Mental Health | Facts and Sources

Click on any fact below to see the source page.

Questions about Mental Health?

Call the United States Department of Health Services National Helpline at
800-622-HELP

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN CRISIS, CALL THE 24/7 NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE 800-273-TALK (8255) OR TEXT THE CRISIS TEXT LINE AT 741741

YOU CAN ALSO USE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES:

1 (800) 799-7233 National Domestic Violence Hotline
1 (800) 996-6228 Family Violence Helpline
1 (800) 784-2433 National Hopeline Network
1 (800) 366-8288 Self-Harm Hotline
1 (800) 230-7526 Planned Parenthood Hotline
1 (800) 222-1222 American Association of Poison Control Centers
1 (800) 622-2255 Alcoholism & Drug Dependency Hope Line
1 (800) 233-4357 National Crisis Line, Anorexia and Bulimia
1 (888) 843-4564 GLBT Hotline
1 (866) 488-7386 TREVOR Crisis Hotline
1 (800) 221-7044 AIDS Crisis Line
1 (800) 422-4453 The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
1 (877) 565-8860 The Trans Lifeline

CHECK OUT THIS WONDERFUL RESOURCE FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND NEED HELP: TALKSPACE
BENEFITS OF TALKSPACE INCLUDE:

24/7 access – reach out whenever you need
Eliminate commute time and scheduling hassles
Flexible plans to meet your needs and lifestyle
Seamlessly switch therapists, at no extra cost
Save money while receiving high-quality care

Click HERE to explore their website and options available.

Please take a look at the following book resource for those affected by Trauma:

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

Please click HERE to purchase on Amazon.

England’s Mental Health Experiment: No-Cost Talk Therapy:

Mental health care systems vary widely across the western world, but none have gone nearly so far to provide open-ended access to talk therapies backed by hard evidence.
The program now screens nearly a million people a year, and the number of adults with common mental disorders who have recently received some mental health treatment has jumped to one in three from one in four and is expected to continue to grow.
Mental health professionals also say the program has gone a long way to shrink the stigma of psychotherapy in a nation culturally steeped in stoicism.
The enormous amount of data collected through the program has shown the importance of a quick response after a person’s initial call and of a triage-like screening system in deciding a course of treatment.

Please click HERE to read the full article by the NY Times.

In its article about the book titled “No One Cares About Crazy People” by Ron Powers, the NY Times highlights some of the staggering facts about mental illness that the book reveals.

Today, there are some 10 million Americans with mental illness and only 45,000 impatient psychiatric beds, leaving the suffering to shuffle between “crisis hospitalization, homelessness and incarceration.”
Jails and prisons are now the nation’s largest mental health care facilities.
There are 38,000 suicides a year in this country, and 90 percent of the victims are mentally ill.

Please click HERE to read the full article about a book that is meant to change the way society views and treats the mentally ill.

Time.com gives us 7 signs that one might have if they are having a nervous breakdown. “A nervous breakdown is a situation in which a person cannot function normally because of overwhelming stress.”

Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression:
o If you are headed for a nervous breakdown, you might feel weepy, or even experience episodes of uncontrollable crying. Some people suddenly struggle with self-esteem and confidence or having a sense of guilt.
Sleeping too much, or not enough:
o A change in your sleep habits. Sleep becomes an escape. Others may develop insomnia because their brain is in overdrive.

Fatigue:
o Extreme tiredness could also be a clue you’re stressed to the max. Things that used to bring you joy may lose their appeal

Changes in Appetite:
o Maybe you’re not eating, or conversely, you might be overeating. There’s less ability to care for oneself in the way one typically would.

Physical Pain:
o Headaches, stomachaches, problems with digestion.

Brain Fog:
o Trouble concentrating, not thinking clearly. Might include anything from difficulty with problem-solving and indecisiveness to a sense of disorientation and memory loss.
Trouble Breathing:
o Tightness in your chest and rapid breathing. Taking quick, shallow breaths can ramp up the body’s stress response even more.

