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Mental Illness: Facts & Myths
Some Facts
• Mental illnesses are medical conditions. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are biologically-based brain disorders. In short, mental illnesses are physical illnesses.
• Culture would be much poorer without the mental brilliance of those with a mental illness, among them some of the greatest thinkers, artists, educators, statesmen of all time.
• Mental illness affects 1 in 5 families in America.
• Adults with a severe and persistent mental illness have an average life expectancy 20 percent shorter than average.
• An estimated 1 in 4 adults has a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Five to seven percent have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder.
• About 20 percent of children ages 9-17 have a mental disorder with at least mild functional impairment, and 5 to 9 percent have a severe and persistent mental illness.
• Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14; three quarters, by age 24.
• Treatment for mental illness is as effective as treatment for other medical conditions – 80% effective for bipolar disorder, 70 percent effective for major depression, 60% effective for schizophrenia, vs. 70-80 percent for diabetes and 41-52% for cardiovascular disease.
• Suicide is a fatal complication of untreated or undertreated mental illness. Every year in the United States, suicides outnumber homicides by a ratio of 2 to 1. Suicide worldwide causes more deaths every year than homicide or war.
• Mental illness is second only to cardiovascular disease worldwide and in the United States in economic “burden of illness,” the societal costs that occur through lost productivity, disability claims, treatment of the illness and co-occurring medical conditions, court costs, incarceration costs, and the costs of dropouts, homelessness and unemployment.
• The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than $100 billion and as much as $200 billion each year in the United States, tax dollars that could go elsewhere if mental illness were adequately diagnosed and treated. And treatment for mental health and substance abuse has been shown to make as much as a $7 return or more for every dollar invested.
• Mental illness is a greater economic burden than all types of cancer combined.
• About 50 percent of students with mental illness age 14 and older drop out of high school.
• Of inmates in juvenile detention facilities, 65 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls have a mental illness.
• Nationwide, 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of local jail inmates have been found to have mental health problems.
• Two-thirds of those with mental illness don’t seek treatment, in large part because of the stigma associated with it.
• People with mental illnesses are five times more likely to have a co-occurring medical condition than the general population.
Some Myths
• Myth #1: People with severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, are usually dangerous and violent.
• Fact: Statistics show that the incidence of violence in people who have a brain disorder is not much higher than in the general population. Those suffering from a psychosis such as schizophrenia are more often frightened, confused and despairing than violent.
• Myth #2: Mental illness is the result of bad parenting.
• Fact: Most experts agree that a genetic susceptibility, combined with other risk factors, leads to a psychiatric disorder. In other words, mental illnesses have a physical cause.
• Myth #3: Depression results from a personality weakness or character flaw, and people who are depressed could just snap out of it if they tried hard enough.
• Fact: Depression has nothing to do with being lazy or weak. It results from changes in brain chemistry or brain function, and medication and/or psychotherapy often help people to recover.
• Myth #4: Schizophrenia means “split personality” and there is no way to control it.
• Fact: Schizophrenia is often confused with multiple personality disorder. Actually, schizophrenia is a brain disorder that robs people of their ability to think clearly and logically. The estimated 2.5 million Americans with schizophrenia have symptoms ranging from social withdrawal to hallucinations and delusions. Medication has helped many of these individuals to lead fulfilling productive lives.
• Myth #5: Depression is a normal part of the aging process.
• Fact: It is not normal for older adults to be depressed. Signs of depression in older people include a loss of interest in activities, sleep disturbances and lethargy. Depression in the elderly is often undiagnosed, and it is important for seniors and their family members to recognize the problem and seek professional help.
• Myth #6: Depression and other illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, do not affect children or adolescents. Any problems they have are just a part of growing up.
• Fact: Children and adolescents can develop severe mental illnesses. In the United States, one in ten children and adolescents has a mental disorder severe enough to cause impairment. However, only about 20 percent of these children receive needed treatment. Left untreated, these problems get worse. Anyone talking about suicide should be taken seriously.
• Myth #7: If you have a mental illness, it will go away. Being treated for a psychiatric disorder means an individual has in some way “failed” or is weak.
• Fact: A serious mental illness cannot be willed away. Ignoring the problem does not make it go away, either. It takes courage to seek professional help.