Why are mental health problems an issue that needs to be addressed?

This compilation of statistics show the massive number of people who face the difficulty of living with mental health issues both globally and within the United States:

National Statistics

• 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, this is 5% of the world’s population

• Only 3 out of every 100 people who suffer from depression actually get treatment

• 40% of work-related illness is due to stress

• There is a positive correlation between stressful life events and depression

• Stress has repeatedly been found to have a correlation with health. In turn, health has been found to have an effect on academic success

Those dealing with mental illness have to face to only the medical issues, but also the stigma that permeates the topic:

Stigma Exists

• Stereotypes: common and not always true beliefs  about mental illness

• Prejudice: believing that everyone with a mental illness is the same

• Discrimination: treating people with mental illnesses differently because of these beliefs

• Only 7% of parents reported their college student as having mental health issues - Wrong, 50% of college students rated mental health poor or below average

• Mental Illness is a flaw and a sign of weakness - False, Mental Illness is a medical problem

• Those with mental health problems are violent - Wrong, they are actually 4 times more likely to be victims of a violent crime

• Stigma surrounding depression and anxiety: because everyone feels depressed or anxious sometimes, people think that it is not a big deal and people should “just get over it” or that they themselves are responsible for causing their illness

College is a stressful time for students, with huge changes taking place in students’ lives and an increase in expectations that can cause stress and anxiety to pile up:

College Statistics

• 80% of college students report feeling daily stress

• 9% of college students have seriously considered suicide in the past year

• A 2011 survey of college students reports that more than 62% of students who withdrew from college with mental health problems, did so for that reason

• Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health problems on college campuses

• 30% of college students have felt too depressed to function

• 4/10 college students feel stressed all the time

• 50% of people received no mental health education before college

• 45% had experienced an emotional or stress-related problem in the last 12 months that significantly affected their well-being and/or academic performance.

• The American Freshman annual survey from 2012 found that 30% of college freshmen report feeling frequently overwhelmed, with the number of women reporting this to be at its highest point, 40.5%, since the ques­tion was first asked in 1985

• College students average just over 6 hours of sleep and the serious problems associated with sleep deprivation clearly documented, the poor sleep patterns are not to be taken lightly and are likely significantly associated with mental health problems in other domains.

• ⅓ of college students surveyed said that “financial stressors have had a negative impact on their academic performance or progress.”

This issue is not recognized by everyone and many do not realize that this happens close to us. The University of Cincinnati is home to around 20,000 Bearcats who are struggling with mental illness:

University of Cincinnati Statistics

• 157% increase in use of CAPS services from 2014 to 2015

• Around 20,000 Bearcats suffer from mental illness

• 48.7% of UC students felt overwhelming anxiety

• 8.1% of UC students are receiving treatment for depression

• 8.4% of UC students reported receiving treatment for anxiety

• 83.5% of UC students felt extremely overwhelmed