How Common is Mental Illness?

How Common is Mental Illness?

[Transcript of Audio Above]
The next time you’re at a family reunion, super bowl party, or wedding, look around. One out of every four people you know will suffer some type of mental disorder in their lives, such as depression, anxiety, or alcohol problems to name a few. This can add up to lots of people: 78 Million Americans — seven times more than have cancer.

Though psychiatric problems are common and cause tremendous unhappiness, only a third of those who’ll need treatment ever get it. Men are less likely to get treated than women, and children, tragically, are least likely. Untreated mental disorders cause more missed days at work and more problems in the family than high blood pressure, back pain, lung diseases, and arthritis — combined. Psychiatrists can help, and state of the art treatment can make a huge difference often pretty quickly.

Mental illness is more normal than you think.

We just thought you’d like to know. Google us on the web. We are the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry.