Facts About Mental Illness

Print

Mental illnesses are not character defects! Mental illnesses are health conditions affecting the brain that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and–or impaired functioning. These disorders can substantially diminish capacity for coping with the demands of ordinary life and can affect persons of any age in any family.

Millions of Americans, invoving an estimated one in five families, are living with mental illness. For example, of the approximately one million total hospital admissions in 1998, almost 262,000 (25.5%) were psychiatric admissions. Even more startling is the fact that the total cost of mental health services in the rolex replica uk U.S. is now estimated to be over $200 billion a year.

In Mecklenburg County alone, as many as 16,000 children, and 28,000 adults may be suffering from mental illness, affecting more than 100,000 family members and friends.

When mental illnesses occur, the individual's family and friends are often overwhelmed with concern, confusion and fear. They question what to do, and where to go. NAMI–Charlotte offers information and support groups to help these families.

NAMI–Charlotte is working for swiss replica watches improved mental health services and a continuum of care for those with long–term mental illnesses.

Some vital facts:

• The treatment success rate for the first episode of a "severe and persistent" mental illness is as follows:

  Schizophrenia:		60%
  Depression:		65–70%
  Bipolar Disorder:		80%

• About 5.4% of adults have a serious mental illness that interferes with some area of social functioning. About half of this group are affected with a "severe and persistent" mental illness.
• 23% of adults (ages 18 and older) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, but only half report impairment of their daily functioning due to swiss replica watches the mental disorder.
• 9–13% of children ages nine to 17 have a serious emotional disturbance with substantial functional impairment, and 5–9% have a serious emotional disturbance with extreme functional impairment due to a mental illness.
• Approximately 1/3 of the estimated 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. have a severe mental illness. However, only about 5% of persons with a severe mental illness are homeless.
• Only 5–7% of homeless persons with a mental illness need to be institutionalized; most can live in the community with appropriate, supportive housing.

Please visit the below website for additional information:

NAMI US Website