How many people don’t receive treatment for mental illness?
In America, 1 out of 5 adults suffers from a mental illness, but around 60% of them don’t receive treatment. Despite the figures, people with mental issues still seem to be reluctant to reach out for medical attention.
How many students have been treated for mental health problems?
The findings show that 34% of respondents were treated for mental problems in the past year. Additionally, according to the latest mental health statistics, 36% of students had lifetime diagnoses of a mental health condition.
What percentage of the population has a mental illness?
Around 20.6% of adults in the United States suffer from a mental illness. This works out to around 51.5 million people over the age of 18 who have some form of mental illness. This goes to show that mental health is something that a large number of people have issues with. What are the top 3 mental illnesses?
What percentage of juveniles have mental health problems?
70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition. Youth in detention are 10 times more likely to suffer from psychosis than youth in the community. About 50,000 veterans are held in local jails — 55% report experiencing a mental illness.
How does family structure affect mental health?
An increasing body of research demonstrates that negative family relationships can cause stress, impact mental health and even cause physical symptoms. Research has demonstrated that non-supportive families can detract from someone's mental health and or cause a mental illness to worsen.
What percentage of families have mental illness?
Prevalence of Any Mental Illness (AMI) Figure 1 shows the past year prevalence of AMI among U.S. adults. In 2020, there were an estimated 52.9 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with AMI. This number represented 21.0% of all U.S. adults.
Do mental health issues run in families?
Scientists have long recognized that many psychiatric disorders tend to run in families, suggesting potential genetic roots. Such disorders include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.
What percentage of adults with mental illness do not receive treatment?
Access to Treatment is Severely Limited Among U.S adults in nonmetropolitan areas, 2020: 48% with a mental illness received treatment. 62% with a serious mental illness received treatment.
What percentage of parents have mental health issues?
The outcomes of children who are exposed to parental mental health problems are of growing concern as recent research estimates that 18.2 percent of parents suffer from mental illness and 3.8 percent of parents suffer from serious mental illness (Stambaugh et al. 2017).
How many people with mental illness are parents?
It can also be a stressful time and many parents experience mental ill health. Mental ill health of parents can have a negative impact on the development of their children. But this is not always the case. Approximately 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health problems are parents.
Can you have mental illness without family history?
In other words, people don't simply “inherit” mental illness. A number of biological and environmental factors are at play in gene expression. Regardless of the genetic link, family history does serve as an indicator of possible risk for certain mental health issues, so counselors need to ask about it.
Does anxiety and depression run in families?
In most cases, the younger the person is when they get anxiety or depression, the more likely it is to be hereditary. Anxiety and depression can still be genetic if they show up in your older family members. But often, new conditions in people that are over the age of 20 are linked to painful or stressful life events.
Do personality disorders run in families?
Genetics. Some studies of twins and families suggest that personality disorders may be inherited or strongly associated with other mental health disorders among family members.
What percentage of people with psychological disorders receive treatment?
The percentage of adults who had received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months was lower among those aged 18–44 (18.5%) compared with adults aged 45–64 (20.2%) and 65 and over (19.4%).
At what age does 50% of all lifetime mental ill health Begin and 75% by what age?
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
What is the success rate of mental health treatment?
The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have a significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.
How many people with mental illness receive no treatment?
Globally, more than 70% of people with mental illness receive no treatment from health care staff. Evidence suggests that factors increasing the likelihood of treatment avoidance or delay before presenting for care include (1) lack of knowledge to identify features of mental illnesses, (2) ignorance about how to access treatment, ...
How does stigma affect mental health?
Stigma and discrimination and their influence on access to care may vary based on experience of mental distress or other sociodemographic factors. For instance, psychotic disorders are highly stigmatizing, and people with psychosis are more likely to be perceived as violent and unpredictable relative to people with other mental health problems. This can lead to high levels of experienced and anticipated discrimination in health care settings.20,21Moreover, substance abuse is consistently associated with high rates of public stigma and institutional discrimination that may discourage individuals with substance abuse problems from getting health care; these individuals fear poor treatment by health care providers or trouble with the authorities.22Multiple stigma among specific subpopulations may also exacerbate barriers to care. Different ethnic groups may have different histories and experiences with the health care system, and therefore, certain barriers may be more prevalent among individuals of different ethnic groups.23–25For example, negative experiences of coercion in mental health care may be more prevalent among ethnic minorities.26As a result, it has been suggested that future research should investigate subgroups and potential interactions between subgroups and on help-seeking attitudes and behavior.
