To mark World Mental Health Day on the 10th October, we are going to shine a light on a topic that is too often ignored and brushed under the carpet, all over the world.
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And people are struggling much more midst the pandemic.
72% of people who died by suicide between 2002 and 2012 had not been in contact with their GP or a health professional about these feelings in the year before their suicide. If just one of our brilliant members finds that the below prods them into action, for themselves, or a family member or close friend, this one email is more valuable than anything else we can possibly do for you.
Let’s take a deep dive into some of the real life issues behind Mental Health Day.
COVID-19 and Mental Health
- In a recent American survey of 5,400 people, 1 in 10 said they had “seriously considered” suicide in the previous month, twice as many as in 2018.
- For people aged 18-24? The result was an astonishing, and agonizing, 1 in 4.
- Talkspace, a New York firm providing online therapy, said their video sessions have increased by 250% during the pandemic.
- The number of Talkspace’s patients with severe anxiety is up by 40% this year.
- A study carried out with young people living with a history of mental health needs in the UK reports that 32% of them agreed that the pandemic had made their mental health much worse.
To access the NHS “Mental wellbeing while staying at home” page, just click here
What about the rest of the World?
- Suicides in Japan in August put the number at 1,849, a jump of 15% over the same period last year.
- 47% of healthcare workers in Canada have reported a need for psychological support, with alcohol consumption up 20% for 15-49 year-olds in Canada.
- Nepal has reported suicides during the pandemic have climbed by a fifth.
- Ethiopia has reported a 3-fold increase in symptoms of depression compared to pre-pandemic rates.
General Mental Health
- 6,507 suicides were recorded in the UK in 2018. Approximately one death every two hours. (mentalhealth.org)
- Suicide was the leading cause of death for men under 50 years of age in England and Wales, and for women aged 20–34, in 2014.
- 1 in 15 people (7.3%) have self-harmed at some point in their life. This is higher in women (8.9%) than in men (5.7%).
- Highest rates of self-harm were reported by women aged 16–24, that is one in four (25.7%).
- Two thirds (66.9%) of 16–34-year olds did not seek help for self-harming.
Mental Health & Employment
- More than 1 in 7 employed people experience mental health problems in the workplace.
- This means 4.6 million people in work in the UK have a common mental health problem.
- Women in full-time employment were twice as likely to have a common mental health problem as full-time employed men.
- 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions.
- A 1% rise in unemployment equates to a 0.79% climb in suicide rates in Europe, and a 0.99% increase in the US.
Parents
- 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health problems are parents. (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2016)
- On average, 39% of those who experienced ante-natal depression went on to have post-natal depression.
- One fifth of adults (20.6%) reported that they had thought of taking their own life at some point in their lives. Higher rates were reported by women (22.4%) than by men (18.7%) - The APMS, 2014.
Older Adults
- Depression or anxiety was noted to be highest among those aged 50–59 and those of 80 years and older:
- Fewer than one in six older people with depression discuss their symptoms with their GP (Royal College of General Practitioners)
- 40% of older adults living in a care home experience depression, and it often remains undetected.
- 2.9 million people aged 65 and over felt that they had no one to go to for support…
- …39% of people interviewed said that they felt lonely and …
- …one in five said that they felt forgotten. (survey by Age UK)
- 850,000 people lived with dementia in the UK (estimate, 2015).
- The total cost of dementia in the UK is £26.3 billion, with an average cost of £32,250 per person.
Children
- 75% of mental health problems are established by the age of 24. (US study, 2005)
- 35% of females aged 16-24 have had suicidal thoughts, the most in any age group.
- 41,921 hospitalisations for self-harm in young people aged 10–24. (England hospital statistics, 2014)
- The proportion of university students who formally identify themselves as having mental health problems doubled between 2008–09 and 2013–14. (Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2015)
- 6 in 10 young people report being victims of cyber-bullying
- Children of 13+ who reported being bullied or victimised were twice as likely to develop depression by age 18.
- Self-harming is on the rise, a 68% increase between 2007 and 2014.
If you would like to take one small step to help yourself or your loved one’s, click on the link below -
CALM - Campaign Against Living Miserably, and become part of the solution.
To bring it slightly more in line with our services, do read Mind’s piece on Money and Mental Health.