With technology advancing at an alarming rate, is the modern age not compatible with humans. Humans are millions of years old and technology is advancing at an alarming rate. But how does this affect economies? How does it affect countries? And most importantly how does it affect us?
What makes people happy? What makes people sad?
Mental illness is a better forecaster of desolation than poverty is. Reducing misery, many argue, may be more important than enhancing pleasure, because improving the life of an already-happy person probably yields a smaller gain in total welfare than freeing someone from misery does. Huge-scale surveys examined from four countries—Britain, Australia, America, Indonesia—to classify which aspects are most closely associated with the population of the least happy proportion of the sample.
It was found that in the three rich countries mental illness was the strongest forecaster of unhappiness. With all other variables held constant, people who had visited a doctor recently with emotional-health complications were 10.7 percentage points more likely to be extremely hopeless than those who were not—roughly twice the impact of being poor. On one hand, this correlation should come as little surprise: people seeking treatment for depression are by definition unhappy. However, the study also included people suffering from stress or anxiety in this group. In Indonesia, mental health is also an important factor, though less so than employment.
The authors concluded that, in rich countries at least, investing in care for mental illness provided the best return (as measured by happiness gains) on public expenditure. They calculated that relieving one person of misery in Britain by reducing poverty would cost $222,500, whereas achieving the same goal by treating anxiety or depression would require just $15,000. That will make bean-counters happy, but is unlikely to cheer politicians.
How investing in mental health improves economies.
The cost of mental illness:
- 1 in 5 people in Canada lives with a mental illness each year.
- A study commissioned by the MHCC makes it clear that the economic cost to Canada is at least $50 billion per year. This represents 2.8% of Canada’s 2011 gross domestic product.
- Health care, social services and income support costs make up the biggest proportion of these costs. But it also cost business more than $6 billion in lost productivity (from absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover) in 2011.
- Over the next 30 years the total cost to the economy will have added up to more than 2.5 trillion.
There is strong evidence that investing in effective programs can make a difference to the economy and to the Mental health awareness of the population:
- If we just reduced the number of people experiencing a new mental illness in a given year by 10% – something that is very feasible in many illnesses among young people, after 10 years we could be saving the economy at least $4 billion a year.
DIRECT COSTS (HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES)
The cost per case for the population with cognitive impairment includes long term care, physician and hospital care, medication and out-of-pocket expenses. The cost per case for all other mental illnesses includes physician and hospital care, medication, community and social services, and income support.
The study conservatively estimates that in 2011 annual direct costs (healthcare, certain social services and income support) attributable to mental illness reached over $42.3 billion, increasing to some $290.9 billion in 2041. The cumulative economic impact of direct costs alone over the next 30 years is expected to reach more than $2.3 trillion.
INDIRECT COSTS (PRODUCTIVITY)
The Risk Analytica study estimates that approximately 21.4% of the working population experienced a mental illness in 2011. The potential impact of mental illness on productivity includes absenteeism, presenteeism or leaving the workforce altogether. The annual productivity impact of mental illness in the workplace is estimated to be over $6.4 billion in 2011, increasing to $16.0 billion in 2041. The present value of the cumulative 30-year productivity impact is expected to be $198 billion.
Summary
If policy initiatives could reduce incidence by an average of 10%, we can expect an annual savings of $4 billion on direct (health and social care) costs for mental health problems and illnesses after 10 years. 24 After 30 years the cost savings increases to $22.4 billion each year. If we were able to increase remission rates by 10%, we would save another $5.3 billion each year on direct costs alone after 30 years.
It is clear that while the target of 10% for reducing incidence is achievable in some instances because there is ample evidence that this is achievable in certain childhood mental health problems and illnesses, it may be less realistic with respect to some other conditions, such as for schizophrenia.
per year. 12 This represents 2.8 % of Canada’s 2011 gross domestic product.
In 2011, about $42.3 billion were spent in Canada providing treatment, care and
support services for people with mental health problems and illnesses.
The cumulative cost of providing treatment, care, and support services over the next
30 years in Canada is expected to exceed $2.5 trillion in current dollars.
