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Mental Health Statistics

If you are struggling with a condition like anxiety, depression or PTSD, you aren’t alone – mental health concerns affect millions of Americans every year. This Mental Health Month, understanding the commonality of mental illness can underscore its impact on humanity and the importance of ending the stigma around these issues.

An african-american man pointing to a graph on a laptop while talking to his caucasian colleague.

How Common Is Mental Illness?

In 2020, one in five U.S. adults experienced mental illness, while one in 15 had a co-occurring substance use disorder. Unfortunately, only 46.2% of American adults with a diagnosable mental health condition sought treatment, thus allowing their conditions to worsen.

Annually, untreated mental illnesses contribute to societal problems like unemployment, hospitalizations, homelessness and incarceration. Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year, and depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

In the past two years, the stress, fear, grief and loneliness caused by the pandemic have also contributed to people’s worsening mental health. According to the World Health Organization, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% during the first year of COVID-19.

The Importance of Seeking Help

While there’s no cure for mental illness, these conditions will not resolve themselves, and will eventually grow more severe over time. If your thoughts, emotions, beliefs or behaviors are affecting your well-being or quality of life, you should never feel embarrassed to admit you have difficulties you can’t solve on your own. A therapist can help you identify the root causes of these problems in a caring, unbiased way.

You should also ask for help if you have become reliant on drugs or alcohol to cope with life’s painful challenges and your dependence on these substances is interfering with your health, relationships or responsibilities. Healing from a co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder requires simultaneously treating both issues because these paired conditions magnify each other.

Prioritizing Your Mental Health

Sadly, many people who would benefit from therapy never receive it, possibly due to reasons like these.

  • Because of their illness, they lack the executive function to search for counselors and fill out paperwork.
  • They’re in denial about how their illness is affecting various facets of their lives.
  • They do not realize how much they could benefit from working with a mental health professional for effective mental health treatment.
  • Anxiety makes the idea of meeting and talking with someone new feel overwhelming.
  • They believe they don’t deserve to feel better.

If you have an untreated mental illness and don’t know where to start, one resource you should know about is the National Alliance of Mental Illness. As the largest nationwide mental health advocacy organization, composed of hundreds of state organizations, affiliates and volunteers, NAMI is a hub for mental health resources, support groups, free information, raising awareness and building community. 

If you are thinking about ending your life, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK as soon as possible.

Compassionate Dual-Diagnosis Treatment

At Beach House Center for Recovery, we understand how devastating co-occurring disorders can be. That is why we offer dual-diagnosis treatment – the highest level of care for anyone struggling with addiction and another mental illness.  

With our industry-leading therapist-to-client ratio and our evidence-based treatment modalities, we ensure everyone who comes to our secluded beachfront retreat gets the support they need to manage their disease and make a full recovery. To request help, place your confidential call to our admissions counselors today.