In 2021, Google recorded the highest search for the term “how to maintain mental health” That means more people are beginning to realize the importance of maintaining their mental health and a work-life balance. Hence, there’s an increase in the number of statistics on mental health.
Mental health is crucial at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. It’s like a feedback loop reflecting how we handle stress and pressure, relate with others, and make decisions.
Mental health problems are determinants of three main factors. They include life experiences, biological factors, and family history. To maintain good mental health, you need to know its source and strike it at infancy.
I’ve curated some recent statistics about mental health. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
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Mental Health Statistics
- In the past year, 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. (MHO)
- 30% of older people reported never feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope in the past year, compared to 7% of young adults. (MHO)
- 46% reported that they ate too much or ate unhealthily due to stress. 29% reported that they started drinking or increased their drinking, and 16% reported that they started smoking or increased their smoking. (MHO)
- 51% of adults who felt stressed reported feeling depressed, and 61% reported feeling anxious. (MHO)
- Of the people who said they had felt stress at some point in their lives, 16% had self-harmed and 32% said they had had suicidal thoughts and feelings. (MHA)
- 37% of adults who reported feeling stressed reported feeling lonely as a result. (MHO)
- 36% of all adults who reported stress in the previous year cited either their own or a friend/relative’s long-term health condition as a factor. This rose to 44% of adults over 55. (MHO)
- Of those who reported feeling stressed in the past year, 22% cited debt as a stressor. (MHO)
- Of people who reported high levels of stress, 12% said that feeling like they need to respond to messages instantly was a stressor. (MHO)
- 49% of 18-24-year-olds who have experienced high levels of stress, felt that comparing themselves to others was a source of stress, which was higher than in any of the older age groups. (MHO)
- 36% of women who felt high levels of stress-related this to their comfort with their appearance and body image, compared to 23% of men. (MHO)
- Housing worries are a key source of stress for younger people (32% of 18-24-year-olds cited it as a source of stress in the past year). This is less so for older people (22% for 45-54-year-olds and just 7% for over 55s). (MHO)
- Younger people have higher stress related to the pressure to succeed. 60% of 18-24-year-olds and 41% of 25-34-year-olds cited this, compared to 17% of 45-54s and 6% of over 55s). (MHO)
- Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are distributed according to a gradient of economic disadvantage across society. The poorer and more disadvantaged are disproportionately affected by common mental health problems and their adverse consequences (MHO)
- 1 in 5 U.S adults report that the pandemic had a significant negative impact on their mental health
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- Among adults aged 18 or older in 2020, 21.0 percent (or 52.9 million people) had any mental illness (AMI) and 5.6 percent (or 14.2 million people) had a serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year.
- Among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2020, 11.3 percent (or 3.8 million people) had serious thoughts of suicide, 4.0 percent (or 1.3 million people) made a suicide plan, and 1.9 percent (or 627,000 people) attempted suicide in the past year.
- Nearly 1 in 5 American adults will have a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. (SAMHA)
- 46 percent of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life, and half of those people will develop conditions by the age of 14. (NCBI)
- Number of US Adults with Mental Illness: 50 million (MHA)
- Number of Youth with a Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year: 1 million (MHA)
- Major depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. (MHA)
- Percent of US Adults with Suicidal Thoughts: 4.58% (MHA)
- Number of US Adults with Suicidal Thoughts: 11.4 million (MHA)
- Percent of youth with severe depression who received some consistent treatment: 27.2% (MHA)
- Number of youth with severe depression who received some consistent treatment: 661,000 (MHA)
- The ratio of individuals in a state to available mental health providers: 504 to 1 (MHA)
- In England, early interventions and home treatment for mental health problems can reduce hospital admissions, shorten hospital stays and require fewer high-cost intensive interventions. This can potentially result in a saving of up to £38 million per year. (MHO)
- Internet-based training for GPs in psychosomatic conditions (where physical symptoms have no known physical cause), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for 50% of adults presenting with unexplained medical symptoms, can potentially bring a saving of £639 million over three years, mainly due to reductions in sickness and absence from work. (MHO)
