Mental health integrates psychological, emotional, and social well-being. It is crucial to a person’s quality of life and general happiness. Culture, language, ethnicity, and religion play a significant role in the interpretation of mental health causes. Multiple studies show that after displaying symptoms of mental health issues or being diagnosed with mental health issues, a person is vulnerable to judgment such as being branded as socially inadequate, and are associated with resulting embarrassment and mistreatment. In many cultures, groups with low positions in society experience high rates of mental health problems. In modern society, being associated with mental illness exposes a person to levels of medicalization and marginalization.…show more content… In the United States, mentally ill people are treated like criminals, which is an injustice that must cease to exist. In the article “Mentally Ill Mistreated in Prison” published by HumanRightsWatch.org on October 22, 2003, the issue of the mistreatment of the mentally ill is presented. In the U.S., prisons serve the role of mental health institutions. This in unacceptable: The mentally ill suffer neglect and abuse in the prison system. “One in six U.S. prisoners is mentally ill. Many of them suffer from serious illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. There are three times as many men and women with mental illness in U.S. prisons as in mental health hospitals.The rate of mental illness in the prison population is three times higher than in the general population” (hrw.org). This heart-wrenching scenario must be overcome so that all citizens, well or unwell, receive equal treatment and respect in…show more content… It is imperative that everyone considers the issue of mental illness. People may look at the government as the one institution responsible for destigmatizing the mentally ill , but they are coping out and forgetting that the responsibility lies in their hands as well. In many parts of the United States, including here at this high school, mentally challenged kids do not get help and even get bullied. It is appalling the the United States leaves even children without needed support. “More than half of those referred by GPs never get any treatment, and of those who do, some wait for over a year in the deepest despair. It's even more shocking that so often children get no help” (Toynbee) Failing to treat the mentally ill is bad enough, but failing to help children is appalling. There has been much outrage about lack of kindness and care in hospitals. Neglect of mental patients is every bit as bad, but deliberate cruelty defies any concern for the well being for the most vulnerable. The issue of the treatment of the mentally ill may lie within the hands of the police authority and the government, but everyone must also be held accountable. The mistreatment of the mentally ill must