How does stigma affect access to care?
The relationship between stigma and discrimination and access to care is multifaceted; stigma and discrimination can impede access at institutional (legislation, funding, and availability of services),6–8community (public attitudes and behaviors),9and individual levels. 10aDescriptive studies and epidemiological surveys suggest potent factors that increase the likelihood of treatment avoidance, delays to care, and discontinuation of service use include (1) lack of knowledge about the features and treatability of mental illnesses, (2) ignorance about how to access assessment and treatment, (3) prejudice against people who have mental illness, and (4) expectations of discrimination against people who have a diagnosis of mental illness.
What are the attitudes toward mental illness?
Attitudes toward mental illness showed a more mixed pattern with respect to help seeking and disclosure intentions. A factor analysis of the shortened version of the Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill scale,34used in the Department of Health Attitudes to Mental Illness Survey, suggested that intentions to seek help for a mental health problem were associated with attitudes of tolerance and support for community care, but not with stigmatizing attitudes of prejudice and exclusion. These findings suggested that the presence of strong positive attitudes might be more relevant to help seeking and disclosure than the absence of negative attitudes.
Did there have to be a reduction in discrimination from mental health professionals?
However, there was no reduction in reports of discrimination from either mental health professionals or physical health care professionals.
How does family involvement affect treatment?
Research on treatment engagement has also examined the relationship between family process and treatment attendance. Parent interactions with children, for example, have been shown to be strong predictors of treatment drop out. For example, mothers who make more negative statements and praise less are more likely to drop out of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (Fernandez & Eyberg, 2009). Recent research also indicates that families are more likely to seek treatment in times of stress or crisis (Burns et al., 2008), but are most at risk of dropout due to family difficulties. Similarly, Johnson et al. (2008)found that the highest proportion of dropouts occurred for those families with psychosocial difficulties and problems related to family dynamics. In a qualitative study of factors influencing premature termination of mental health treatment by parents, Attride-Stirling, Davis, Farrell, Groark and Day (2004)found that treatment non-completers were more likely to arrive with multiple family-level problems, while completers were focused on the specific problems of the identified child. These results suggest that non-completion of treatment may result, at least in part, from elevated family distress. Such findings underscore the importance for considering how high levels of family stressors impede treatment engagement. Although highly stressed families may be more in need of supports, such stressors can hinder families’ ability to seek and retain child mental health treatment (Thompson et al., 2007).
What are the barriers to child mental health treatment?
Poor therapeutic alliance is another substantial barrier in engaging and retaining families in child mental health treatment (Kerkorian, McKay & Bannon, 2006; Robbins et al., 2006). Kerkorian et al. found that parents who felt disrespected by their children’s prior mental health providers were six times more likely to doubt the utility of future treatment, and were subsequently likely to identify more structural and contextual barriers to treatment. Robbins et al. found that both adolescent and maternal alliances with therapists in Multidimensional Family Therapy for adolescent substance abuse declined significantly between the first two sessions among dropout cases, but not among treatment completers. Moreover, differences between maternal and adolescent therapeutic alliance, as well as differences between maternal and paternal alliance with therapists, predicted treatment dropout (Robbins et al., 2008). Furthermore, the relationship between different levels of therapeutic alliance among family members and treatment dropout has been found to be stronger among Hispanic than Caucasian families. Flicker, Turner, Waldron, Brody, & Ozechowski (2008)noted that among Hispanic families, those who did not complete functional family therapy for adolescent substance abuse experienced more intra-family differences in therapeutic alliances than treatment completers. However, the same effect was not observed among Caucasian families in the study. Flicker et al. (2008)suggested that therapists’ inexperience in addition to the insufficient attention to cultural factors (e.g., familism and hierarchy within Hispanic families) may contribute to engagement difficulties. Such findings indicate that problematic alliance may be observable as early as the first few sessions, particularly the differential treatment alliance between family members and for specific cultural groups. Sufficient therapist training in addressing early alliance problems, as well as respecting culturally specific family processes could lead to increased retention rates.
What is family advocacy?
