A Call for Spending Equality from Bipolar Community Given Devastating Impact of this "Invisible" Physical Illness

On World Mental Health Awareness Day, given the number of people impacted by a killer disease that will claim 11% over our lifetime or about 25,000 American lives each year, we demand spending equality for bipolar disorder, an “invisible” physical illness.

There is a glaring mismatch between the enormous impact of bipolar disorder and society’s limited commitment to addressing the impact of this condition. On a federal level, we have not given this condition the attention nor made the investment that could reduce the alarming rate of suicide in the bipolar community as has occurred for other leading causes of death, such as heart disease and cancer.?

Little research is being done by pharmaceutical firms for bipolar disorder. Although the FDA has approved drugs that are consumed by 30 million people with major depression and which have enriched America’s pharmaceutical companies to the tune of tens of billions of dollars each year, until just recently, no pharmaceutical company has ever been willing to develop a drug for suicidal bipolar depression. It appears that many of the traditional major US companies focused on psychiatry have abandoned the field, including the iconic maker of Prozac, Eli Lilly. The few that remain are focused on the non-bipolar community, and virtually all studies exclude patients at risk of suicide.

Next Year Around 50,000 Americans Will Die By Suicide. Half Will Have Bipolar Disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a dynamic and serious condition that has a lifelong impact on a person's overall health status, quality of life, and ability to function. The?National Institute for Mental Health?characterizes it as a?brain disorder causing unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.?Considered among the ten most disabling medical conditions worldwide, bipolar disorder is the sixth leading cause of disability.?

It is currently estimated that 4 to 6% of the population has some form of bipolar disorder, with the disease affecting 5.7 million adults, 2.6% of population age 18 and older.?According to the?National Institute of Mental Health, 83% of these cases are considered severe, with 51% not receiving healthcare treatment.

The risk of suicide among those living with bipolar disorder is 20 to 30 times greater than the general population and significantly higher than other depressive disorders. Over their lifetime, 80% battle suicidal ideation and approximately?28% will attempt suicide?within five years.?Fifty percent of those with bipolar will attempt suicide at some point in their lives, with up to 11% dying by suicide. Some studies indicate that the suicide rate is closer to 20%.

Bipolar Disorder Most Costly Of All Mental Health Conditions

From a managed-care perspective, bipolar disorder is among the most costly of all mental health conditions, having an enormous impact on the U.S. healthcare system, costing an estimated $30 billion in direct expenditures and $120 billion in indirect costs each year. According to the?CDC, bipolar disorder has been deemed the most expensive behavioral health care diagnosis, costing more than twice as much as depression per affected individual. For every dollar allocated to outpatient care for persons with bipolar disorder, $1.80 is spent on inpatient care, suggesting early intervention and improved prevention-management could decrease the financial impact of this illness.

Numbers Do Not Lie: Shedding Light on Funding Disparity

Despite these costs, the?National Institute for Health(NIH), the leading government public health agency, estimates spending only $74 million next year for the treatment of bipolar disorder. The inequality is even more glaring when you look at diseases that have been allocated similar funding and consider the number of people impacted.

No one asks for physical diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, lupus, 0r multiple sclerosis, but no one asks for bipolar disorder either. It is 70% genetic and 30% environmental. Why should those with a brain disorder be treated differently for something they were born with or their upbringing contributed to and brought to the surface?

When we are looking at billions of dollars in health care expenditures, not to mention the costs associated with disability, why is the federal government only spending millions of dollars on treatment for this killer disease?

I believe the huge funding disparity is due to the fact that mental illness is not viewed as a physical illness when there is now ample evidence it clearly is one. Researchers have made great strides mapping out the bipolar brain using MRIs and neuroimaging techniques demonstrating clear and consistent alterations in key brain regions. Bipolar disorder is a brain disease, a chemical imbalance.

Science Does Not Lie: Mental Illness Is A Physical Illness

Mental health illnesses simply mean that the brain works a little differently. It doesn’t work in a better way or a worse way; simply in a different way. Fundamentally, a mental health illness IS a physical health illness. There are biomedical reasons for these differences in the way the brain processes things and how the brain works. As such, we should be able to access the same quality of care and level of support as those with any other medical condition.

