Many with mental illness go without treatment, survey says

About 20 percent of American adults suffer some sort of mental illness each year, and about 5 percent experience a serious disorder that disrupts work, family or social life, according to a government report released Thursday.


The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health sketches a now-familiar picture of a country where mental illness is common and the demand for treatment high.


Mental illness is most prevalent in women, young adults, the unemployed and people with low incomes. Drug and alcohol abuse is more than twice as common in people with mental illness than those without it. About 4 percent of adults contemplate suicide each year.


According to the study, slightly less than half the people with any mental illness — and only 60 percent of those with serious, disabling ones — get treatment each year. Whites and Native Americans are more likely to get treatment than blacks, Hispanics or Asians.


The stress on the family is enormous," says Elaine Ducharme, public education coordinator for the Connecticut Psychological Association. "If you're living in a house with someone who is depressed, a black cloud is in the house. People tiptoe around and avoid the person, often stuffing inside what they feel. Anxiety or depression can also come out as anger. People might take it out on kids."
The report is an annual survey of about 67,500 people across the country. The findings are statistically unchanged since the 2009 report.
Among those reporting serious mental health disorders (5%), 61% received treatment. A major reason cited for not getting help: costs.
According to the World Health Organization, mental illness accounts for more disability in developed countries than any other group of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease.