Mental health issues are real. In America, almost 20% of adults are dealing with a mental illness. According to 2022 statistics, 1 in 10 Americans is dealing with depression, and new studies show that this mood disorder is spreading more rapidly among teens and young adults. So, in other words, depression is extremely common in the U.S. and if you’re dealing with it yourself, you’re not alone – some specialists actually consider it a public health problem.
Depression not only means sadness and mood swings, some cases of this disorder include more serious symptoms like self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and those are not easy to deal with. And while depression can affect anyone despite their background, status or race, numbers show that some demographic groups are considered “populations at risk” due to the rate of those affected, like members of the LGBTQ+ community (queer students are more likely to feel sad or hopeless and have suicidal thoughts than their peers), adults with a disability (which are 5 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts), BIPOC individuals (who are more likely to have a depressive disorder) and veterans (who represent around 13% of suicide deaths).
Social isolation is pointed as a big risk factor for suicide, with 10% of adults never getting the social and emotional support they need – 13% for those who are 65 or older, making the elders another population at risk for depression and mental health issues. With social isolation being a risk factor for these conditions, we need to see how the pandemic will impact our mental health collectively in the years to come, even though quarantine feels so distant today, its impact isn’t. We need to keep an eye out for the younger generations, as this could be even harder for them, as some don’t really have the tools they need at their disposal.
Adolescents have the highest rate of self-injurious behaviors, with about 17% admitting to self-injury at least once in their life. The average age of onset for self-injury is 13, which seems to collide with new stressors and expectations at school and home as the child enters their teenage years. Luckily, there are various organizations devoted to helping those dealing with a mental condition and showing support to them is showing support to those who need it the most. If you feel like a friend or a loved one is struggling with this, reach out, talk to them, offer them help and share a useful resource with them, from a hotline to a support group, every little gesture counts and could have a life-saving impact.
Sources:
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/2022/mental-health-america-youth-data