Quick Facts about Mental Illness

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Ten Quick Facts about Mental Illness:

  1. 20-25% of people have a mental illness at any point in time.
  2. 50-80% of people have a mental illness at some point in their life.
  3. 50-70% of adults with a mental illness are parents.
  4. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses.
  5. Depression is the leading cause of disability for young adults in the U.S. 
  6. Drug use in school-aged young people is at its lowest rate in 20 years! Only 6-13.3% of young people reported using drugs.
  7. Nearly 45,000 Americans die from suicide every year.
  8. Mental illness usually happens for the first time during the teen or young adult years.
  9. Up to 50% of former U.S. Presidents may have had a mental illness during their lifetime.
  10. Mental illness treatment works! Up to 90% of people who receive treatment get better!
Sources:

1. Leijdesdorff, S., van Doesum, K., Popma, A., Klaassen, R., & van Amelsvoort, T. (2017). Prevalence of psychopathology in children of parents with mental illness and/or addiction: An up to date narrative review. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 30, 312-317. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000341

2. National Institute on Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml & Scientific American (2018). https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/mental-illness-is-far-...

3. Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2016). Parental mental illness: The impact on children and adolescents. Information for parents, carers and anyone who works with young people. Retreived from rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/parentsandyouthinfo/parentscarers/parentalmentalillness.aspx

4. National Institute on Mental Health (2018). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/what-is-prevalence.shtml

5. National Institute on Mental Health (2018). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/what-is-prevalence.shtml

6. National Institiute on Drug Abuse (2017). https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/monitoring-future-surve...

7. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2018). https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

8. Kessler, R. C., Amminger, G. P., Aguilar‐Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Lee, S., & Ustun, T. B. (2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: A review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20, 359-364. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0b013e32816ebc8c

9. Davidson, J. R., Connor, K. M., & Swartz, M. (2006). Mental illness in US Presidents between 1776 and 1974: A review of biographical sources. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194, 47-51.

10. NAMI California (2018). Mental illness facts. https://namica.org/resources/mental-illness/mental-illness-facts/