Q - Quick Mental Health Facts #AtoZ #MentalHealthAwareness

May is Mental Health Awareness Month every year. Mental Health Awareness Month aims to de-stigmatize this condition by encouraging open conversations as well as developing and implementing effective methods for treatment.

Mental health is one of the most perplexing, fascinating, and concerning issues in modern society. When the human brain malfunctions, it is often a result of complex, interconnected factors involving the whole body. In this fascinating account, we dig deeper and discover some of the most startling, lesser known, and downright weird facts about both well-known and very obscure mental disorders.

·         Mental illnesses can affect people of any age, race, religion, or income. A mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functioning.

·         Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression in people rose by 18% between 2005 and 2015.

·         About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14, three-quarters by age 24.6 Despite effective treatments, there are long delays—sometimes decades—between the first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment.

·         Globally, there is huge inequity in the distribution of skilled human resources for mental health.

·         According to several studies by psychiatric services, individuals with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression were 2.6 times as likely to develop cancer.

·         Suicide accounts for over 800,000 deaths globally each year, with over 41,000 in the U.S. alone. It is the second leading cause of death worldwide for 15-29 year olds.

·         Many factors can lead to mental illness, including genetics, physical illness or injury, and traumatic life experiences.

·         Many people do not seek treatment for mental illness due to the associated stigma. Only 44% of adults with diagnosable mental illnesses receive treatment.

·         Members of the LGBTQ community are twice as likely as straight individuals to have a mental health condition.

·         70-90% of people who seek proper treatment for mental health disorders witness a significant reduction in symptoms.

·         Most people living with mental illness lead productive lives despite their challenges.

·         Sometimes we say we're fine when we're not. So if anyone close to you is acting differently: ask twice.

DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health professional.

References:

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-mental-health

https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/mental_health_facts/en/

This post is a part of April Blogging from A To Z Challenge

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