Introduction
Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and loneliness often develop gradually, with subtle symptoms easily overlooked or dismissed. When these symptoms go unrecognized or untreated, crucial opportunities for early intervention are lost, potentially exacerbating severe mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, substance abuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, and loss of housing.  This white paper explores how Lowkey, a passive mental health detector with active alerts and the integration of trusted social support networks, can help reduce the mental health crisis, improve public health, and contribute to a stronger economy.
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Mental Illness And The Impact on Public Health
"We don't have a system focused on prevention and recovery. We don't have a mental health system. At best, we have one that responds to a crisis." — Dr. Thomas Insel, NIMH Director (2002-2015)
Societal concern around mental health has reached an unprecedented level. For the first time, young Americans aged 18-29 view mental health as the top health threat in the country, surpassing issues such as drug abuse and gun violence. This generation has experienced firsthand the mental health crisis and how it has impacted public health, public safety, and the community.
Lack of access to health resources is a contributing factor to the crisis, but not the only one.   The collective trauma of COVID-19, isolation, working from home, climate change, pervasive war around the world, political discontent, and social media are all, to some extent, responsible.  
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Yet, the public’s understanding of the connection between mental illness, physical illness, social inequities, homelessness, and substance abuse is not widely recognized, nor why under-resourced populations tend to be exposed to adverse circumstances at higher rates, including violence and disability.
Health decline in one area, mental or physical, negatively...

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