Mental Health Awareness

In the last few months, one of my friends published a book about her husband's struggle with Bipolar Disorder. At this time, I have only read portions of the book because I haven't had time to read all of it. The book is non-fiction, and I will admit that I was a bit skeptical of this chosen genre. I couldn't understand why she would want to devoid all of this information in a community where she still resided. However, after reading a few chapters, my skepticism changed, and I understand now that she wanted to make people understand and be aware of mental illness.

Even today, mental illness sadly carries a stigma. While physical disability has been embraced by society, mental illness still has that untouchable feeling. Why? A mentally ill person cannot help his or her situation any more than a physically disabled person. Mental illness is not a disability that someone chooses; it is a disability that is cast upon them.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the following statistics are recorded:

Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.7 million, or 18.6%—experiences mental illness in a given year.¹ 

Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—13.6 million, or 4.1%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.²

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%.³

1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.⁴

2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.⁵

6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.⁶

18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.⁷

Among the 20.7 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 40.7%—8.4 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.⁸

Is mental illness stigmatized because people cannot see the disorder? I have not personally struggled with mental illness, but I know of people who do. It is a constant battle, but they are just people who are suffering more inwardly than outwardly.