The information below is offered as reassurance that you are not alone if you struggle with mental or emotional difficulties.
Mental health issues are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated one out of five American adults--nearly 48 million people--suffer from a mental health issue each year. In addition, four of the ten leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are: major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a time.
ANXIETY
Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia).
Approximately 19.1 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 13.3 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders, eating disorders, or substance abuse. Many people have more than one anxiety disorder.
Approximately twice as many women as men suffer from panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and specific phobia, though about equal numbers of women and men have obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.
DEPRESSION
Depressive disorders include major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar. Bipolar is included because people with this illness have depressive episodes as well as manic episodes.
Approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.
Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year. These figures translate to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in the U.S.
Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
SUICIDE
More than 30,000 people die from suicide each year.
More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, usually depression or substance abuse.
The suicide rate in young people increased dramatically over the last few decades. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds.
Four times as many men than women commit suicide; however, women attempt suicide 2-3 times as often as men.
SCHIZOPHRENIA
Approximately 2.2 million American adults, or about 1.1 percent of the population age 18 and older in a given year, have schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency. Schizophrenia often first appears earlier in men, usually in their late teens or early 20s, than in women, who are generally affected in their 20s or early 30s.
EATING DISORDERS
The three main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.
In their lifetime, an estimated 3-5% of females suffer from anorexia and an estimated 1-4% percent suffer from bulimia. Females are more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. An estimated 5-15% of people with anorexia or bulimia, and an estimated 35 percent of those with binge-eating disorder, are male.
The mortality rate among people with anorexia has been estimated at 56% per year, which is about 12 times higher than the annual death rate due to all causes of death among females ages 15-24 in the general population.
Information above summarized from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
If you need immediate support, contact the Crisis Clinic at 206-461-3222 or 1-800-244-5767 (open 24 hours a day, seven days a week). If you may hurt yourself or someone else, go to the nearest hospital emergency room or call 911.