Trained parent, or family, advocates are paraprofessionals who have special needs children themselves. Family advocates are trained to coach and support families in need of mental health services utilizing the skills and knowledge they have already developed by successfully navigating the mental health service system for their own children. Family advocacy and support programs increased in number nationwide (Hoagwood et al. in press; Olin et al., in press), and approximately 10,000 families access training, services, and support through family advocacy programs annually in New York State alone (Olin et al., in press). The Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) in New York State trains family advocates to address the needs of parents dealing with child mental health difficulties by focusing on empowering their clients as active agents of change (Olin et al., in press). PEP integrates practical principals of parent support, the Unified Theory of Behavior Change (UTB; Jaccard, Dodge, & Dittus, 2002; Jaccard, Litardo, & Wan, 1999), and evidence-based engagement strategies (McKay, McCadam, & Gonzales, 1996; McKay, Nudelman, McCadam, & Gonzales, 1996; McKay, Stoewe, McCadam, & Gonzales, 1998). Delivered by current or former parents of children with identified mental health needs, family advocates trained in the PEP model provide instrumental and emotional support, information about mental health services, care coordination, referral and linkage to other services, respite, recreation, and direct advocacy (Jensen & Hoagwood, 2008). Moreover, the personal experience of advocates increases credibility and the ability to engender trust with parents, thereby helping families become more actively engaged in their children’s care (Gyamfi et al., 2010; Hoagwood et al., 2008; Koroloff, et al., 1994; 1996; Olin et al., in press; Robbins et al., 2008). Although research on family advocates is in the preliminary stages, it has been suggested that when family advocates are integrated in child mental health service delivery, families are more likely to engage in treatment (McKay et al., in press).
What is engagement in mental health?
As indicated by McKay and Bannon (2004), engagement generally encompasses a multi-phase process beginning with (1) recognition of children’s mental health problems by parents, teachers, or other important adults; (2) connecting children and their families with a mental health resource; and (3) children being brought to mental health centers or being seen by school-based mental health providers (Laitinen-Krispijn, Van der Ende, Wierdsma & Verhulst, 1999; Zwaanswijk, van der Ende, Verhaak, Bensing, & Verhulst., 2003; Zwaanswijk, Verhaak, Bensing, van der Ende, & Verhulst., 2003). Engagement can also be measured by (Step 1) rates of attendance at the initial intake appointment with a mental health provider, as well as (Step 2) retention in treatment over time. Each of these steps in the engagement process is related to the other. However, rates of engagement, as well as associated child, family, and service system characteristics differ between steps 1 and 2 (McKay & Bannon, 2004). Moreover, Alan Kazdin’s work at the Yale Child Study Center argues for a more nuanced definition of service engagement into distinct phases, whereby children exit treatment at diverse points (i.e., while waiting for treatment, after 1–2 sessions, or later in treatment; Kazdin, Holland, & Crowley, 1997; Kazdin & Mazurick, 1994; Kazdin, Mazurick, & Siegal, 1994). Kazdin and Mazurick (1994)further noted that characteristics of children and families vary as a function of the point in time at which they exit services.
How to increase attendance at mental health appointments?
Recent mental health and primary care engagement research indicates that telephone reminders continue to be an effective strategy to increase attendance at mental health treatment appointments, particularly when therapists, rather than clinic staff, make direct contact with clients or families (Shoffner, Staudt, Marcus, & Kapp, 2007). Additionally, new technology to improve appointment attendance includes the use of the internet and cellular telephones. A web-based appointment system that allows clinicians and staff to make, change, and confirm therapy appointments led to an increased likelihood of attendance at first therapy sessions (74%), as compared to traditional therapist-based scheduling by telephone (54%) (Tambling, Johnson, Templeton, & Melton, 2007). Appointment reminders sent via text-messaging is also an effective way to improve attendance rates at primary care outpatient services (Downer, Meara, Da Costa, & Sethuraman, 2006; Leong et al., 2006), and could be easily implemented at mental health clinics.
What is McKay and Bannon's 2004 review?
In response, McKay and Bannon’s 2004 review focused on empirically supported factors related to engaging families in child mental health treatment. The current paper serves as an update to the 2004 review, as new knowledge has emerged over the last 6 years regarding the definition of engagement, rates of treatment attendance, predictors of engagement, barriers, and engagement interventions. Additionally, as little information has focused specifically on the unique needs of clinical sub-populations, this paper also summarizes issues related to engaging families whose children manifest disruptive behavior disorders and symptoms of trauma. Finally, recent findings are used in a discussion of implications for research and clinical practice.
How is mental health engagement measured?
