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Show n rv H v ' . 1 1 Militant groups everywhere Uf V" ? ) 0 are joining the attack , and men of science foresee a breakthrough before long. t i K X. 1 1 i i The War off Menta All-O- ut r by Howard Earle I n chicaco recently, a young man raced about the city stabbing people at random with a knife. He injured six persons the afternoon of his arrest. Questioned by police, he told them, Im doing humanity a service. In a small college for women in the Southwest, Rosemary was regarded by her classmates as stuck up. She kept to herself so much of the time, her withdrawal developed into complete isolation. One morning she failed to heed the breakfast call, and gave incoherent replies to all questions. For 24 hours Rosemary refused to eat or move a muscle.' Officials rushed her to the hospital and sent for her parents. She didnt recognize them. In a small town in upper New York, a young woman received word one morning that her husband, their three children, and her mother had been killed in an automobile accident. She passed instantly into a dreamy state of semiconsciousness. She went on making their beds, setting their places at the table, and continuing life as though they were still alive. It wasnt until many months later, after she had reconciled herself to her tragic loss, that she awoke from her dreamlike state and began to recover. The Chicago stabber, Rosemary, and the housewife had one thing in common: they were all mentally ill. But there is new hope today for people like these, because of the all-o- ut war being waged on many fronts against mental illness. From hospital wards, research laboratories, and pharmaceutical houses; from psychiatrists and other men of science, there come encouraging predictions for the future. long-blad- "Talking out" a problem with a therapist remains one of the basic treatments for mental illness. 6 Kamtly Weekly, December 29, 1957 ed The concentrated attack of all these forces is against the most common cause of disability in the nation today. Some 16 million people in the United States almost one out of every ten persons suffer from emotional disturbances and mental illness. More than 250,000 mentally ill were admitted to institutions for the first time this year; another 100,000 former mental patients were readmitted after relapses. of a million people are More than receiving care in mental hospitals. This is as many patients as are hospitalized, on any one day for all other diseases combined! And there are many times that number in need of mental therapy. Each year, care for mental patients costs Americans $1 billion in taxes. In the same period, $4 billion in potential earnings are lost by patients who enter mental hospitals for the first time. But the future for the mentally ill is not as dark as these gloomy figures predict. The National Associations for Mental Health, a leading organization in the battle against mental illness, takes an optimistic viewpoint. It holds that through advances in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, mental and emotional disturbances are being handled with increased effectiveness. It feels even greater progress can be expected when the public fully accepts these disturbances as simply a form of illness. Some of the early stages of mental disorders are caused by tensions which beset everyone. It is important that we learn as much as possible about mental illness so w'e can recognize mental and t J ii 1 I three-quarte- rs X. ! i h fi r X $ |