Washington – More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.
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Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest, with 13.7 percent, said the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA.
The rate, slightly higher than last year’s 19.5 percent figure, reflected increasing depression, especially among the unemployed, SAMHSA, part of the National Institutes of Health, said.
“Too many Americans are not getting the help they need and opportunities to prevent and intervene early are being missed,” Pamela Hyde, SAMHSA’s administrator, said in a statement.
“The consequences for individuals, families and communities can be devastating. If left untreated mental illnesses can result in disability, substance abuse, suicides, lost productivity, and family discord.”
The 2009 mental health survey hints at the impact of record unemployment rates, which last year hit a 25-year high as struggling employers slashed jobs to cope with a weak economy.
For many, lost employment meant loss of health insurance, leaving many of the nation’s mentally ill unable to get treatment.
According to the survey, 6.1 million adults last year had a mental health need that went untreated, and 42.5 percent said it was because they could not afford it.
It found 14.8 million Americans had major depression last year, and 10 percent of the jobless did, compared with 7.5 of retired people or those not in the job force, 7.3 percent who worked part time and 5.4 percent who worked full time.
Only 64 percent of adults aged 18 or older with major depression were treated last year, compared with 71 percent a year ago.
Being jobless also increased the risk of suicide.
Adults who were unemployed last year were twice as likely to have serious thoughts of suicide as people who were fully employed, with 6.6 percent of the unemployed considering suicide, compared with 3.1 percent of those who were working.
The survey also found that 23.8 percent of women had some form of mental illness, compared with 15.6 percent of men.
was this done in lakewood?
b”h this isn’t the case in the heimishe community.
the reason probably is, because of our lifestyle where everybody is being helped when in need. should someone go thru any difficult times neighbors and friends in shul, or elsewhere, will realize right away that this person is in need of assistance, and will do whatever they can to alleviate the hardships
Mi K’amchu Yisroel
Comment to Reb Yona # 2 – It would be nice if what you say is true – that the heimishe oilam does not suffer. The reality is that many “heimishe” people suffer tremendously from mental illness, and some go for treatment and others choose not to, either due to the high cost of therapy or feelings of embarassment. In either case this is a “machla” of great proportions, which ruin marriages, not to mention the individual suffering from depression, and the children. “Hashem zul shoimer un matzil zein”
I think it’s about time to declare those normal as meshuge, since the definition of meshuge is being different than everyone else.
I used to always tell my driving students not to be nervous, because “25% of Americans are retarded and yet they all know how to drive”
Turn out I was pretty accurate
This is crazy! If 25% of people are mentally ill, at what point does that become the baseline normal? Normal is a relative term.
If the total is 20%, up from 19.5% the prior year, while unemployment is up more than .5%, where doing very good – thank you for the good news. Add to this that the unemployed have more time and usualy goverment insurance, where doing mishiga good.
“normal” means meshuge
this is a statisical study any person that had a problem including marriage questions were recorded into this study all it proves is that those that conducted this study are crazy and waste money
What’s shocking to me is that it appears they are all my friends and associates. Then do I fit into the 20% or the 80%?
I think they mean to say that only 20% of all Americans are normal, not the other way around.
hello! it is perfectly normal to experience some form of depression during a severe and or long lasting financial crisis.
well that’s not bad.i would say 90% + in the islam countries.