Please click Here to read the full article as well as get some ideas and suggestions on what you should do if you think you are having a nervous breakdown.

What if Mental Health First Aid Were as Widespread as CPR? New York City’s Planning to Do It – Time magazine points to www.yesmagazine.org for more information on this idea.

One in every four Americans experiences mental illness, and lack of police understanding can lead to tragedy.
More people are suffering and miss more time from work from depression compared to any other medical problem
Untreated depression is also the No. 1 cause of suicide – at more than 40,000 U.S. suicides a year

The plan is to implement training for first responders in Mental Health First Aid. Please click here to read the full article and learn how this will take place.

Time.com gives us the following facts:

43.6 Million adults in the U.S. had a mental illness in the past year.
While mental illness directly affects 1 in 5 Americans, its impact extends to countless family members, co-workers, and loved ones.
In social terms, it affects communities, schools and the economy – mental illness is a leading cause of disability in New York City and the U.S.

In her article, Dr. Mary T. Basset – NYC Health Commissioner, provides a model for Mental Health Treatment. Click Here to read the full article.

Time.com gives the following facts about why Teen depression treatment is an increasingly thorny issue.

Between 30% and 50% of people respond to antidepressant drugs
Researchers are still trying to find the exact effects of antidepressant drugs on still-developing brains (teens).
About 11% of Americans ages 12-17 have had a major depressive episode in the past year
About 3% of teens in the U.S. take antidepressants
Only one drug, Fluoxetine, is approved by the FDA for children and teens with major depressive disorder, but because the others are available for adults, many doctors prescribe them for younger people, too.
A study by the University of Oxford involving more than 5,000 children or teens taking 14 different antidepressants showed that only the one drug approved by the FDA for kids, Fluoxetine, improved their depression
Most pediatric experts say that the first line of treatment for depression in teens: quality psychotherapy.

Please click Here to read the full article and learn more about the research done.

Nytimes.com article has the following facts about how aid groups are aiming to put Mental Health on World agenda:

In developing countries, the ratio of mental health professionals to citizens is about one in a million – and that vast majority of people with treatable conditions like anxiety and depression are left to their own devices, or to the ministrations of local fold healers.
In a review of data from 36 countries, including poor nations in Africa and Asia as well as affluent countries in Europe and elsewhere, an international research team calculated that every dollar of investment in treatment programs for anxiety and depression, the most common mental disorders, would bring a return of $3 to $5 in recovered economic contributions and years of healthy life.
About 30 percent of total disability costs are due to mental health disorders — this is huge number.
Mental health has traditionally languished near the bottom of the international health agenda, as well as nations’ health spending.

Click Here to read the full article about how aiming to put Mental Health on World Agenda could help our economy in more ways than one. Also, Click Here to read how the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation is contributing to this movement and how you can get involved.

The New York Times has the following facts about how U.S. Suicide rate has risen to a 30-year high.

Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group except older adults.
Suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64 jumped by 63%, while it rose by 43% for men in that same age range
The overall suicide rate rose by 24% from 1999 to 2014.
This raised the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986
In all, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

Please click Here to read the full article in The New York Times.

Neurogain: Advanced Treatment for Depression with Ketamine Therapy.

Neurogain is the pioneer of ketamine therapy – a revolutionary therapeutic approach to treating severe depression. Neurogain physician partners provide outpatient, state-of-the-art ketamine infusion services to improve the lives of people suffering from treatment-resistant illnesses.

Click Here to check out the website of the new Neurogain drug.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) gives us the following facts about Mental Health:

Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. – 43.8 million, or 18.5% – experiences mental illness in a given year.
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. – 10 million, or 4.2% – experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.
70% of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition and at least 20% live with a serious mental illness.
Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.
Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14-21 and older who are served by special education drop out – the highest dropout rate of any disability group.
One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by the age of 24.

NAMI also has multiple ways a person can get involved in the care and awareness of Mental Health. Click Here to see the options and get involved.