Currently, engagement in mental health care continues to be measured primarily by attendance at treatment sessions. McKay & Bannon (2004)indicated that no-show rates for initial intake appointments ranged from 48% (Harrison, McKay & Bannon, 2004) to 62% (McKay, McCadam, & Gonzales, 1996). More recently, McKay, Lynn and Bannon (2005) reported on attendance rates for 95 caregivers and children seeking treatment in an urban child mental health clinic. Among those who made an initial appointment via a telephone intake system, 28% of children accepted for services never attended an initial face-to-face intake appointment. Consequently, even conservative estimates indicate that close to 1/3 of children and their families fail to engage at the initial face-to-face intake appointment.
How many people with mental illness do not receive mental health treatment?
About 3 in 5 people ( 63%) with a history of mental illness do not receive mental health treatment while incarcerated in state and federal prisons. Less than half of people ( 45%) with a history of mental illness receive mental health treatment while held in local jails.
How many people in prison have mental illness?
About 2 in 5 people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness ( 37% in state and federal prisons and 44% held in local jails). 66% of women in prison reported having a history of mental illness, almost twice the percentage of men in prison.
How much money does mental illness cost the economy?
Across the U.S. economy, serious mental illness causes $193.2 billion in lost earnings each year. 20.5% of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. have a serious mental health condition. 37% of adults incarcerated in the state and federal prison system have a diagnosed mental illness.
How many people have mental illness in 2019?
5.2 % of U.S. adults experienced serious mental illness in 2019 (13.1 million people). This represents 1 in 20 adults.
How many emergency department visits are there for mental health?
Mental illness and substance use disorders are involved in 1 out of every 8 emergency department visits by a U.S. adult (estimated 12 million visits) Mood disorders are the most common cause of hospitalization for all people in the U.S. under age 45 ( after excluding hospitalization relating to pregnancy and birth)
How many hours a week do caregivers spend?
Caregivers of adults with mental or emotional health issues spend an average of 32 hours per week providing unpaid care
What is the leading cause of death for people held in local jails?
Suicide is the leading cause of death for people held in local jails.
What percentage of Australian killers had psychiatric treatment?
Among the sample, the most common diagnoses were substance use disorders and personality disorders. Wallace 14 found that 36 percent of convicted Australian killers had participated in psychiatric treatment at some point before their offense, most of which again was for personality disorders and substance abuse.
How many people died from violence in 2004?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 17,357 homicides occurred in 2004, making it the 15th leading cause of death and yielding a death rate by violence for the year of 5.9 per 100,000.6Among women and men under 45 years of age, those in the lowest socioeconomic class were three times more likely to be violent than those in the highest socioeconomic class. Rates of violence also increased with lower education level, less social stability, and in regions with high rates of unemployment.7
How does family history of violence affect violent behavior?
That same desensitization and the importance of past experiences are displayed in a number of studies finding that a family history of violence is predictive of violent behavior.43Green and Kowalick20noted that variables such as parental hostility, maternal permissiveness, and absence of maternal affection could predict subsequent antisocial behaviors. Other psychosocial factors may include abuse as a child, poor parental modeling, limited social supports, and poor school experiences.4Conversely, increased family contact, especially if fraught with conflict, can prompt aggression and violent acts. Elbogen and colleagues assessed 245 severely mentally ill patients discharged on an outpatient commitment for one year and discovered that high family contact and family representative payeeship increased the predictive probability of family violence, after controlling for covariates such as violence history and substance abuse.44
How does substance use affect violence?
Eronen, et al.,24discovered that the combination of alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder increased the odds of women committing homicide 40 to 50 fold, while the diagnosis of schizophrenia increased the risk only 5 to 6 fold. Steadman and colleagues9determined that patients with concomitant mental illness and substance abuse were 73 percent more likely to be aggressive than were nonsubstance abusers, with or without mental illness. Further, patients with primary diagnoses of substance use disorders and personality disorders were 240 percent more likely to commit violent acts than mentally ill patients without substance abuse issues.9
What is a family history of violence?
A family history of violence constitutes a major discriminator between violent and nonviolent individuals. 19 Violence is likely a polygenetic phenomenon, with many genes acting in a coordinated fashion to produce an aggressive phenotype. 20 There is no evidence that there is a specific genetic locus, and it is unknown whether a family history of violence signifies genetic transmission or learned behavior. Nielson, et al., 21 found preliminary evidence that a disturbance in coding for tryptophan hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin synthesis, was found in patients with impulsive aggressive behavior. More recently, a polymorphism in the catechol O-methyltransferase gene on chromosome 22q has been associated with significantly higher levels of hostility in schizophrenic patients. 22 Having a family history of antisocial personality disorder has been shown to increase the risk for development of conduct disorder, aggression, and antisocial behavior in children. 23 Eronen and colleagues 24 further noted that a family history positive for homicidal ideation and attempts was associated with extreme aggressive acts.
Why are hate crimes so prevalent in youth?
Other contributing factors specific to hate crimes in youth include frustration, boredom, and erroneous learned ideas that certain victims are appropriate targets for violence. Another study examined physically assaultive adult inpatients (n=238) diagnosed with major mental illnesses and discovered a higher prevalence of school truancy and foster home placement in the violent group, compared to a nonviolent control group.46
What is a psychiatrist's role in the management of violence?
A psychiatrist who is well versed in the recognition and management of violence can contribute to the appropriate management of dangerous behaviors and minimize risk to patients, their families, mental health workers, and the community as a whole. Keywords: violence, aggression, risk factors, agitation, crime, hostility, stigma.
How does family affect mental health?
Historically, families were regarded as causing their relative's mental illness through neglect, abuse, or conflict (Wyder & Bland 2014 ). Increasingly, however, it is recognized that families can be both a source of trauma and a source of healing (Bouverie Centre 2016 ). In a series of interviews with people with a mental illness, Aldersley and Whitley ( 2015) found that while families supported recovery in multiple ways, they may also contribute to their relative's stress. Notwithstanding the potential for families to impede recovery, family members may also or instead play a vital role for their relative's recovery journey by offering encouragement, promoting help-seeking and offering housing and financial assistance (Maybery & Reupert 2017 ). A recent systematic review identified studies where ‘family’ was highlighted within a recovery framework (Reupert et al. 2017 ). Of the 31 papers identified, eight did not define what was meant by family, while a further ten studies focused exclusively on an individual's relationships with parents. The authors concluded that further research was needed to determine how people with a mental illness define and understand the role of family in the recovery journey. Better understanding of the role of family in recovery is warranted given an increasing emphasis on self-directed care and reliance on informal supports (Bland & Foster 2012 ).
Why is talking to family members about mental health important?
Moreover, talking to family members about mental illness may be empowering for consumers as initiating and holding such conversations allows consumers to decide what and how information is disseminated into their family. Such a stance appears to be well aligned to empowerment and recovery.
What are the relationships in recovery?
( 2007) depict recovery as a dynamic interaction between the individual and their social environment. These authors argue that interactions with others, including family, friends, and practitioners, will inevitably impact on an individual's ability to access help, develop agency, and create purpose and meaning in life (Onken et al. 2002 ). Similarly, Tew et al. ( 2012) argue that ‘relationships are vital to recovery: they shape identity and contribute to or hinder wellbeing’ (p. 451). However, these studies do not specify relationship types (i.e. family, friend, or community) nor how these different relationships might promote or hinder an individual's recovery. While Foster and Isobel ( 2018) recommend a family-centred relational recovery approach, they found that mental health nurses lack the confidence to support such practice and require specific training with organizational policy at all levels. Maybery & Reupert ( 2017) synthesized family-focused practice with recovery in terms of (1) acknowledging the family role of the client (e.g. parent), (2) recognizing that family can contribute to recovery and (3) appreciating that families go through their own recovery journeys.
How to be a family focused recovery?
A multifaceted approach is needed when promoting family-focused recovery. To be effective partners in recovery, services need to promote clinician skills that support those diagnosed with a mental illness in engaging their families within a recovery framework. Clinicians need to engage with individuals in a supported decision-making process regarding who is in their family and when and how they want them to be involved. These conversations need to be ongoing as different family members may play different roles at different times, for example during times of wellness and times of illness and at different developmental or life stages. Privacy and confidentiality need to be discussed in regard to what information is released, to whom and when. Conversations also need to focus on how the family might support an individual's specific recovery goals. This means clinicians need to not only provide basic psychoeducation but also discuss how individuals might talk with their family about their goals and experience and understanding of the illness. Further policy consideration is required to ensure that relational components are acknowledged.
What is qualitative approach?
A qualitative approach was used to explore the phenomenon of interest and to use a method grounded in lived experience (Sandelowski 2004 ). Inspired by naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln & Guba 1985 ), researchers sought to understand participants’ individual understandings and experiences in context to offer clinicians further insight into the consumer perspective. Semi-structured interviews with persons who had been diagnosed with severe mental illness were conducted to explore their understanding of where family were positioned in their recovery. Severe mental illness was defined as persistent, interfering with daily living and requiring complex and multiagency services (Whiteford et al. 2017 ).
