Americans Know We Face a Mental Health Crisis - Rob Horowitz
Rób Horowitz, MINDSETTER™
Americans Know We Face a Mental Health Crisis - Rob Horowitz
Specifically, 9-in-10 American adults believe “there is a mental health crisis in the U.S. today” with a majority saying that “mental health issues in children and teenagers” and the “opioid epidemic" have reached crisis levels. Perhaps most telling, “half of all adults (51%) say they or a family member have experienced a severe mental health crisis, including received in-person treatment because they were a threat to themselves or others (28%), engaged in cutting or self-harm behaviors (26%), had a drug overdose requiring an ER visit (21%), experienced homelessness (16%) or ran away from home (14%) due to mental health problems, died by suicide (16%), or had a severe eating disorder (8%).”, documented the KFF/CNN survey.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
The problem is particularly acute among younger adults, ages 18 to 29. Half of younger adults say they have “felt anxious either always or often over the past year,” as opposed to 1-in-3 adults overall. Similarly, 1-in- 3 younger adults “describe their mental health or emotional well-being as being only fair or poor," as compared with 22% of adults overall. Additionally, 4-in-10 younger adults report that a “doctor or other health professional has told them they have a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.”
And adults overall evince major concerns about the mental health of an even younger cohort-- American teenagers. “At least eight in ten of all adults and parents, are “very” or “somewhat worried” about depression (85% of all adults, 85% of parents), alcohol or drug use (84%, 80%), or anxiety (82%, 83%) negatively impacting the lives of teenage children in the U.S,” reported the KFF/CNN survey. These concerns are well-founded as rates of teenage anxiety, depression alcohol and drug use have continued to rise throughout the nation.
While the mental health struggles faced by so many Americans were pervasive before the COVID-19 pandemic, the isolation and other challenges that derived from it increased the level and severity of the problem with the most pronounced impact being felt by teenagers and children. Nearly 1-in-2 parents say the pandemic had a “negative impact on their child’s mental health,” according to the KFF/CNN survey.
Amidst the troubling picture the survey documents, however, there are some positive signs. There appears to be a significant reduction in the stigma associated with mental health difficulties, which can prevent people from talking to loved ones about the problems they are experiencing as well as make it less likely that people will seek treatment. Nearly 2-in-3 American adults now say “they feel comfortable talking to relatives and friends about their mental health and more than 4-in-10 who are currently experiencing mental health problems feel comfortable talking about them with relatives and friends, according to the survey. Also, younger adults are particularly willing to seek professional help for mental health problems.
In some ways, perhaps the most important takeaway from this survey is there is now nearly universal recognition in the American public that we face a mental health crisis. This is the first step towards solving the problem, creating the political will that can pave the way for action.
One needed step that will have broad public support, for example, is to make professional help for those who need it more affordable and accessible. As the survey reveals, four in ten (39%) American adults say “people like them are not able to get the mental health services they need “and a large majority of those with lower incomes say the “cost of mental health care is a big problem” in the United States.” This perception of a shortage of mental health services reflects the underlying reality. “The American Psychological Association estimates that half of children in the United States who have a mental health disorder do not receive the treatment they need,” CNN reported. The association notes that for every 100,000 people under 18 in the nation, there are only about five child or adolescent psychologists.
Taking on the mental health crisis in our nation requires a sustained comprehensive approach that includes making mental health treatment more broadly available as well as addressing the root causes, such as widespread isolation and loneliness. The KFF/CNN survey not only provides valuable information that enables us to better grasp the scope of the problem; it demonstrates that the public is ready to back the full-scale effort that is needed.