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Mental Illness IS Real
We are often asked, “Since life is so much easier today, “Why are mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorder and depression, on the rise?”
It’s true that our life is much easier today than it was 50 years ago. Yet, mental illness is on the rise, and drastically.
A study by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, published earlier this year in the journal Psychiatric Services, found more Americans than ever before suffer from serious psychological distress (SPD). The researchers analyzed a federal health information database and concluded that 3.4 percent of the U.S. population (more than 8.3 million) adult Americans suffer from SPD.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which conducts the National Health Interview Survey on which the research is based, SPD combines feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and restlessness that are hazardous enough to impair people’s physical well-being. Previous survey estimates had put the number of Americans suffering from SPD at 3 percent or less.
Another study by the National Survey On Drug Use And Mental Health found nearly 20 percent of the adult population suffer from some type of mental illness. This is up from 18.1 percent just a few years ago.
A 2010 study done by the National Institute Of Mental Health found that for the…