How does parenting help with mental illness?
Rather than not involving family at all, however, participants described the importance of setting boundaries whereby they decided which family members they wanted to involve, and how. By negotiating clear boundaries and adjusting these when needed, those with a mental illness may take responsibility for their own self-care and for how others treat them, again a stance strongly resonating with recovery. Many of the participants had young children and similar to the results here, others have found that parenting can provide an incentive to recover and promote feelings of self-agency and determination (Reupert et al. 2017 ).
Why is multifaceted approach important in recovery?
A multifaceted approach is needed to promote family-focused recovery practice. The needs of different family members and the needs of the family as a group should be considered concurrently alongside the individual's needs in their recovery plan.
How does family involvement affect mental health?
Individuals with serious mental illness have better treatment outcomes when a family member or other support person is involved in their care (1). Most research in this area has focused on the effects of family involvement on outpatient care. Intensive family services, such as family psychoeducation, have shown the greatest benefit, with demonstrated reductions in relapse and rehospitalization rates and improved family and patient functioning (1). Family member participation in outpatient services has also been associated with significant reductions in psychiatric symptoms of the patient (2). Notably, many early studies of family psychoeducation recruited recently relapsed patients from inpatient units (3).
What is family involvement in psychiatric hospitalizations?
Family Involvement in Psychiatric Hospitalizations: Associations With Discharge Planning and Prompt Follow-Up Care
What is a mental health appointment?
A mental health appointment was defined as any visit to a clinic or specialty behavioral health service licensed by the state mental health authority or any outpatient service with a primary diagnosis of a mental disorder that was provided by a mental health practitioner or physician.
Should family members be part of mental health care?
Attempting to contact and involve a family member should be part of standard care for mental health inpatients. Individuals with serious mental illness have better treatment outcomes when a family member or other support person is involved in their care ( 1 ).
Is family involvement beneficial?
Involving family in the care of inpatients with serious mental illness is known to be beneficial. This study examined frequencies of involvement by family in the care and discharge planning for 179 psychiatric inpatients.
How many people don't get treatment for mental illness?
In America, 1 out of 5 adults suffers from a mental illness, but around 60% of them don’t receive treatment. It’s not uncommon for depression to occur with another illness or medical condition. 83% of bipolar disorder patients have a severe case.
How many people in the US don't have mental health?
Mental illness statistics in the USA show that 56% of Americans don’t receive mental health treatment when they need it, often because they don’t have access to mental healthcare. In 2018, police officers shot and killed 987 people in the US, around 245 of whom had serious mental health issues.
What are the statistics on mental health?
10 Key Mental Health Statistics Worldwide 1 In America, 1 out of 5 adults suffers from a mental illness, but around 60% of them don’t receive treatment. 2 It’s not uncommon for depression to occur with another illness or medical condition. 3 83% of bipolar disorder patients have a severe case. 4 Young people from the LGBTQ+ population are 2.5 times more likely to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety or have problems with substance abuse. 5 Mental illness statistics in the USA show that 56% of Americans don’t receive mental health treatment when they need it, often because they don’t have access to mental healthcare. 6 In 2018, police officers shot and killed 987 people in the US, around 245 of whom had serious mental health issues. 7 14.9% of children aged 4 and under whose parents had poor mental health develop a disorder themselves. 8 Women are more likely to experience depression during their lifetimes than men. 9 It’s possible for a patient to suffer from both depression and schizophrenia. 10 Mental health disorders are more prevalent than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
How many war veterans have mental health issues?
According to data on war veterans’ mental health, statistics show that up to a third of soldiers who’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan are affected by mental health problems—which can often lead to drug or alcohol abuse. Experts claim that the rationale behind these problems might be that they have difficulties adjusting to their normal lives upon returning from war zones.
Why don't people seek help for mental health?
Many people don’t seek help because of the perceived stigma of mental illness, as the statistics show.
What are the causes of mental illness?
As with most other diseases, mental illnesses are caused by a variety of factors, which range from the physical to the psychological, the most common being genetics, a biochemical imbalance, and external sources of stress.
Why is it important to educate ourselves about mental health?
Also, it’s important to educate ourselves on mental health so that we’re able to recognize any possible symptoms early and seek help.