This stems from the ideal many Americans have of "rugged individualism" for lack of a better phrase. This manifests itself on the societal level where we don't

This stems from the ideal many Americans have of "rugged individualism" for lack of a better phrase. This manifests itself on the societal level where we don't want to pay for a broad social safety net (for example the end of the article mentions mental health diversion funding being cut). It also manifests itself on a personal level. We want to respect people's liberty and not commit them to a psychiatric ward unless it appears they're an imminent danger to themselves or others (that's also mentioned in the article). I'd also say other wealthier nations hide the problem. For example if you're out at 3am in London there's a fair amount of people "sleeping rough." I imagine at 6am or whatever cops come out and tell people to move along, whereas in the U.S. this is illegal [0]. As for why poorer countries have less mental illness? I'd say some of it has to do with wealth. Drugs are expensive and many countries have much harsher "zero-tolerance" laws in place that might reduce easy access to drugs (thus driving up the price). For non-drug induced mental illness there could also be problems unique to American culture such as high loneliness rates, weak social circles and a belief in the individual that contributes to illness. 0: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/us/-homeless-sleeping-on-street-ruling.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/us/-homeless-sleeping-on-...