Mental Health Awareness Month

Since 1949, May has been known as Mental Health Awareness Month. Since 1 in 5 adults will experience a mental health condition at some point in their life, it's an important month to focus on! Here are some fast facts about mental health and awareness*:

1) A lime green ribbon is the symbol of mental health awareness.

2) 43.8 million adults experience mental illness in a given year.

3) Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

4) Nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness didn’t receive mental health services in the previous year.

5) Nearly 50% of youth aged 8-15 didn’t receive mental health services in the previous year.

6) African American & Hispanic Americans used mental health services at about 1/2 the rate of whites in the past year and1 Asian Americans at about 1/3 the rate.

7) 90% of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness.

8) More than 90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition.

9) Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide.

10) Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–24, and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24.

It's important to realize that anyone can face mental health issues. It doesn't matter what your gender, age, race, or socioeconomic status is. With that being said, it's necessary to stop the stigma around mental health, and raise awareness and understanding of these issues. As a crisis call line, HopeLine is extremely active with mental health, and wants everyone to know how important it is to always reach out for help. If you ever feel like you need to talk, you can call or text HopeLine at 919-231-4525 or 877-235-4525.

*All mental health statistics found at https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers