Life is not getting any easier to cope with, according to a new study that showed almost one on five Americans suffered from some type of mental illness in 2009. There were increasing amounts of depression and suicidal thoughts among Americans.
Another worrisome statistics was the fact that fewer people with mental health issues are seeking care. Only 64 percent of adults with major depression were treated in 2009, compared with 71 percent one year earlier. The survey results showed 6.1 million adults had a mental health need that went untreated in 2009, and 42.5 percent of those people said they did not seek help because they could not afford it.
The study utilized data from 68,700 Americans who were at least 12 years of age, all of whom took part in the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The information was reported this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Of the 45 million Americans who reported mental illness last year, 14.8 million had major depression. Overall, mental illness is more common among jobless people (27.7 percent) than among those with full-time jobs (17.1 percent). Joblessness was also a major factor in causing suicidal thoughts.
A total of 10 percent of the jobless had major depression, compared to 7.5 percent of retired people or those not seeking work, 7.3 percent part-time workers and 5.4 percent of full-time workers.
Unemployed adults in 2009 were more than twice as likely to consider suicide compared to people who were employed full time. A total of 6.6 percent of the unemployed considered suicide, and only 3.1 percent of those who were working did so. About 2.2 million people made suicide plans in 2009, and one million people actually attempted suicide, according to the study.
People who are younger are more likely to have a mental illness: 18-to-25-year-olds experienced the condition 30 percent of the time, and those 50 and older reported mental illness only 13.7 percent of the time. Also, women (23.8 percent) reported mental illness much more often than men (15.6 percent).
Due to record jobless rates, and the general amount of stress in our lives these days, physicians are encouraging people to seek help if they have emotional or mental setbacks. People who encounter friends or relatives with mental illness should also encourage those people to seek help, but in a positive way.
Physicians also note that those who live with, or have relatives who have mental illness, should seriously consider getting mental help themselves. This is because the emotions and stress of being in an environment with mental illness can also take its mental toll.
A copy of the above study is available at the SAMHSA website.
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