RightatNYU said:
There is absolutely no way to prove conclusively what causes what, and how much of an effect it has. The only way it could be decided is in court, with expensive lawyers, so youve just successfully made it into rich v. poor again.
Then how would you have them decide what caused what? A doctor just assuming as much?
RightatNYU said:
We have medicare and medicaid for that exact purpose. There are free health clinics throughout the country. Ive used them before, they're fine.
That kid who couldn't get the transplant he needed. Why did that happen? If it's possible to get tree treatment, why did he die for lack of money?
RightatNYU said:
Interesting. However, the US is a much stronger economy all-round - you have nearly 300 million people, we have 20 million people, etc. What about, say, the UK? Much stronger economy than Australia's
and has government healthcare.
RightatNYU said:
Its also a BIG question as to whether those deserve the same kind of treatment as cancer, et al. Is ADHD really a disease? Is it as serious and life threatening as a stroke? You can ameliorate the effects of depression through therapy or simply dealing with your ****. Is therapy going to cure cardiovascular problems?
The REASON that health care is becoming so expensive is because everythings a disease now. If you look at the pharmaceutical industry now, 90% of the drugs they're producing are to treat things that werent even considered a disease 20 years ago. What if they create a drug that cures social anxiety? Are we going to give it to every nerd in middle school? Oh, wait, they already created that drug. At some point, we have to say enough.
Psychiatric disorders are most certainly diseases. It's well known that mental illness runs in families, suggesting a genetic predisposition akin to some cancers, diabetes, etc. Also, non-psychiatric diseases can have psychiatric symptoms eg: psychosis (a symptom of a brain tumour, hypoglycemia such as in diabetes, lupus, even the flu), depression (hypothyroidism, celiac disease, hormone disorders such as Cushing's syndrome, that pesky ol' flu again...) etc, suggesting a strong biological cause.
If it's serious enough to cause impairment in a person's day-to-day functioning, wouldn't you say it's a disease? Asthma's not always life-threatening, diseases such as endometriosis and arthritis certainly aren't either, but no one's doubting that they're diseases. ADHD, too, may not be life threatening, but depression, schizophrenia etc definitely are. The sufferer may commit suicide, which alone should prove that mental illness is a disease - no healthy person wants to die, let alone is actually able to defy our strongest instinct, the instinct to survive. Let's not forget anorexia nervosa - 1 in 10 sufferers starve to death. What healthy person can do that to themself? I start whinging if I so much as miss breakfast.
Unfortunately, not all psychiatric illnesses can be alleviated through therapy alone (and therapy costs money, too...). Talking won't stop a schizophrenic's delusions or hallucinations. Bipolar disorder, which I myself have, is also a life-long disease. Without mood stabilisers such as lithium, a manic depressive will go up and down no matter how often he sees his shrink and no matter how easy his life is at that moment - believe me, I tried the anti-drug approach for a long time. What about those many, many patients who have happy, dandy lives until mental illness hits them for no external reason? How will therapy help if they've got nothing to talk about?
I do believe that you shouldn't be hasty to decide that someone whose mother's just died has clinical depression (grief and sadness where appropriate are a normal, healthy part of life). Nor should you diagnose someone with an anxiety disorder just because they're shy or give every energetic kid Ritalin - individual personality is not a disease. However, as we all know, just because antibiotics are frequently over-prescribed for useless reasons like a cold or headace doesn't mean you can't get a
genuinely nasty infection. If you keep wanting to harm yourself, you think aliens can read your mind, you can't concentrate on the simplest tasks no matter how hard you try, or just stepping out the front door sends you into a panic... then something's seriously wrong and you need medical help.
Hrmm... apologies for the thesis. Psychology and mental health is an interest of mine.