What I Wish People Knew....

Courtesy of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), having a mental illness can make it challenging to live everyday life and maintain recovery. Let's look at some of the ways mental illness can impact lives—and how the impact can ripple out.

PERSON

• People with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases than the general population. People with serious mental illness are nearly twice as likely to develop these conditions.
• 32.1% of U.S. adults with mental illness also experienced a substance use disorder in 2020 (17 million individuals)
• The rate of unemployment is higher among U.S. adults who have mental illness (6.4%) compared to those who do not (5.1%)
• High school students with significant symptoms of depression are more than twice as likely to drop out compared to their peers
• Students aged 6-17 with mental, emotional or behavioral concerns are 3x more likely to repeat a grade.

FAMILY

• At least 8.4 million people in the U.S. provide care to an adult with a mental or emotional health issue
• Caregivers of adults with mental or emotional health issues spend an average of 32 hours per week providing unpaid care

COMMUNITY

• Mental illness and substance use disorders are involved in 1 out of every 8 emergency department visits by a U.S. adult (estimated 12 million visits)
• Mood disorders are the most common cause of hospitalization for all people in the U.S. under age 45 (after excluding hospitalization relating to pregnancy and birth)
• Across the U.S. economy, serious mental illness causes $193.2 billion in lost earnings each year
• 20.8% of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. have a serious mental health condition
• 37% of adults incarcerated in the state and federal prison system have a diagnosed mental illness
• 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition.
• 8.4% of Active Component service members in the U.S. military experienced a mental health or substance use condition in 2019.
• 15.3% of U.S. Veterans experienced a mental illness in 2019 (31.3 million people).

WORLD

• Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year
• Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide

Information courtesy of NAMI.org