How many individuals have a mental illness?
Mental illness is best understood as part of a continuum with mental health on the other end. Mental health and illness are dynamic and ever-changing states. Mental illness is a diagnosable mental disorder characterized by intense alterations in thinking, mood, and/or behavior for a period of time. These disorders include: Anorexia nervosa Anxiety Bulimia Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder Dementia Depression Manic depression Schizophrenia and Substance abuse The impact of mental illness on health and productivity is considerable. Mental disorders represent more than 15 percent of the total social and economic costs of all diseases in the United States, slightly more than all forms of cancer. The indirect costs of mental illness on the U.S. economy—mostly from lost productivity—were an estimated $79 billion in 1990, and rose to $113 billion in 1994. Major depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, as measured by the numbers of years lived with a disabling condition
