Mental Illness facts
Additional Facts
- 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioral problems at any time.
- About 873,000 people die by suicide every year.
- Mental illnesses are common to all countries and cause immense suffering. People with these disorders are often subjected to social isolation, poor quality of life and increased mortality. These disorders are the cause of staggering economic and social costs.
- One in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioral disorder but most of these disorders are neither diagnosed nor treated.
- Mental illnesses affect and are affected by chronic conditions such as cancer, heart and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Untreated, they bring about unhealthy behavior, non-compliance with prescribed medical regimens, diminished immune functioning, and poor prognosis.
- Cost-effective treatments exist for most disorders and, if correctly applied, could enable most of those affected to become functioning members of society.
- Barriers to effective treatment of mental illness include lack of recognition of the seriousness of mental illness and lack of understanding about the benefits of services. Policy makers, insurance companies, health and labor policies, and the public at large – all discriminate between physical and mental problems.
- Most middle and low-income countries devote less than 1% of their health expenditure to mental health. Consequently mental health policies, legislation, community care facilities, and treatments for people with mental illness are not given the priority they deserve.
There is no single cause of depression. Brain chemistry, hormones, and genetics may all play a role. Other risk factors for depression include:
- low self-esteem
- anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- physical or sexual abuse
- chronic diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or cancer
- alcohol or drug abuse
- certain prescription medications
- family history of depression
Treatment
Clinical depression is treatable. The most common methods are antidepressant medication and psychological counseling. Most of the time, a combination of both is recommended. It’s important to note that antidepressant medications may take several months to work. In many cases, a long-term approach is best.
SAD can be treated with light therapy. It can be used alone or in combination with psychotherapy or antidepressant medication. SAD usually improves on its own during the spring and summer months when daylight hours are longer.
If those treatments don’t work, another option is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This method uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the parts of your brain that regulate mood. Treatments are usually administered five days a week for six weeks.
For severe cases, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be used. ECT is a procedure in which electrical currents are passed through the brain. According to NAMI, ECT is the most effective treatment for psychotic depression. It is especially helpful when combined with antipsychotics, antidepressants, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Famous People Who Have Dealt With Mental Illness
Famous People with Mental Health Diagnosis
Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Tolstoy, Michelangelo, Winston Churchill, Patty Duke, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, Isaac Newton, John Nash, Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, Skip Spence of Jefferson Airplane, Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Harrell, Meera Popkin, Buzz Aldrin, Roseanne, Lord Byron, Hans Christian Anderson, T.S. Eliot, Van Gogh, Charles Haley, Jimmy Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, James Taylor, Stephen Hawking, Tchaikovsky, Ted Turner, Mike Wallace, John Keats, Cole Porter, Mark Twain, Judy Garland, Peter Gabriel, Cole Porter, Connie, Francis, Emily Dickenson, Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton, Dick Cavett, Jim Carey, Jane Pauley, Tipper Gore, Terry Bradshaw, (more)
Carrie Fisher, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Margot Kidder, Mike Wallace, Tracy Ullman, George Stephanopoulos, Ricky Williams, Dr. Fred Frese, Lionel Aldridge, Freddie Prinze, Sr., Daniel Boorstin, Rod Steiger, Tony Dow, Kitty Dukakis, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Schumann, Virginia Woolf, Georgia O’Keefe, Charlie Parker, Tennessee Williams, George Handel, Thomas Eagleton, Sol Wachtler, Gustav Mahler, Jimmy Piersal, Vaslov Ninjinsky, Eugene O’Neil, Andy Goram, Camille Claudel, Howard Hughs, Michael Faraday, Gaetano, Donizetti, Vivien Leigh, Mary Todd Lincoln, Charles Bolden, Thelonious Monk, Shelly Beattie, Ned Beatty, Maurice Benard, Danny Bonaduce, Art Buchwalk, Alohe Jean Burke, Tim Burton, C.E. Chaffin, Robert Campeau, Lisa Carson, Garnet Coleman, Francis Ford Coppola, (more)
Patricia Cornwell, John Daly, Ray Davies, Lenny Dee, Eric Douglas, Robert Downey Jr., margot Early, Robert Evans, Larry Flynt, Connie Francis, Stephen Frye, Kaye Gibbons, Kit Gingrich, Stuart Goddard (Adam Ant), Shecky Greene, Linda Hamilton, Kristin Hersh, Jack Irons, Kay Redfield Jamison, Daniel Johnston, Peter Nolan Lawrence, Rika Lesser, Bill Lichenstein, Sue Lyon, Jay Marvin, Kevin McDonald, Kristy McNichol, Brian Wilson, Kate Millet, John Mulheren, Robert Munsch, Tony Orlando, Nicola Pagett, Susan Panico, Ben Stiller, Demetrius Underwood, Luther Wright, Alys Robi, Axl Rose, John Claude Van Damn, Lori Schiller, Dimitri Mihalas, Francis Sherwood, Alonzo Spellman, Daryl Strawberry, Jonathan Winters, Gordon Sumner (Sting), & on & on & on & on.