Tomorrow is World Mental Heath Day. I thought it was today .... so here are a few stats that have made me think a bit more about good thinking;

16 million people in the UK experience a mental illness
One in four adults will experience a mental illness at some point each year in the UK.


Three in four mental illnesses start in childhood
75% of mental illnesses start before a child reaches their 18th birthday

10% of school children have a diagnosable mental illness
In an average class of 30 young people, three will have a mental health problem. 


75% of young people with a mental health problem are not receiving treatment
There’s been a rise in the time children are having to wait to receive treatment for complex mental health conditions, and children with depression and anxiety are often not being identified or given help.

The average wait for effective treatment is 10 years
It can take a decade for many young people to receive help after showing first symptoms. Opportunities to help are often missed until they reach “crisis”.


Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK
Suicide is a leading cause of death in young men and women aged 20-34 in the UK. 


Impact on life expectancy
People with severe mental illness die between 10 and 20 years earlier than the general population 


More than half of young people link mental illness with alienation and isolation
56% believe that anyone their age diagnosed with a mental illness would be treated differently, and 55% believe they would lose friends.

More than half of young people feel embarrassed about mental illness
51% of young people believe that anyone their age diagnosed with a mental illness would be embarrassed. 


6% of UK health research spending goes on mental health
This is despite mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder affecting one in four of the population.
For every person affected by mental illness, £8 is spent on research – 22 times less than cancer and 14 times less than dementia
UK funding for mental illness research equates to £8 per person, according to research from mental heath research charity MQ, compared with £178 per person for cancer and £110 for dementia.
Less than 30% of mental health research is focused on young people