--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the United States, people with…" description: "\"“In the United States, people with depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia are losing twelve to twenty years in life expectancy compared to people not i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/robert-whitaker-27072_depression_in-the-united-states-people-with-depress_1086028.jpg" --- # In the United States, people with depression, bipolar, and… ![“In the United States, people with depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia are losing twelve to twenty years in life expectancy compared to people not in the mental health system.” quote by Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/robert-whitaker-27072_depression_in-the-united-states-people-with-depress_1086028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/robert-whitaker-27072_depression_in-the-united-states-people-with-depress_1086028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/robert-whitaker-27072_depression_in-the-united-states-people-with-depress_1086028.jpg) > ““In the United States, people with depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia are losing twelve to twenty years in life expectancy compared to people not in the mental health system.”” [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People with serious mental illnesses die significantly earlier than the general population, highlighting health disparities. **In simple terms:** Mental illness shortens lifespan. Key Takeaway Address physical health alongside mental health care. Themes health disparities public policy Mood concerned urgent Type analytical informative When to use this quote - clinical practice - policy making - patient advocacy - research funding Key Concepts social determinants healthcare inequality Questions to Reflect On - What interventions could close the life expectancy gap? - How can stigma be reduced to improve care? A Different Perspective Complex causes include lifestyle, medication side effects, and systemic neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-system/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life expectancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-expectancy/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [People with depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-with-depression/) ## Related quotes > [“Rado explains that people with depression are usually too dependent on the judgments of others for their own sense of self-esteem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-dubin/rado-explains-that-people-with-depression-are-usually-too-dependent/) Nick Dubin > [Some people who are recovering from depression want to use the lessons they're learned in coping with depression and their empathy for people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-nemko/some-people-who-are-recovering-from-depression-want-to-use-the/) [Marty Nemko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-nemko/) > [“His doctor said it was depression. He said people with depression don't always know they have it. They just feel it. Or, rather, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-bautista/his-doctor-said-it-was-depression-he-said-people-with-depression-don/) Brigitte Bautista > [“It’s as if people with depression have flat batteries. They’ve had too many demands on their circuits, not enough chance to recharge themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-stefan-cembrowicz/it-s-as-if-people-with-depression-have-flat-batteries-they-ve-had-too/) [Dr Stefan Cembrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-stefan-cembrowicz/) > [People with depression have something very valuable to teach us... how to live when it doesn't ever feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-warren/people-with-depression-have-something-very-valuable-to-teach-us-how/) [Kay Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-warren/) > [This is what I want: I want to grab my brother’s hand and run back through time, losing years like coats falling from our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/this-is-what-i-want-i-want-to-grab-my-brother-s-hand-and-run-back/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [There will be losing years; but if the art of making money is not to lose it, then there should not be substantial losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cundill/there-will-be-losing-years-but-if-the-art-of-making-money-is-not-to/) [Peter Cundill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cundill/) > [The key, of course, is to stay away from the losing years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/the-key-of-course-is-to-stay-away-from-the-losing-years/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [You got to go for the gusto but you dont know about the blood, sweat and tears and losing some of your fears and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cypress-hill/you-got-to-go-for-the-gusto-but-you-dont-know-about-the-blood-sweat/) [Cypress Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cypress-hill/) > [It's hard to be a friend to someone who's depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-s-hard-to-be-a-friend-to-someone-who-s-depressed-but-it-is-one-of/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [One day, we will look back and wonder how on earth we used to believe that depression was a lifestyle choice, only to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-campbell/one-day-we-will-look-back-and-wonder-how-on-earth-we-used-to-believe/) [Alastair Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-campbell/) > [Hey-ho, it's raining inside: it isn't my fault and there's nothing I can do about it, but sit it out. But the sun may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/hey-ho-it-s-raining-inside-it-isn-t-my-fault-and-there-s-nothing-i/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I am who I am, and there is nothing I can do about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-am-who-i-am-and-there-is-nothing-i-can-do-about-that/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [A lot of people don't realize that not everybody gets high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringwald/a-lot-of-people-don-t-realize-that-not-everybody-gets-high/) [Molly Ringwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringwald/) > [If you know someone who's depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn't a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/if-you-know-someone-who-s-depressed-please-resolve-never-to-ask-them/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## More by Robert Whitaker > [“The history of psychiatry and its treatments can be a contentious issue in our society, so much so that when you write about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-history-of-psychiatry-and-its-treatments-can-be-a-contentious/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“The off-drug patients also suffered less from depression, blunted emotions, and retarded movements. Indeed, they told Carpenter and McGlashan that they had found it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-off-drug-patients-also-suffered-less-from-depression-blunted/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“I have always been told that a person has to accept that the illness is chronic," she says, at the end of our interview.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/i-have-always-been-told-that-a-person-has-to-accept-that-the-illness/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-the-brain-the-drugs-creat-them/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“When it comes to dead bodies in current psychotropic trials, there are a greater number of them in the active treatment groups than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/when-it-comes-to-dead-bodies-in-current-psychotropic-trials-there-are/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“If you expand the boundaries of mental illness, which is clealry what has happened in this country during the past twenty-five years, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/if-you-expand-the-boundaries-of-mental-illness-which-is-clealry-what/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“...and she no longer is having her emotional responses to...stress numbed by medication. 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One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-cocktail-she-took-usually-included-a-mood-stabilizer-an/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Prior to being medicated, a depressed person has no known chemical imbalance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/prior-to-being-medicated-a-depressed-person-has-no-known-chemical/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“The prescribing of stimulants to ADHD youth began to take off in the 1980s, and today, thirty years later, studies have failed to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-prescribing-of-stimulants-to-adhd-youth-began-to-take-off-in-the/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“That is where we stand as a nation today. 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It lives in the in-between of family members, and in the in-between of people," Salo explained. "It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/psychosis-does-not-live-in-the-head-it-lives-in-the-in-between-of/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Klonopin ruined my lie. It takes away your drive, and in the morning, you don't want to get out of bed, because you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/klonopin-ruined-my-lie-it-takes-away-your-drive-and-in-the-morning/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) [Explore all 21 Robert Whitaker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/) Heidi Ames > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) Yanilsa pena > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) Shayamalan > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. 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