SCARBOROUGH — Over the past 18 months in Greater Portland, we have read of and witnessed the devastating direction that mental illness can take. A child’s dead body left on the side of the road in South Berwick by a distraught mother, a young man who set himself on fire in Portland and countless family members, neighbors and co-workers living lives of isolation and hopelessness due to the effects of mental illnesses.

We know people with mental illness are in our mental health hospitals and prisons and living on the streets, but we often don’t realize that they are just as likely to be your spouse, your employer, your co-worker, your neighbor or the person you see each week at the grocery store. They are more likely to be homeowners and more likely to be employed, and mental illness affects men and women in equal numbers.

It is well established that one in four American adults has a diagnosable mental illness. A lesser-known fact is that people who suffer with mental illness will die on average 25 years sooner than those without the disease. In other words, someone with a chronic illness such as diabetes will likely live 25 years longer than someone who suffers with mental illness in addition to diabetes.

If one in four adult Americans has a mental illness, then one in four adult Americans will likely die 25 years before their time primarily due to a lack of suitable care and support. If you know four adults, then in all likelihood you can expect to be affected by the premature loss of someone you know or care about due to mental illness; if you know eight people, then it will happen twice, and so on.

At a time when our country is struggling with the topic of health care, there has never been a more critical time to understand the cost of undertreated and untreated mental illness.

For those who have health insurance, most plans require additional steps and long waits to receive what is arguably subpar service for their mental illness. Those who don’t have health insurance all too often end up in hospital emergency departments – a cost to taxpayers and the community that could be averted if more proactive programs were in place.

The good news is that the vast majority of mental health conditions are treatable. People with mental illnesses are able to live productive, quality lives, and recovery is possible, but proper treatment is required.

Mental illness is not exclusive – it affects the rich and the poor and everyone in between. Unfortunately, the stigma that often accompanies mental illness can be worse than the illness itself. Stigma is born of ignorance, indifference or fear.

People who live in poverty and suffer with mental illness are often judged as crazy, unworthy, scary or unsafe to be around. Alternatively, people who are wealthy and suffer with mental illness are often characterized as eccentric and aloof, hidden behind veils of secrecy and shame.

However, while the income levels are different, the results are the same: Those who suffer with mental illness can expect to have their life cut short.

We have proven our willingness to support one another in times of disaster and crisis; when the child’s body was found on the roadside, many people generously commented that they would have given the child a home.

This charitable open-mindedness is critical, but not just in hindsight. It is needed now, before the next unfortunate incident occurs. Mental illness is simply a brain illness, and it deserves to be understood and treated as any other illness is treated – with effective care and supportive systems.

Our attitudes are important and powerful enough to make a difference. We can educate ourselves and learn that proactive steps enable people to recover without financially straining our communities. It doesn’t take a wide-angled lens to see that more needs to be done.

Our society is moving in the wrong direction – in the early 1990s, people who had mental illness typically had their life expectancy cut by 10 to 15 years; today, it is 25. Americans die too soon from mental illness, and many of those deaths would not occur if more programs were in place.

People with mental illness do not die 25 years too soon because they receive quality care, nor do they die too soon because of medication side effects or even suicide – all common misconceptions. People die too soon because their health and health care are compromised by systems that do not offer enough quality care and support.

A healthy community is not based on divisiveness and competition; it is based on the fundamental understanding that we are a collective whole. Acceptance and the right to a healthy, full life are essential to everyone, whether they suffer from mental illness or not; proactive steps are not only healthy, but also cost-effective.

– Special to The Press Herald