[madisgram]

so is the prevalence of mental distress remaining unchanged vs. a decrease of other chronic conditions a result of our mental heath system identifying chronic mental illness with more accuracy?

A new study discovers American adults are reporting an increase in mental health disability compared to prior decades.
Ramin Mojtabai, M.D., Ph.D, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health also found that the prevalence of disability attributed to other chronic conditions decreased while the prevalence of significant mental distress remained unchanged.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/09...ise/29764.html

the article further states

Findings showed that 3.2 percent of participants reported not receiving mental health care for financial reasons between 2007 and 2009, compared to 2.0 percent from 1997 to 1999.