Suicides and drug- and alcohol-related deaths are rising and together hit an all-time high in 2017, according to a new report published Tuesday that concludes that people struggling with mental illness lack mental healthcare and related resources.
The Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust, two nonprofit groups, found that between 2016 and 2017, the rate of deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide increased about 6 percent from 43.9 to 46.6 deaths per 100,000, based on 2018 mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 150,000 Americans, the most ever, died from alcohol and drug-induced fatalities and suicide in 2017, more than twice as many in 1999.
“We have not done a good job as a nation with addressing pain,” said Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer of the Well Being Trust. “Not just tissue and nerves pain, it comes down to emotions, too.”
West Virginia suffers from the highest death rate from alcohol, drugs, and suicide, at 91 per 100,000. New Mexico, at 77 per 100,000, Ohio, Alaska, and New Hampshire also have particularly high death rates.
A big part of the problem is the opioid crisis that alone took the lives of nearly 50,000 people in 2017.
The report calls for updating the healthcare system to improve mental healthcare and resources for those with substance abuse problems.
A particular problem, Miller said, is that many people who suffer from mental illness, including addiction, have less access to care because they live in isolated locations. Many people would have to drive hundreds of miles to get to the nearest clinic, a problem that Miller said must be addressed by dedicating funding to place healthcare professionals in those remote areas.
The 1963 Community Mental Health Act deinstitutionalized mental health. Those who were in psychiatric facilities were allowed to return to their communities and live as people rather than patients. But private and government healthcare plans generally don’t cover mental healthcare the way they do medical expenses, and mental problems remain stigmatized.
“How do we as a nation feel comfortable turning to each other and asking the most basic question, ‘Are you OK?’ That’s the first line of intervention, but it might not be enough,” Miller said.
