show that mental illness alters people’s consumption, savings, portfolio choices, as well as the country’s labor supply, generating enormous annual costs to our economy.”

Nationwide, more than 20% of adults live with mental illness and about 5.5% experience serious mental illness, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

For the study, Tsyvinski and co-authors Boaz Abramson, of Columbia Business School, and Job Boerma, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, analyzed the potential effects of policies aimed at improving treatment of mental illness. They found that expanding the availability of mental health services — by eliminating the shortage of mental health professionals, among other means — would reduce mental illness by 3.1% and bring societal benefits equivalent to 1.1% of aggregate consumption.

Providing mental health services to everyone between the ages of 16 and 25 experiencing mental illness would reap societal benefits equal to 1.7% of aggregate consumption, according to the study.

At the same time, their analysis found that lowering the out-of-pocket cost of mental health services does not substantially reduce the share of people with mental illness and provides only minor economic gains. The researchers suggest that the monetary costs of mental health services are relatively low, meaning that reducing costs does not lead to greater uptake in treatment nor does it significantly reduce instances of mental illness.

The researchers model mental illness as a state of negative thinking and a state of rumination — the uncontrollable and repetitive preoccupation with negative thoughts — that is reinforced through behavior. In that model, they say, individuals experiencing mental illness are pessimistic about their future productivity, risky investments, and the evolution of their mental health. They also lose time while ruminating. As a result, they work, consume, and invest less while also foregoing treatment, which reinforces their mental illness. 

The study typifies the cross-disciplinary approach to economic questions of major policy and societal importance that is a hallmark of the scholarship produced by Yale’s Department of Economics over more than 50 years — including Yale economist William Nordhaus’s pioneering work combining economic modeling with climate science to predict the costs of climate change.

“ Economics and psychiatry have developed over 50 years, but they don’t speak to each other very much,” he said. “Here, we’ve put them in conversation in a way that enlightens both and provides us a stronger sense of the societal costs of mental illness as well as what can be gained through policies that seek to expand and improve mental health care.” 

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Research: More People Use Mental Health Benefits When They Hear That Colleagues Use Them Too

• Laura M. Giurge,
• Lauren C. Howe,
• Zsofia Belovai,
• Guusje Lindemann,
• Sharon O’Connor

A study of 2,400 Novartis employees around the world found that simply hearing about others’ struggles can normalize accessing support at work.

Novartis has trained more than 1,000 employees as Mental Health First Aiders to offer peer-to-peer support for their colleagues. While employees were eager for the training, uptake of the program remains low. To understand why, a team of researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with 2,400 Novartis employees who worked in the UK, Ireland, India, and Malaysia. Employees were shown one of six framings that were designed to overcome two key barriers: privacy concerns and usage concerns. They found that employees who read a story about their colleague using the service were more likely to sign up to learn more about the program, and that emphasizing the anonymity of the program did not seem to have an impact. Their findings suggest that one way to encourage employees to make use of existing mental health resources is by creating a supportive culture that embraces sharing about mental health challenges at work.

“I almost scheduled an appointment about a dozen times. But no, in the end I never went. I just wasn’t sure if my problems were big enough to warrant help and I didn’t want to take up someone else’s time unnecessarily.”

• Laura M. Giurge is an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, and a faculty affiliate at London Business School. Her research focuses on time and boundaries in organizations, workplace well-being, and the future of work. She is also passionate about translating research to the broader public through interactive and creative keynote talks, workshops, and coaching. Follow her on LinkedIn  here .
• Lauren C. Howe is an assistant professor in management at the University of Zurich. As head of research at the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work , she focuses on how human aspects, such as mindsets, socioemotional skills, and leadership, play a role in the changing world of work.
• Zsofia Belovai is a behavioral science lead for the organizational performance research practice at MoreThanNow, focusing on exploring how employee welfare can drive KPIs.
• Guusje Lindemann is a senior behavioral scientist at MoreThanNow, in the social impact and organizational performance practices, working on making the workplace better for all.
• Sharon O’Connor is the global employee wellbeing lead at Novartis. She is a founding member of the Wellbeing Executives Council of The Conference Board, and a guest lecturer on the Workplace Wellness postgraduate certificate at Trinity College Dublin.

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