Six Facts on Mental Disorders

Odds of winning the lottery: 1 in 135,145,920 (multi-state, mega-millions jackpot)
Odds of experiencing a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year after age 18: 1 in 4. (Source: national institute of mental health for all us statistics on this page)

  1. One in 17 Americans suffers from a serious mental illness.
  2. Major depression affects about seven percent of the US population (18 and older) in a given year.
  3. Only eight percent of Canadian workers reported mental health problems to their immediate supervisors (Source: Canadian Mental Health Association).
  4. Among American adults, 18 percent have an anxiety disorder in a given year. Symptoms include panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and phobias.
  5. Only 34 percent of Canadians polled for a study said that their workplaces offered readily accessible services and tools to help workers cope with mental health issues. (Source: Canadian Mental Health Association).
  6. More than 90 percent of Americans who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder – most commonly depression or a substance abuse problem.