The proposed policy is mental health policy. Individuals with mental health illnesses will be protected in various situations, including the workplace, schools, and therapy, according to the mental health policy that the federal government will implement. Protecting people’s privacy and civil liberties will be the primary goal of this legislation. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a major public health issue in the USA. Proper implementation of mental health policy will help the American healthcare system curb the problems associated with major depressive disorder. Over the years, it has been proved that MDD contributes to most suicide cases in the country (Kalin, 2020). According to the Anxiety & Major depressive disorder Association of America (ADAA), major depressive disorder affects about 6.7% of the U.S. population aged 18 and older each year. The median age at onset is 32.5 years old (Kalin, 2020). The figures keep rising each year, which is why I have chosen this topic.
Economic factors are one of the major causes of MDD. Financial strain, poverty, debt, unemployment, and inflation. When a person’s standard of living decreases, it leads to a positive increase in the symptoms of major depressive disorder. Unemployment means unstable income and expenditures. This is a major cause of MDD, especially in adults who have larger responsibilities (Athreya et al., 2018). Financial strain can result from poor accounting practices, or late income can cause anxiety among individuals, thus causing mental stress. Poverty or low-income causes means volatile expenditure among individuals, and the ever-increasing costs of living, it can lead to mental health issues. The inflation rate at the moment is very high. This rate is not reciprocated with an increase in one’s income and affects a person’s spending habits, causing anxiety. Huge debts can also lead to mental health problems. As debts accumulate, a person’s chances of becoming depressed increase because anxiety levels rise.
In order to reduce the cases of mental depressive disorders, the necessary policies need to be put in place to deal with long-term unemployment. In addition, policies should be in place to support those unemployed, for example, monthly stipends. This, in turn, reduces the amount spent on mental health treatment. Monetary policies such as price control can be put in place to curb inflation hence enabling the citizens to maintain their living standards. This might sometimes be difficult to implement, especially in a global crisis. Proper accounting education for the employees and the public should be done regularly. This helps reduce cases of frequent financial strains. Proper debt management and improved loan terms can be implemented to make it easy for individuals to access loans on viable terms that will not be strenuous.
A regular stipend to the unemployed and the poor improves individuals’ mental health, enabling them to afford necessities that they would otherwise have struggled to afford. This reduces anxiety levels that may lead to MDD. The government controlling the inflation rate with its policies protects its citizens from the effects that inflation will have on the cost of living. Accounting education policies will enable individuals to plan their income properly. This, in turn, enables them to properly budget this income to cover the entire period before their next income. The government intervention will help reduce cases of financial strain and, thus, anxiety and stress. Improved loan terms make them accessible to individuals when they need them and, in addition, reduce the pressure when paying them back.
References
Athreya, A., Iyer, R., Neavin, D., Wang, L., Weinshilboum, R., Kaddurah-Daouk, R., & Bobo, W. (2018). Augmentation of physician assessments with multi-omics enhances the predictability of drug response: a case study of major depressive disorder. IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, 13(3), 20-31.
Kalin, N. H. (2020). The critical relationship between anxiety and depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(5), 365-367.