The following facts were provided by suicidetherippleeffect.com (originally from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), an organization started by a suicide survivor:

An American dies by suicide every 12.95 minutes.
Americans attempt suicide an estimated 1 million times annually.
For every woman who dies by suicide, four men die by suicide, but women are 3x more likely to attempt suicide.
90% of those who die by suicide had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time their death.
In 2012, firearms were the most common method of death by suicide, accounting for 50.9% of all suicide deaths, followed by suffocation (including hangings) at 24.8% and poisoning at 16.7%.
Over 40,000 Americans die by suicide every year. Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States:
2^nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24
5^th leading cause of death for ages 45-59
The suicide rate among American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents and young adults ages 15-24 is 1.8 times the national average
Veterans comprise 22.2% of suicides.
More than 1.5 million years of life are lost annually to suicide.

Click Here to explore and read about Kevin Hines’ story of his own suicide attempt and the ripple effect it made on those around him.

The National Alliance for Mental Health has the following facts:

In 2010, there were an estimated 45.9 million adults (age 18 or older) in the US with a mental illness.
Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
More than 2/3 of Americans who have mental illness live in the community and lead productive lives.
Mental illnesses can affect people of any age, race, religion, or income. It is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functioning.
Serious mental illnesses include: major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and borderline personality disorder.
31.3 million adults (13.7% of the population) received mental health services during the past 12 months.
Mental illness and intellectual disability are not the same. Mental illness affects a person’s thinking, mood and behavior, whereas those with an intellectual disability experience limitation in intellectual function and difficulties with certain skills.
4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are: mental disorders, which include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Between 70 and 90% of people with mental illnesses experience a significant reduction of symptoms and an improved quality of life, with proper care and treatment.
Every year, as many as 8 million Americans who have serious mental illnesses don’t receive adequate treatment.
Mental health conditions are listed as the second highest reason employees miss work. And by 2020, major depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children.
Around 20% of the world’s children and adolescents have mental disorders or problems. About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14.
About 800,000 people commit suicide every year.
In 2014, One in 10 young people experienced a period of major depression.
Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States. It accounts for the loss of more than 41,000 American lives each year, more than double the number of lives lost to homicide.

Click Here for some opportunities to get involved in the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Alzheimer’s Association gives the following facts about this horrible disease:

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease
By the year 2050, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s may rise as high as 16 million
Every 67 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are responsible for nearly $226 billion in annual costs in the United States

Click Here for ways to get involved in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.

“For Teens in Crisis, the Next Text Could Be a Lifesaver…The Crisis Text Line’s counselors exchange 20,000 messages a day with people seeking help.” – New York Times, September 4, 2015

New York City Initiative Aims to Help Mentally Ill People Who Get Violent – NY TIMES Aug 7, 2015

How an Insomnia Therapy Can Help With Other Illnesses – NY TIMES July 13, 2015

“Young Adult Suicide is a Silent Epidemic”. Help Yourself and Those You Love to Conquer Depression and Prevent Suicide – Jordan Harris Foundation

Anxiety disorders now affect 18 % of the adult population of the United States. – National Institute of Mental Health

Preventing murder by the seriously mentally ill. – CNN

As psychiatrist Dr. Aaron Beck turns 90, he is researching the use of Cognitive Therapy on Schizophrenia…[March 2011] – The American Journal of Psychiatry

Click on any fact below to see the source page.

Questions about Mental Health?

Call the United States Department of Health Services National Helpline at 800-622-HELP

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN CRISIS, CALL THE 24/7 NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE 800-273-TALK (8255) OR TEXT THE CRISIS TEXT LINE AT 741741

YOU CAN ALSO USE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES:

CHECK OUT THIS WONDERFUL RESOURCE FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND NEED HELP: TALKSPACE BENEFITS OF TALKSPACE INCLUDE:

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Traumaby Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

Mental health care systems vary widely across the western world, but none have gone nearly so far to provide open-ended access to talk therapies backed by hard evidence.

