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Mental Illness affects us all – if you are not part of the 18.5% of American adults personally touched in a given year, you probably know someone who l & rsquo; is.
Fortunately, the stigma attached to mental illness is being progressively dismantled. This is no longer the taboo subject that it was only a few years ago, thanks to mental health activists and training courses.
But much remains to be done to remove these obstacles. Here are some facts about mental illness everyone should know.
1. About 43.8 million Americans will suffer from at least one episode of mental illness during a given year.
That's 18.5% of your compatriots. In addition, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that one in 25 adults in the United States will suffer from a mental illness serious enough to interfere with or limit their ability to perform their normal duties.
Perhaps it is not surprising that combined mental and substance use disorders are the leading causes of disability in the world – Contribute to 23% of all years lost due to a disability.
2. Anxiety is the most common type of mental illness.
Anxiety disorders come in a variety of forms, from generalized anxiety disorder to social anxiety disorder (ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder (PD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and stroke disorder. phobia. Together, it is estimated that 18.1% of adults are afflicted with at least one of the above cases in a given year, making anxiety disorder the most prevalent mental illness in the world. United States.
Second place is depression, affecting 6.9% (16 million) of adults each year.
3. About half of all chronic mental disorders will begin before the person's 14th birthday.
Yes, it is possible to develop a mental health problem in children. Indeed, the mental health of young people seems to be degrading – and this could, at least in part, be related to our dependence on our smartphones. Take the example of depression: according to Mental Health America, 8.2% of those under 18 experienced severe depression in 2015. This is up from 5.9% in 2012.
Overall, it is estimated that about 20% of young people in the world are living with a mental health problem. The truth is that mental illness can affect anyone at any time, but it is thought that specific risk factors (do you think: family history, trauma and high IQ) make it more likely.
4. Mental health is not in your head. It can also affect your body.
Despite what the name "mental health" could suggest, this is not all in the spirit. In fact, according to one study, the expected lifespan may be heavier than excessive smoking.
As pointed out a Twitter user and a mental health advocate, dealing with a mental illness can be exhausting. It can also affect the functioning of your immune system and your digestive system, while previous studies have linked mental illness to more serious physical complications. For example, metabolic disorders, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and immune-related diseases such as HIV.
5. More than half of adults attribute mental illness to personal failure – they are wrong.
In light of all that we have learned about mental illness in recent decades, a Kaiser Permanente survey found that more than half of adults think that mental illness is at least partly explained by personal weakness or defect. Character. In fact, a complex set of factors plays a role in our mental state, from genetics to the environment to seemingly minor elements as well as pollution levels. (But "character flaws" are not part of it.)
The myth that people with mental illness can be dangerous and violent is equally destructive. In reality, they are much more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crime.
6. Women are more likely to suffer from mental illness, but men are much more likely to commit suicide.
A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that women were more likely than men to suffer from a mental health problem, the most at risk being young women. The researchers found that one in six British Britons suffered from a common mental disorder, but that figure rose to one in five when men were excluded from the equation and fell to one on eight when women have been.
However, other studies have shown that men are more likely to commit suicide. Suicide is currently the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34 years. According to NAMI, 90% of people who die by suicide have signs of mental illness.
7. Recovery is possible with proper treatment and management. (Although what is appropriate can mean different things to different people.)
To end on a positive note, recovery is possible. Indeed, some people may find that with the right treatment, they never live another episode. This could include medications, therapy, support groups, lifestyle changes or anything above.
The problem, for the moment, seems to be access: just 41% of American adults with a mental health problem receive the treatment they need, according to NAMI. The situation is even worse for ethnic minority groups, African Americans and Hispanics accessing mental health services at a rate half that of white Americans and Americans of Asian origin.
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