Today I want to deviate a bit from discussing nutrition. As important as nutrition is, there are other factors that will affect your well-being. The one I would like to discuss today is Mental Health.
Prevalence of Mental Illness
- Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.
- Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
- Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.
- 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
- 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
- 6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
- 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.
Social Situations
- Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.
- Just over half (50.6%) of children aged 8-15 received mental health services in the previous year.
- African Americans and Hispanic Americans used mental health services at about one-half the rate of Caucasian Americans in the past year and Asian Americans at about one-third the rate.
- Half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Despite effective treatment, there are long delays—sometimes decades—between the first appearance of symptoms and when people get help.
Societal Consequences
- Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.
- Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic disorder and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults aged 18–44.
- Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions.17 Adults in the U.S. living with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than others, largely due to treatable medical conditions.
- Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14–21 and older who are served by special education drop out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group.
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.,20 the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–1421 and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24.
- More than 90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition.23
- Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide.
- The death of a spouse, relative, or friend.
- Going to jail.
- A naturaldisaster or a fire damaging your house.
- Getting diagnosed with a serious illness.
- Being fired.
- Getting separated or divorced.
- Being a victim of identity theft.
- Marriage.
- Starting a new job.
- Moving.
- Menopause (affects both genders)
- Aging
- Unexpected money issues
- Caregiving
- Having a successful career
- Retirement
- Pregnancy
Answer these questions:
- Are there mornings where you just cannot bring yourself to start the day?
- Do you seem to have difficulty staying asleep at night?
- Have your eating habits changed?
- Do you have physical symptoms that you just don’t understand?
- Have you experienced any stressful life events?
What are the first steps to helping you regain your mental health?
- Pray. Ask God for guidance and He will direct your path.
- Remove all neuro-toxic foods from your diet. Read any books from Dr. Russell Blaylock to assist you in identifying those dangerous foods to your brain. As a former practicing brain surgeon, he is an expert in the field of neuro-toxins.
- Exercise. Move your body, clear your mind.
- Go find help. While time can heal much, it still may take a little more than that to help you get beyond where you are at.
- If you are experiencing physical symptoms that just don’t add up, maybe it is time to look inside yourself and see if you are holding in emotions that are truly “eating you up!”