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How Big a Problem is Mental Illness?

2018-10-09 · explainer · John · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health · mode: Explainer · tags: heavy topic

John explains the disability-adjusted life year and argues that, measured this way, mental illness is one of the world's leading health problems, from the US to Sierra Leone; drawing on his own medication, he says it is mostly treatable and access to care must improve.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting; the DALY introduced; global causes of death

  • ★ John says the disability-adjusted life year is very important despite its boring name, like Bradley Cooper but perhaps even more important. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John says globally heart disease is by far the most common cause of death, stroke is also very common, and diarrhea causes about as many deaths as lung cancer. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — What the DALY measures; mental illness becomes the biggest disease burden in the US

  • ★★★ John explains that death counts miss the age at death and non-fatal disabling disease; the DALY measures the expected years of health lost to a disease. — 00:00:29

    “measures the expected years of health lost to a disease”

  • ★★ John says measured in DALYs, malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia become much more prominent because they disproportionately affect younger people. — 00:00:58 · malaria

  • ★★★ John says one of the biggest shifts under DALYs is mental health: mental illness and substance use disorders become the single biggest category of disease burden in the United States. — 00:00:58 · mental disorder, United States

00:01:27 — Mental illness burden worldwide: Brazil, France, UK, China, Sierra Leone; shackling and two psychiatrists; treatment should be a priority

  • ★★★ John says that, at least by that measure, what is still dismissed as 'all in your head' is in fact our biggest health problem. — 00:01:27 · mental disorder
  • ★★ John says in Brazil mental illness causes more lost DALYs than any other single cause, including heart disease, and the same is true in France and the UK. — 00:01:27 · United Kingdom, mental disorder
  • ★★ John says in China depression and anxiety rob people of more years than liver cancer or diabetes. — 00:01:27 · China
  • ★★ John says in Sierra Leone communicable diseases are overwhelmingly the leading cause of lost life years, but mental illness causes more burden than almost any other non-communicable disease. — 00:01:56 · Sierra Leone, malaria, mental disorder
  • ★★ John says good mental health care is extremely difficult to get in poor countries, where many mentally ill people are chained to their beds in hospitals or group homes. — 00:01:56 · mental disorder
  • ★★ John says shackling in Sierra Leone just ended thanks to a huge Ministry of Health effort and slightly improved funding, news to be celebrated. — 00:01:56 · Sierra Leone
  • ★★ John says Sierra Leone still faces huge mental health challenges, with only two psychiatrists for seven million people, and elsewhere many are still chained without treatment. — 00:02:26 · Sierra Leone
  • ★★★ John says measuring health in DALYs makes clear that better mental illness treatment, and access to it, should be a priority for every country's healthcare system. — 00:02:26 · mental disorder

00:02:55 — John's medication, hope, treatability, need for access; ask to seek care

  • ★★ John quotes a recent piece from The Economist: nobody spends enough on mental health. — 00:02:55 · mental disorder
  • ★★★ John says this matters to him personally: he couldn't function without his daily medication, which lets him live with his thoughts rather than be controlled by them. — 00:02:55 · mental disorder
  • ★★★ John says everyone should understand that mental illness is common everywhere and serious, one of the world's leading health problems. (hedged) — 00:02:55 · mental disorder
  • ★★★ John says the good news is that the vast majority of mental illness is treatable. — 00:02:55 · mental disorder

  • ★★ John repeats what he has often said and written: there really is hope, even when your brain says there isn't. — 00:03:24 · mental disorder

    “there really is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't”

  • ★★ John says that, like many people with chronic health problems, he has lost time to his illness but has a good and fulfilling life. — 00:03:24 · mental disorder

  • ★★ John thinks a good, fulfilling life is common for mentally ill people with access to good treatment, but more access is needed in rich and poor countries. (hedged) — 00:03:24 · mental disorder
  • ★★ John asks viewers who think they might need mental health care to talk to someone they trust about a treatment plan or consult the links in the description. — 00:03:24 · mental disorder

00:03:53 — DALY pun and sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description points to the SAMHSA hotline for accessing mental health care in the US, and to international hotline resources. — video description · United States

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Disability-adjusted life year · mental disorder

Also: People: Bradley Cooper

Organizations: The Economist

Concepts: anxiety disorder · Coronary artery disease · depression · diabetes · diarrhea · global health · Liver cancer · Lung cancer · malaria · meningitis · pneumonia · Stroke · substance abuse

Places: Brazil · China · France · Sierra Leone · United Kingdom · United States

Only in the description or credits: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

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