Mental Health and Mental Disorders

Goal

Improve mental health through prevention and by ensuring access to appropriate, quality mental health services.


Overview

Mental health is a state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with challenges. Mental health is essential to personal well-being, family and interpersonal relationships, and the ability to contribute to community or society.

Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, and/or behavior that are associated with distress and/or impaired functioning. Mental disorders contribute to a host of problems that may include disability, pain, or death.

Mental illness is the term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders.

Why is Mental Health and Mental Disorders Important?

Mental disorders are among the most common causes of disability. The resulting disease burden of mental illness is among the highest of all diseases. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in any given year, an estimated 13 million American adults (approximately 1 in 17) have a seriously debilitating mental illness.1,2 Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada, accounting for 25 percent of all years of life lost to disability and premature mortality.3 Moreover, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for the deaths of approximately 30,000 Americans each year.4,5

Mental health and physical health are closely connected. Mental health plays a major role in people's ability to maintain good physical health. Mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, affect people's ability to participate in health-promoting behaviors. In turn, problems with physical health, such as chronic diseases, can have a serious impact on mental health and decrease a person's ability to participate in treatment and recovery.6

Additional Resources

HP2020's National Objectives for Mental Health and Mental Disorders
HHDW Reports on Mental Health and Mental Disorders

References

  1. Kessler RC, Chiu W, Demler O, et al. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27.
  2. US Census Bureau, Population Division. US Census Bureau population estimates by demographic characteristics: National population estimates—characteristics. Table 2 (NC-EST2004-02): Annual estimates of the population by selected age groups and sex for the United States: April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2004; A18. Washington: US Census Bureau; 2005 Jun 9.
  3. The World Health Organization (WHO). The world health report 2004: Changing history. Annex Table 3: Burden of disease in DALYs by cause, sex, and mortality stratum in WHO regions, Estimates for 2002; A126-A127. Geneva: WHO; 2004.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIP). Web-based injury statistics query and reporting system (WISQARS) [Internet]. Atlanta: CDC; 2010. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
  5. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). NIMH strategic plan (revised 2008) [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: NIMH; 2008 [cited 2010 May 6]. Available from: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports/index.html
  6. Lando J, Marshall Williams S, Sturgis S, et al. A logic model for the integration of mental health into chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Prev Chronic Dis. 2006 April;3(2):A61.