National Mental Health Month – A Look at America’s Mental Health

As National Mental Health Month draws to a close, we would like to take a look at America’s mental health, and ask that as the year moves forward and we move on to focus on other important topics, you do not let mental health awareness fall by the wayside in your family, community, and workplace. Mental illness is far more common than most of us like to believe. Those who suffer from it and the people who love and try to support them are grossly underserved.

Some Numbers

According to Parity or Disparity: The State of Mental Health in America 2015, a new report released by Mental Health America (MHA), we have a very large number of Americans suffering from mental health problems, and we are not meeting their mental health needs. Some findings:

• 42.5 million adults in America suffer from a mental health problem, that’s more than 18%.
• 8.8 million adults report serious thoughts of suicide.
• 6.2 million children, in America, suffer from an Emotional, Behavioral, or Developmental (EBD) issue.
• 2.1 million children, or 8.66%, report having at least one Major Depressive Episode in the year.
• More than 8% of youth report having attempted suicide once in the last year.
• Twice as many females attempt suicide as compared to males.
• Only 41.4% of people with mental illness report receiving treatment.
• One in five adults with mental illness reported that they did not receive the treatment they felt they needed.

According to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Council, people with serious mental illness, in the U.S., die 25 years earlier than the general population, on average. In people with schizophrenia, 60% of premature deaths are the result of treatable medical conditions.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., the third leading cause of death in people aged ten to 24 and the second leading cause of death in people aged 15 to 24, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), an estimated 18-22 veterans commit suicide each day.

Support mental health awareness and if you or a loved one are in need of assistance, please seek help.