MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS ARE COMMON

The South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust is urging people to gain a better understanding of mental health problems; highlighting the fact that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in the course of a year.

The Trust tries to champion mental health issues at all times and is currently preparing for World Mental Health Day Celebrations, on October 10th, which is an ideal opportunity to combat the stigma that so often surrounds mental health problems. People are often unaware of the facts surrounding mental health problems, which include:

85% of the general public think that people with mental ill health have been the subject of discrimination for too long; 1 in 6 people will have depression at some point in their lives.

Depression is most common in people aged 25-44 years.

Around a quarter of all the drugs prescribed by the NHS are for mental health problems.

Official figures suggest that 20% of women and 14% of men in England have some form of ‘mental illness’; In a survey by Mind, 60% of mental health service users felt that media coverage was to blame for the discrimination they experienced.

By 2020, depression will be second only to chronic heart disease as an international health burden (in terms of cause of death, disability, incapacity to work and the toll on medical resources).

Judith Young, chief executive, said, ‘Mental health problems can affect anyone and the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health can often make it harder for people to ask for the help they need. Mental health problems are extremely common, and could affect any one of us at any time in our lives.

All our staff are committed to highlighting the positive achievements of people who use our services and reducing the harmful stigma that is often associated with mental health problems. It is vital that we all look after our mental well-being as well as our physical health’.