Anosognosia (lack of insight)
Anosognosia, also called "lack of insight," is a symptom of mental illness that affects about half of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is the leading reason individuals with these psychiatric disorders do not take prescribed medications.
Consequences of Non-Treatment
Dismantling the US mental health system has left people who have severe mental illness without access to timely and effective treatment. The consequences are widespread and devastating to the individuals, their families and their communities.
Criminalization of Mental Illness
Fifty years of failed public policy has forced law enforcement officers onto the front lines of mental health care and criminalized mental illness.
Psychiatric Bed Shortages
Since their historic peak in 1955, 97% of state hospital beds in the United States have been eliminated. Nearly half the beds that remain are reserved for mentally ill offenders, creating a public health crisis for people needing treatment who have not committed crimes.
Public Service Costs
When mentally ill individuals do not receive the treatment they need for recovery, the burden of care is shifted to ERs, jails, and other systems that were not designed to provide mental healthcare. This practice produces high costs for taxpayers and poor outcomes for patients.
Serious Mental Illness & Violence
Most individuals with serious mental illness who receive treatment are not dangerous. However, individuals who are untreated are at higher risk than the general public for acts of violence, including suicidal and homicidal acts.