Mental Health Stats

When I write posts about mental health, although they are very personal, my struggles are far from uncommon. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), mental illness occurs commonly in adults and children. Here are some statistics from the article, "Mental Health by the Numbers:"

• 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.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
• Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.
• 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
• 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
• 6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
• 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experience an anxiety disorder such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.
• Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.

In my next couple posts I'll write my diagnosed illnesses and how they affect me.

Thanks for reading.