The program now screens nearly a million people a year, and the number of adults with common mental disorders who have recently received some mental health treatment has jumped to one in three from one in four and is expected to continue to grow.

Mental health professionals also say the program has gone a long way to shrink the stigma of psychotherapy in a nation culturally steeped in stoicism.

The enormous amount of data collected through the program has shown the importance of a quick response after a person’s initial call and of a triage-like screening system in deciding a course of treatment.

In its article about the book titled “No One Cares About Crazy People” by Ron Powers, the NY Times highlights some of the staggering facts about mental illness that the book reveals.

Today, there are some 10 million Americans with mental illness and only 45,000 impatient psychiatric beds, leaving the suffering to shuffle between “crisis hospitalization, homelessness and incarceration.”

Jails and prisons are now the nation’s largest mental health care facilities.

There are 38,000 suicides a year in this country, and 90 percent of the victims are mentally ill.

Time.com gives us 7 signs that one might have if they are having a nervous breakdown. “A nervous breakdown is a situation in which a person cannot function normally because of overwhelming stress.”

Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression:o If you are headed for a nervous breakdown, you might feel weepy, or even experience episodes of uncontrollable crying. Some people suddenly struggle with self-esteem and confidence or having a sense of guilt.

Sleeping too much, or not enough:o A change in your sleep habits. Sleep becomes an escape. Others may develop insomnia because their brain is in overdrive.

Fatigue:o Extreme tiredness could also be a clue you’re stressed to the max. Things that used to bring you joy may lose their appeal

Changes in Appetite:o Maybe you’re not eating, or conversely, you might be overeating. There’s less ability to care for oneself in the way one typically would.

Physical Pain:o Headaches, stomachaches, problems with digestion.

Brain Fog:o Trouble concentrating, not thinking clearly. Might include anything from difficulty with problem-solving and indecisiveness to a sense of disorientation and memory loss.

Trouble Breathing:o Tightness in your chest and rapid breathing. Taking quick, shallow breaths can ramp up the body’s stress response even more.

Please click Here to read the full article as well as get some ideas and suggestions on what you should do if you think you are having a nervous breakdown.

What if Mental Health First Aid Were as Widespread as CPR? New York City’s Planning to Do It – Time magazine points to www.yesmagazine.org for more information on this idea.

One in every four Americans experiences mental illness, and lack of police understanding can lead to tragedy.

More people are suffering and miss more time from work from depression compared to any other medical problem

Untreated depression is also the No. 1 cause of suicide – at more than 40,000 U.S. suicides a year

The plan is to implement training for first responders in Mental Health First Aid. Please click here to read the full article and learn how this will take place.

Time.com gives us the following facts:

43.6 Million adults in the U.S. had a mental illness in the past year.

While mental illness directly affects 1 in 5 Americans, its impact extends to countless family members, co-workers, and loved ones.

In social terms, it affects communities, schools and the economy – mental illness is a leading cause of disability in New York City and the U.S.

In her article, Dr. Mary T. Basset – NYC Health Commissioner, provides a model for Mental Health Treatment. Click Here to read the full article.

Time.com gives the following facts about why Teen depression treatment is an increasingly thorny issue.

Between 30% and 50% of people respond to antidepressant drugs

Researchers are still trying to find the exact effects of antidepressant drugs on still-developing brains (teens).

About 11% of Americans ages 12-17 have had a major depressive episode in the past year

About 3% of teens in the U.S. take antidepressants

Only one drug, Fluoxetine, is approved by the FDA for children and teens with major depressive disorder, but because the others are available for adults, many doctors prescribe them for younger people, too.

A study by the University of Oxford involving more than 5,000 children or teens taking 14 different antidepressants showed that only the one drug approved by the FDA for kids, Fluoxetine, improved their depression

Most pediatric experts say that the first line of treatment for depression in teens: quality psychotherapy.

Please click Here to read the full article and learn more about the research done.

