19 Shocking facts you need to know about Mental Health today

According to Harvard Medical School,” mental illness is a mental health condition that gets in the way of thinking, relating to others, and day-to-day function.”

Mental illness does not discriminate.

It can affect anyone of any age, gender, race, ethnic background, education, or income level.

The symptoms can be emotional and physical. From feeling down, social withdrawal, or mood changes to stomach aches, back pain, or insomnia.

Research has proven that mental health plays a crucial role in achieving global development. This is why in recent years the World Health Organisation has highlighted the importance of focusing on mental health issues. As mental health disorders impose enormous health, social and economic burdens on societies throughout the world.

”The foregone economic output because of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders globally is in trillions of dollars.”

Out of the shadows, 2016 (the World Bank Group/IMF & WHO)

Focusing more on mental health issues would definitely bring success on many levels. This is why it is quite disapointing that treatment coverage remains extremely low.

Stigma, prejudice, and fear continue to dominate the conversation around the subject of mental wellbeing.

(The World Bank, Making Mental Health a Global Development Priority)

Mental Health

• Around 1 in 5 of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental disorder. (Who)

• 5% of adults experience a mental illness in any one year, equivalent to 43.8 million people. (Mental Health Aid)

• It is projected that the leading cause of mortality and morbidity (globally) by 2030 will be mental health problems. (particularly depression) (Mental Health Foundation)

Depression & Anxiety

• The average share of adults reporting symptoms of Anxiety Disorder and/or Depressive Disorder is 11% in January-June 2019 (KFF) vs. 41.1% in January 2021. (Household Pulse Survey)

• Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with 7.8% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis. (Mental Health Foundation)

• Mixed anxiety and depression has been estimated to cause one-fifth of days lost from work in Britain (Mental Health Foundation)

Death

• Almost 800.000 people die by suicide every year; 1 person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. (Who)

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death in individuals aged 15-29 years. (Who)

• People with severe mental disorders die 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population. (Who)

Autism

• 1 in 100 people is on the autism spectrum. In the UK there are 700,000 autistic adults and children. (National Autistic Society)

• Autistic people can become experts in the topics they have a special interest in. They also enjoy sharing their knowledge. (National Autistic Society)

• While autism is most often diagnosed in the early years, it’s quite common for adults on the autism spectrum to go undiagnosed. (National Autistic Society)

Psychosis

• Women are at a higher risk of psychosis after giving birth, with around 2 out of 1000 births resulting in postpartum psychosis (US National Library of Medicine)

• Ethnic minorities tend to have a higher risk of developing psychosis, although the cause for this higher risk is not known (National Institutes of Health)

Bipolar disorder

• Bipolar disorder is fairly common, and 1 in every 100 people will be diagnosed with it at some point in their life. (NHS)

• Bipolar disorder can occur at any age, although it often develops between the ages of 15 and 19 and rarely develops after 40. (NHS)

PTSD

• An estimated 354 million adult war survivors globally have PTSD and/or major depression. (European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 2019)

•  The percentage of people who will likely develop PTSD after experiencing these traumatic events:

Sexual assault: 49%,

Severe physical assault: 32%,

Serious accidents: 16.8%,

Shoot and stabbing victims: 15.4%,

The unexpected death of a loved one: 14.3%,

Parents of children with life-threatening illnesses: 10.4%,

Witnesses of violence: 7.3%,

Natural disaster victims: 3.8% (Sidran Institute, 2018)

• Less than half of the 139 countries that have mental health policies and plans report having these aligned with human rights conventions. (Who)

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