**TLDR - Mental health has never been treated with the same seriousness as physical health, even now when lockdown measures are wreaking havoc on everyone's mental well-being** With psychology and research into mental health issues being a relatively recent thing in the grand scheme of human history, it does make sense that it would take a back seat to more known issues. After all, it's easier to see that someone has a knife stuck in their leg than it is to see that someone is suffering from depression. However, even with the wealth of knowledge we have about mental illnesses, and the various treatments that might be effective, there is still an air of dismissiveness that pervades society with regards to things like depression and anxiety. They are seen as weaknesses of character, rather than things outside of our control. I believe this a potential cause for the government underfunding mental health services, but I think now more than ever, there needs to be a shift in perception, in which mental health is seen with just as much importance as physical health. The nation has been in and out of lockdown for almost a year now, unable to socialise, unable to travel, unable to work (with many being laid off), and uncertain when this will end. All of these things take a huge toll on a person's mental health, and yet the focus has solely been on stopping the spread of COVID-19. It's all well and good trying to get back to normality as quickly as possible, but for a lot of people, normality has become such a foreign prospect that even after lockdown ends and the pandemic seems to have passed, the hidden side effects of a year trapped at home will linger. **Tackling mental health is beneficial to every single part of society.** Physical health (and therefore the strain on the NHS) would improve as less people turn to alcoholism [1], overeating [2], and other harmful coping mechanisms. We would become a more empathic society, understanding that mental issues are real, they do impact us, even if we cannot see them. We would also become a more productive society. In 2017, the Centre for Mental Health estimated that mental health issues cost employers almost £35 billion [3]. It seems to me that the impact on personal and societal well-being, it makes little to no sense to just throw mental health services to the sideline, ensuring that waiting times are long [4], services are understaffed, and those that are can often be lacking in understanding [5]. **REFERENCES** [1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/04/staggering-cost-nhs-alcohol-abuse-report [2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/apr/04/obesity-putting-strain-on-nhs-as-weight-related-admissions-rise [3] https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/mental-health-work-business-costs-ten-years [4] https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2020/10/06/two-fifths-of-patients-waiting-for-mental-health-treatment-forced-to-resort-to-emergency-or-crisis-services [5] https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/mental-health-crisis-care-services-under-resourced-understaffed-and-overstretched/

Yes! They have been underfunded for years. When you look at the prison population and juvenile detention center population a good percentage of that population has a mental health issue. When it comes to juveniles they also have a hard time finding beds in a mental hospital. There are not enough available. I only see this problem getting worse especially with COVID. COVID has increased the number of people who are depressed and have anxiety. There are not enough mental health services available to help everyone.

I agree with thomasbenson57's assessment that physical health has not had the same treatment as physical health. That stigma has hurt hundreds of individuals in need of basic mental health. The tag "United Kingdom" suggests this opinion is about the current status of mental health within the country, but I'd like to offer an opinion about it in the United States. According to the Center for American Progress, people with mental health disabilities face disproportionate higher rates of poverty and criminalization. They also face scrutiny as a danger to American society and are stigmatized towards against employment. The U.S. mental health care system failed numerously to meet people's needs. And that's before the coronavirus hit. Most of the inequality stems from the instability of the health care system as a whole. But basic needs of providing stable mental health such as therapy are costly for a lot of people. In 2016, 11.8 million Americans in need of mental health services never received adequate healthcare (American Progress, "Mental Health"). We do not have the numbers yet, but we can expect that number to go much higher after more data is reported for the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health is just as critical as physical health. Our minds are just as fragile as our bodies and need the same adequate health care. The pandemic may not have affect all of our physical health since many of us will avoid the coronavirus entirely. But it has had a negative effect on nearly all of our mental health. Lots of people are lonelier since they are unable to participate in normal events, or are not comfortable doing so out of risk of spreading the coronavirus. CITATIONS: Altiraifi, Azza, and Nicole Rapfogel. “Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came the Coronavirus Crisis.” Center for American Progress, 10 Sept. 2020, www.americanprogress.org/issues/disability/reports/2020/09/10/490221/mental-health-care-severely-inequitable-came-coronavirus-crisis.