Mental health has been a topic of concern for the past decade due to its huge impact on the world. However, with COVID-19, the whole world is talking about feeling stressed, depressed, anxious, worried, and whatnot. Since people are locked down where they currently are, these emotions are being felt in excess. Mental health is known as the psychological well being of an individual along with a satisfactory level of emotional and mental balance.
If a person is facing any issue with his mind that is known as mental illness or mental health disorder. Due to the lack of knowledge, we have been using different approaches to treat these issues such as mental health apps for so long. However, none of them were effective enough. Now, due to the different aspects of loss, it has, and with the help of proper studies, we are approaching a world of better mental health.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some facts about mental health, which must be kept in check amid this lockdown. Moreover, these mental health facts can break the myths you had regarding brain health.
24 Mental Health Facts to keep in mind amid COVID-19
#1 – If you look at the population of the whole world, around 1 in every 5 children or adults is suffering from a mental issue.
#2 – Depression can result in disability, and it has become a leading cause of disability. Around 264 million people per year get affected.
#3 – 14 years is the age before which half of the mental disorders in most individuals begin.
#4 – A very obvious product of degraded mental health is suicide. Every 40 seconds a person dies from suicide, and suicide is the second leading reason for death in people between the ages of 15-29.
#5 – Around 1 in every 9 people who have been in any conflict, get a slight or severe mental health issue.
#6 – Severe mental disorders cause early deaths, as a reason people with extreme mental health issues die 10 to 20 years earlier than the others.
#7 – The rate of mental health workers is very low. In low-income countries, this rate is below 2 per 100,000, and in high-income countries, this rate is over 70 per 100,000 of the population.
#8 – Human rights conventions and mental health go hand in hand. Half of the 139 countries that have policies regarding the issues of mental health, report having mental health and Human rights conventions, both aligned together.
#9 – Due to depression and anxiety in the working class, the world economy incurs a total loss of US $ 1 trillion per year in terms of productivity.
#10 – Even very young children can show early signs of mental health issues. In children, if these issues are taken into consideration at the right time, these mental health problems are clinically diagnosable.
#11 – Every individual suffering from mental health disorders is not violent. In fact, most people having mental illness behave normally, and only 3-5% of them show violence.
#12 – Mental health problems don’t affect the productivity of individuals in most cases. Moreover, these individuals are as productive and efficient as other people.
#13 – Mental health problems don’t alter the personality of an individual drastically. Being lazy or weak isn’t a product of mental illness.
#14 – It is not impossible to recover from mental health problems. Most people when they get proper medical and psychological support tend to recover from the mental health issue they have.
#15 – Out of all the people suffering from any mental disorder, only 44% of adults and 20% of children and adolescents needs medical support. These numbers are a result of love by family or friends. Moreover, their influence is crucial in treating an individual with mental health issues.
#16 – People with any history of being in a war or a major disaster are 2 times more likely to get into mental health disorders.
#17 – Improving the condition of mental health in low to medium income group countries is not that costly. An amount of $2-4 per capita is all that is required to make a considerable difference.
#18 – Youth is prone to mental illness, and 20% of youth have a mental condition. 1 in 10 young people has been through a phase of major depression in the past.
#19 – People, part of the LGBTQ+ community, are twice more likely to have a mental health problem.
#20 – 70-90% of people who seek medical and professional help in case of their mental illness witness a significant reduction in symptoms.
#21 – Substance abuse is an important factor in terms of mental health. More than 1 in 4 adults having serious mental health issue struggles with substance abuse.
#22 – Having a mental health issue doesn’t mean an individual is ‘crazy’. It simply means that the individual is vulnerable.
#23 – Post-traumatic stress disorder is not a thing only specific to people with a military background. Anyone can have PTSD. It involves a person who saw a natural disaster to a person who suffered the loss of a close one.
#24 – Psychiatric medications are not just an easy way out of mental disorders. These medicines are not harmful and feel people get better.
Final thoughts
After going through these facts, there are high chances that many of you have understood that we lack proper knowledge regarding this issue. This lack of proper knowledge becomes the reason why there are millions of people getting affected every single year. Moreover, certain myths that we believe in, might also heighten the impact on numerous people.
However, dealing with mental health issues is just a matter of having the proper knowledge. Make sure to make yourself more aware of these things so that you are able to help the world.
