Healthcare in the United States is a flawed system compared to other countries; universal healthcare structures such as those in Australia and Spain are seen as a luxury, not a right. Because of this, someone’s health can be affected in more ways than the original problem at hand.
There are many reasons why healthcare should be free for the obvious reasons of illness, injury, disease, or any other physical health problem. However, the biggest issue that goes unrecognized is mental health.
The costs of mental health resources, including therapy, medication, and hospitals, becomes impossible while also trying to keep up with your mental health. It isn’t something that goes away after one doctor’s appointment: that’s not realistic.
Therapy, for example, is a consistent thing that racks up a lot of money for each session. This causes many people who struggle with mental health to not even attempt to seek help; the expenses of it all would bring more stress.
In your late teens/20s, you’re in an incredibly vulnerable part of your life. You’ve reached young adulthood, meaning that society expects you to know exactly what you’re doing. At this stage in your life, you’re expected to be in college, have a job, know what career you want, be in a relationship, and everything else that is unrealistic to know right now. You should be secure within your identity and know exactly what you’re doing.
How do you think that affects young minds? With that point taken into consideration, how do you expect anyone to work on their mental health if they can’t afford it? At that age, you’re struggling with the price and money of getting through everything else, and it leaves you no room for the costs of mental health.
To add on, mental health affects people at any age, in many different ways. Whether you’re struggling with mental illness, relationships, financial security, basic living, or anything else, you should be able to receive appropriate help no matter what social class you’re in. Mental healthcare shouldn’t only be accessible to those who can afford it.
Mental health doesn’t have a magic cure, this meaning that you will have to consistently spend money to go to therapy, pay for medications, or hospital bills. The cost of it all shouldn’t prevent people from getting the help they need. Mental health deserves the same attention as physical health does.
It’s important to fight and speak out for what is needed currently in society. In this day and age, everyone should work on their mental health regardless, and money should not be the deciding factor.
Finding a therapist to accommodate you financially shouldn’t take forever. Mental healthcare resources should be able to be accessible at any time no matter what your circumstances are. When doing your own research and voting, make sure you know what you’re fighting for. Healthcare should never prevent someone from getting the help that they need.