Mental health and substance use challenges can take many forms. There’s depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction and the list goes on. Some of these challenges are more visible and you might recognize them immediately. Others can be harder to see when you’re not looking for them. But, they are still there.

These statistics provide a look at how many people face a mental health or substance use challenge, whether we see it or not:

1. In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime.
2. 5 percent of adults (18 or older) experience a mental illness in any one year, equivalent to 43.8 million people.
3. Of adults in the United States with any mental disorder in a one-year period, 14.4 percent have one disorder, 5.8 percent have two disorders and 6 percent have three or more.
4. Half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24.
5. In the United States, only 41 percent of the people who had a mental disorder in the past year received professional health care or other services.

How You Can Help.

Get trained in Mental Health First Aid today. As a trained First Aider, you will be able to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in your community. You can #BeTheDifference.