Big pharma only saw an opportunity to make money on the mentally ill quite recently in historical terms I think since the mid 1950's ... . The problem goes beyond big pharma, it's all about societies attitudes and stigma to the mentally ill,which means bad treatment, and outcomes that would never be acceptable in the physical illness realm are allowed. Before, big pharma saw a money making opportunity, the mentally ill were at best confined in places where they were cared for ,and died there, at worst,they were treated like circus animals (google bedlam hospital in london,) later they were experimented on using electricity ,insulin, barbaric surgical procedures.... Hardly ever was consent sought, it was simply done to them. Often it made them worse ,sometimes it killed them. The nazis made a point in exterminating the mentally ill and mentally handicapped before the war, but it was stopped offically anyway because the german people objected and some influential people complained to hitler that ethnic germans should not be exterminated due to illness and hitler told himmler to stop it.
It was probably also stopped because the 'final solution' which became policy after the war started was rather resource intensive. But again would the nazis have dared gas people suffering physical illness who were seen as a drain on society? sure it was stopped ,but it went on several years,and was known as hospital medical staff were involved in it.
This kind of treatment just would not have been countenced on someone suffering from physical illness's, so why was it done?, because people had and still have prejudices on those with a mental health problem.They are either making it up for attention, they are dangerous, they are odd, relgious types thought they had the devil in them, That is what has to change ,peoples attitudes, because until it does, the mentally ill will always be treated like second class citizens, whether it is big pharma not trying to cure, but at best control someone which is not a cure it simply makes them easy to handle, and that is at best, because sometimes these drugs can make a person more mentally ill, and because there is so little research into mental illnes and how to treat it,compared to say cancer, no one really knows why. Or whether it is dumping sick people out into the community and expecting them and their neighbours to cope.
We do need to reintroduce more mental hospitals, uk has same problem as us, on the big pharma and care in the community front, but, again it isn't getting to the root of the problem,until there is parity of funding, until a depression or psychosis is seen as like a brain tumor or skin cancer, the mentally ill will always get the short end of the stick. And the other thing is, I predict if attitudes changed there would be better recovery outcomes asI think the feeling of being stigmatised stops some from getting well.