If you still believe that mental health conditions aren’t as devastating as physical ones, a new report will open your eyes. According to?new analysis?published in Health Affairs Journal, United States spent an estimated $201 billion on mental disorders in 2013, making it the costliest medical condition in the country.?

No one in their right mind would ask for it, much like no one would ask for diseases in any other part of the body. Why should it receive so little funding when it profoundly affects and kills so many? Why would someone want a disease that requires you to have to convince your brain to fight off suicidal thoughts all of the time? To fight to keep friends and family from not abandoning you when your depressive or manic behavior drives them away??

Changing Conversation to Shift Perceptions About Mental Illness: Ending Stigma and Eradicating Funding Disparity

We must break down the wall of stigma so that those fighting to hold on can step out from behind the wall of silence we have imposed on them and seek the treatment they need to heal without feeling any shame.?Only one in four who have a mental illness are reaching out for help, and yet we scratch our heads and wonder why suicide rates are at a 30-year high.?

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States; and, for every suicide, there are 25 attempts, with suicide and suicide attempts costing the US?$93.5 billion annually.?What is most alarming and heartbreaking is suicide rates are climbing in our most vulnerable populations, with rates recently hitting a?40-year peak?for teen girls ages 15 to 19, and now the?leading cause of death?for LGBTQ youth ages 10 to 24.

We also need to adequately fund treatment so it is there for those in need when they do reach out. To do so, there must be a fundamental paradigm shift in this country in the way mental illness is viewed in order for funding priorities to change.?

We must view mental illness for what it is — a physical illness — and we must start making common sense decisions regarding funding for mental health treatment given the costs imposed by ignoring the deadly outcome for so many.

Examples of Bipolar Community Being Let Down

Hope Xchange is the only frontline nonprofit in the trenches. We see first hand how those in desperate need are being let down each and every day. Here are just but a few examples from our blog posts that illustrate exactly this:

• Why Does My Suicidal 11-Year Old’s Mental Illness Matter Less Than Another Child's Physical Illness?
• Bipolar Community Will Not Be Silenced: We Fight For Social Justice So His Small Children No Longer Plead, "When Is Daddy Coming Home?"?
• A Hope Xchange Bipolar Mentoring and Advocacy Case Exposes a Complete Lack of Compassion by Healthcare Professionals for a Mentally-Ill Young Woman In Desperate Need of Help
• Compassion Aside, Taxpayer Cost Ramifications from A Broken Mental Health Care System Devoid of Common Sense
• How Many Calls to State Highway Patrol Does It Take to Raise Red Flag During Psychotic Break Down to Avoid Not Only Jail Time But Near Death Experience? Social Justice for Mentally Ill Nowhere In Sight

It’s a near certainty that 25,000 from the bipolar community will die in 2022. How many of us die the following year is up to us.?How many more parents suffer unimaginable grief is up to us. How much longer we have to wait until the funding disparity is addressed is up to us.?

How much higher suicide rates climb is also the responsibility of the each and everyone of us.?We must all respond with both urgency and the utmost compassion not only for those bipolar disorder but also for family members, spouses, parents, siblings and children. We all have suffered enough and too many have died in the process.

Become A Hope Ambassador: Help Advocate for Mental Health

If you are feeling hopeless and helpless when faced this social injustice, you are not alone. Now is the time to come together to affect change and make the funding more equitable. You can make a difference. Fellow bipolar advocate and bestselling mental health author?Julie A. Fast?suggests the following:?

1. Spread the word about this information and then next time you are asked to give to a charity at work, make sure that mental health organizations are equally included in the mix. Make it a policy to spread the wealth between physical and mental health organizations equally.?
2. Talk openly and naturally about your own mental health and the challenges you or a family member face in our current system. When we talk openly about a problem, it goes from being a secret we whisper about because we are ashamed to a general topic that simply becomes a part of everyday conversation.
3. Use this information when you vote. Read about mental health-related?bills and support politicians like Gabby Giffords and others who are willing to openly talk about and address this important topic.?
4. And most importantly, put your energy where you feel it is needed most. If you have money,?donate to frontline organizations such as the Trevor Project who put the funds directly into helping vulnerable youth from the LGBTQIA+ community stay alive.