Government Report Says 20% of Americans Had Mental Illness in 2010

The US Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has been issued and it shows that one in five Americans had some form of mental illness during the year 2010. The report, based on 68,487 surveys sent out and received shows that the number of men, women and children in the United States exhibiting any form of mental illness has remained nearly steady in recent years, despite the emotional hardships many people have been experiencing due to a difficult economy.

It's important to note that the criteria used to describe a mental illness (as set forth by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV) is very broad, covering severe ailments such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease as well as lesser forms such as mild depression or anxiety disorders.

Interestingly, people over fifty years old reported the lowest numbers in the survey, while those in the eighteen to twenty five year range reported the highest. Also, overall women reported much higher numbers than did men, (23% of all women versus 16.8% of all men).

Also of note was that people who described themselves as multi-racial also reported the highest number of cases of mental illness of any racial group, whereas those who described themselves as Asian, reported the lowest number of cases.

Perhaps more importantly, the survey also found that just five percent of respondents reported experiencing a mental illness that falls under the APA's "serious" category. And once again, it was younger people who reported the highest numbers.

The SAMHSA report doesn't offer analysis or opinions to explain their findings such as why younger people seem to be more at risk of mental illness, it simply describes what the agency has found, though in reading the results, there is likely to be conjecture from other experts in response to the report, suggesting perhaps that some young people are either cured of their mental illness or don't survive it.

The authors also note that thirty nine percent of those reporting any form of mental illness also report receiving mental health services of some form, which means, sadly, that sixty one percent did not. Also, sadly, the report notes that because of the percentages of those responding to the survey, they estimate that likely eight and a half million people in the United States contemplated suicide in 2010, while two and a half million made plans for doing so and over one million carried out that plan whether successfully or not.