Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. While this topic should be addressed year-round, a month dedicated to awareness gives campuses the opportunity to put the spotlight on this important issue. Although the following quiz is from 2022, the information in it still applies. Take this quiz to see if you are “in the know.”
October 10 is World Mental Health Day, launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
Since the pandemic, the landscape of mental health has changed drastically, impacting how hospital, university, and K-12 employees offer support to patients, students, and staff. Employees at these institutions regularly work or interact with both adolescents and adults who are struggling with their mental health — all while many are dealing with similar struggles themselves.
In honor of World Mental Health Day, we put together this general knowledge quiz to give insight into the prevalence of mental health issues in the United States and those most prone to being diagnosed with a disorder. In 2017, we posted a similar quiz but the numbers have since largely increased, so we thought it was time to take another look at how things have changed.
Whether one study attributes the increase to the pandemic or another attributes it to people being more open about their mental health struggles, updated statistics show that a large percentage of our population is living with a mental illness and many are not receiving the necessary support. In Oct. 2021, several groups declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends at least one counselor for every 250 students, however, the national average is 444 students per counselor.
Teachers are being impacted as well. In February of this year, a survey from the National Education Association (NEA) found 55% of educators want to leave teaching early due to burnout over massive labor shortages. Some studies have even found burnout symptoms can resemble that of depression.
According to a nationwide survey of nearly 1,200 college students by TimelyMD, 69% of students reported experiencing mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression.
A study published in April in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic suffered from the same type of trauma as combat veterans. The study found soldiers who experienced combat and healthcare workers who treated patients with COVID both experienced potential mortal injury (PMI), a form of post-traumatic stress.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and may need support, contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
