Mental Health Day
For those who missed it, last Tuesday was World Mental Health Day. The hashtag #WorldMentalHealthDay took over twitter, and support was shown all over Facebook and various other platforms. Mental health isn’t always talked about openly, even though almost all Americans will deal with some form of mental health problem or disorder in their lifetimes. While mental health issues can affect anyone at any time, a group that is at risk is college and university students. Here are just 5 statistics on how mental health affects young adults.
1. The most common mental health disorders are Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, and Addiction. There are many other
2. In the age group 18 to 25, one in five young adults have experienced some form of mental illness in the past year.1 40% will never seek treatment. 3
3. 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and 75% of them begin by age 24.2
4. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10 - 24.2
5. Of all mental disorders, individuals suffering from eating disorders have the highest mortality rate.
(One person dies as a direct result of an eating disorder every 62 minutes.)3
These are just a few pieces of information about something that can easily affect you or someone you know. The existence of a World Mental Health Day is a great start, but there are still large strides that need to be made to combat the problems and disorders themselves, as well as the stigma that surrounds them.
Crisis Call Center: 800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
National Eating Disorders Association: 800-931-2237
1. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration
2. National Institute of Mental Health
3. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)