Are we in the midst of an epidemic of mental illness?
My dictionary would suggest the word “epidemic” is appropriate when discussing some that is “excessively prevalent” or “characterized by very widespread growth.” Is mental illness really growing as much as some critics claim?
It’s with some interest to examine the claims of those who say we’re in some sort of “epidemic” of mental illness. But owing to their sloppy premise, loose research efforts, and illogically connecting dots that have little to do with one another, I find it a hard claim to swallow.
In fact, research shows that prevalence rates for mental illness have actually declined somewhat from 1994, making it hard to understand where some are coming from about this “epidemic” nonsense.