Mental Health
You are more likely to suffer from a mental health problem than get dandruff. Ruby Wax famously quipped that she has had both. It is a very common condition to suffer from and comes in many forms.
This page has been created to act as a source of information about mental health problems.
Below is a Prezi presentation which marks key points in British history where mental health legislation was created or amended
Some Facts & Figures
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year – Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007 (2009), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care
Mental health problems account for 23 per cent of the burden of disease in the United Kingdom, but spending on mental health services consumes only 11 per cent of the NHS budget.
People with severe mental health problems have an average reduced life expectancy of between 10 and 25 years. Risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, and the side effects of psychiatric medication. – Premature death among people with severe mental disorders (2015), World Health Organisation
There was a 34% increase in detentions under the Mental Health Act between 2005 and 2016. – NHS Digitial
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There was a drop of 54% between 2014/15 and 2015/16 of instances of police cells being used as a place of safety under the mental Health Act in England and Wales. – National Police Chiefs’ Council, 2016
Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales – Suicides in the United Kingdom (2015), Office for National Statistics
Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are distributed according to a gradient of eceonomic disadvantage across society. The poorer and more disadvantaged are disproportionately affected by common mental health problems and their adverse consequences – Patel V, Lund C, Hatherill S, Plagerson S, Corrigall J, Funk M, and Fisher AJ, Mental Disorders: equality and social determinants (2010)
Every seven years a survey is done in England to measure the number of people who have different types of mental health problems. These figures do not include people experiencing mental health problems in hospitals, prisons, sheltered housing, or who are homeless. Therefore, these figures are likely to be an underestimate of the prevalence of mental health problems. It was last published in 2016 and reported these figures:
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Generalised anxiety disorder 5.9 in 100 people
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Depression 3.3 in 100 people
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Phobias 2.4 in 100 people
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 1.3 in 100 people
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Panic disorder 0.6 in 100 people
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Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 4.4 in 100 people
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Mixed anxiety and depression 7.8 in 100 people
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Estimates for people with the following disorders suggest:
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Psychotic disorder 0.7 in 100 people
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Bipolar disorder 2.0 in 100 people
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Antisocial personality disorder 3.3 in 100 people
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Borderline personality disorder 2.4 in 100 people
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The survey also measured the number of people who have self-harmed, had suicidal thoughts or have made suicidal attempts over their lifetime:
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Suicidal thoughts 20.6 in 100 people
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Suicide attempts 6.7 in 100 people
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Self-harm 7.3 in 100 people
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Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult psychiatric morbidity survey 2014 (2016), NHS Digital
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40,161 self-harm incidents reported in prisons in 2016, the highest on record – Mental Health in Prisons (2017), National Audit Office
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70% of people who died from self-inflicted means whilst in prison had already been identified with mental health needs. However, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found that concerns about mental health problems had only been flagged on entry to the prison for just over half of these people. – Prisoner mental health, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, (2016)
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26% of women and 16% of men said they had received treatment for a mental health problem in the year before custody. – Gender differences in substance misuse and mental health amongst prisoners, Ministry of Justice, (2013)
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25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis.~ The rate among the general public is about 4%.* – ~Gender differences in substance misuse and mental health amongst prisoners, Ministry of Justice, (2013) *Self-reported psychotic symptoms in the United Kingdom, The British Journal of Psychiatry, (2016)
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There are no reliable data on the prevalence of mental illness in prisons. The most commonly used estimate is that 90% of the prison population are mentally unwell, but this figure dates from 1998 and uses a broader definition of mental illness than many clinicians would recognise – Mental Health in Prisons (2017), National Audit Office
A study among 82 homeless people in Sweden found that 74% had a mental health disorder associated with misuse of alcohol and illicit drugs – Beijer et al, 2007
Around 70% of people accessing homelessness services have a mental health problem – Homelessness, mental health and wellbeing guide, Homeless Link (2011)
Although the causes of homelessness are complex, mental ill health is a major contributing factor – Homelessness and mental health: adding clinical mental health interventions to existing social ones can greatly enhance positive outcomes, Cokersell, Journal of Public Mental Health (2011)
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