Woman asks what society would be like if there was good access to mental health care.

[MidwestTransplant]

Obama missed his opportunity that there would be far fewer Birthers, Deathers, Tea Baggers and Screamers.

[Critters2]

1. LOL! Could've said. "Just look across the street"

THAT's what a world without adequate mental health care looks like!

[Jennicut]

2. Well, I think discussing mental health care seriously

is more important. I have had problems with PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) and I want him to talk about this. Mental health care coverage in this county is abysmal.
Still, it must have been hard to resist. :)

[damntexdem]

3. For one thing, there would be more nutcases in treatment, rather than in ...

Congress. ;-)

[oedura]

4. That's assuming those people are mentally ill...

Personally, I think the vast majority of them are just ridiculously stupid.

[Ocracoker16]

5. thanks for pointing that out

Mental illnesses are serious conditions that affect people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, many individuals with mental illness don't get the treatment they need, because their insurance companies don't provide adequate coverage. Medication can be very effective for treating some of these conditions, but some people need to go to therapy in addition to taking their meds. Insurance companies often cover only a limited number of therapy sessions. While some people only require short term therapy, many others need to meet regularly with their therapists to manage their chronic condition. I know someone with the so called cadillac insurance for federal employees. She has bipolar disorder so she tried to pick the plan with the best coverage of therapy sessions. That ended up being 25 sessions a year or roughly equivalent to biweekly therapy. I can't imagine what an average plan allows. I think there is plenty of room for improvement in the coverage for mental illness in health insurance plans.

[oedura]

9. I was talking about...

the "Birthers, Deathers, Tea Baggers and Screamers" referred to by the OP.

I hope you didn't assume I was referring to people who actually suffer from mental illness. I myself have suffered from severe depression for over 25 years, so I'm already quite aware of the very limited coverage provided by most insurance plans for mental issues.

[Odin2005]

6. Thanks for insulting all people with mental illnesses with bigoted stereotypes.

:eyes: Most of those people aren't mentally ill, they are just willfully ignorant dumbasses.

[Hansel]

8. Mental health is not just about mental illness

There are people who just have issues with coping and relationships, and low self-esteem. Mental health groups work with these people as well.

I wager a bet that if there were mental health interventions on a lot of the bigots that they would change their ways. A lot of the behavior of the people mentioned in the OP does not necessarily rise to the level of mental illness, but they could benefit from mental health care. Especially in the area of self-esteem, inter-personal relationships and anger management.

[Hansel]

7. This country would be Republican free. nt