Nytimes.com article has the following facts about how aid groups are aiming to put Mental Health on World agenda:

In developing countries, the ratio of mental health professionals to citizens is about one in a million – and that vast majority of people with treatable conditions like anxiety and depression are left to their own devices, or to the ministrations of local fold healers.

About 30 percent of total disability costs are due to mental health disorders — this is huge number.

Mental health has traditionally languished near the bottom of the international health agenda, as well as nations’ health spending.

Click Here to read the full article about how aiming to put Mental Health on World Agenda could help our economy in more ways than one. Also, Click Here to read how the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation is contributing to this movement and how you can get involved.

The New York Times has the following facts about how U.S. Suicide rate has risen to a 30-year high.

Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group except older adults.

Suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64 jumped by 63%, while it rose by 43% for men in that same age range

The overall suicide rate rose by 24% from 1999 to 2014.

This raised the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986

In all, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

Please click Here to read the full article in The New York Times.

Neurogain: Advanced Treatment for Depression with Ketamine Therapy.

Neurogain is the pioneer of ketamine therapy – a revolutionary therapeutic approach to treating severe depression. Neurogain physician partners provide outpatient, state-of-the-art ketamine infusion services to improve the lives of people suffering from treatment-resistant illnesses.

Click Here to check out the website of the new Neurogain drug.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) gives us the following facts about Mental Health:

Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. – 43.8 million, or 18.5% – experiences mental illness in a given year.

Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. – 10 million, or 4.2% – experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorder.

Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.

70% of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition and at least 20% live with a serious mental illness.

Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.

Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14-21 and older who are served by special education drop out – the highest dropout rate of any disability group.

One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by the age of 24.

NAMI also has multiple ways a person can get involved in the care and awareness of Mental Health. Click Here to see the options and get involved.

The following facts were provided by suicidetherippleeffect.com (originally from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), an organization started by a suicide survivor:

An American dies by suicide every 12.95 minutes.

Americans attempt suicide an estimated 1 million times annually.

For every woman who dies by suicide, four men die by suicide, but women are 3x more likely to attempt suicide.

90% of those who die by suicide had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time their death.

In 2012, firearms were the most common method of death by suicide, accounting for 50.9% of all suicide deaths, followed by suffocation (including hangings) at 24.8% and poisoning at 16.7%.

Over 40,000 Americans die by suicide every year. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States:

2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24

5th leading cause of death for ages 45-59

The suicide rate among American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents and young adults ages 15-24 is 1.8 times the national average

Veterans comprise 22.2% of suicides.

More than 1.5 million years of life are lost annually to suicide.

Call the United States Department of Health Services National Helpline at
800-622-HELP

CHECK OUT THIS WONDERFUL RESOURCE FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND NEED HELP: TALKSPACE
BENEFITS OF TALKSPACE INCLUDE:

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression:
o If you are headed for a nervous breakdown, you might feel weepy, or even experience episodes of uncontrollable crying. Some people suddenly struggle with self-esteem and confidence or having a sense of guilt.

Sleeping too much, or not enough:
o A change in your sleep habits. Sleep becomes an escape. Others may develop insomnia because their brain is in overdrive.

Fatigue:
o Extreme tiredness could also be a clue you’re stressed to the max. Things that used to bring you joy may lose their appeal

Changes in Appetite:
o Maybe you’re not eating, or conversely, you might be overeating. There’s less ability to care for oneself in the way one typically would.

Physical Pain:
o Headaches, stomachaches, problems with digestion.

Brain Fog:
o Trouble concentrating, not thinking clearly. Might include anything from difficulty with problem-solving and indecisiveness to a sense of disorientation and memory loss.

Trouble Breathing:
o Tightness in your chest and rapid breathing. Taking quick, shallow breaths can ramp up the body’s stress response even more.

Over 40,000 Americans die by suicide every year. Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States:

2^nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24

5^th leading cause of death for ages 45-59

Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States. It accounts for the loss of more than 41,000 American lives each year, more than double the number of lives lost to homicide.