If you’re struggling with your mental health, you’re not alone. Far from it: nearly one billion people worldwide struggle with some sort of mental health condition, according to a news story from the United Nations. In 2019, that figure included one in seven, or 14%, of the world’s teenagers.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations, has released its World Mental Health Report, which documents a growing crisis worldwide. COVID-19 made a bad situation much worse. In the first year of the pandemic, anxiety and depression rose worldwide by more than 25%.

In response, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, makes the case for transformative changes in public policy. “Everyone’s life touches someone with a mental health condition,” he explained. Since mental health, physical health, human rights and socioeconomic development are inextricably linked, “Investment into mental health is an investment into a better life and future for all.”

As things stand, there’s a global need for better mental health care. Even before the pandemic in 2019, only a fraction of people were receiving “effective, affordable, and quality mental health treatment.” For example, more than 70 per cent of those suffering from psychosis worldwide do not get the help they need, the UN agency said. When it comes to psychosis, there’s a disparity in care depending on socioeconomics. In high-income nations, 7 in 10 receive psychological help, whereas only 12 percent do in low-income countries.

However, the statistics on depression are universally bleak: only one-third of those suffering from depression receive formal mental health care, regardless of what country they come from. Tedros argues for a transformational approach to mental health, changing attitudes surrounding it and developing “community-based mental health services capable of achieving universal health coverage for mental health.”

Here are more highlights drawn directly from the World Mental Health Report:

• Mental health is critically important for everyone, everywhere.
• Mental health is an integral part of our general health and well-being and a basic human right
• 14% of the world’s adolescents (aged 10-19 years) lived with a mental health disorder in 2019.
• Scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety provides a benefit cost ratio of 5 to 1.
• On average, psychiatric hospitals absorb 66% of national mental health budgets. Community-based mental health care is more accessible and acceptable than institutional care and delivers better outcomes for people with mental health conditions.

The status quo on mental health is not adequate. WHO outlines three paths to transformation:

• “First, we must deepen the value and commitment we give to mental health as individuals, communities and governments; and match that value with more commitment, engagement and investment by all stakeholders, across all sectors.
• Second, we must reshape the physical, social and economic characteristics of environments – in homes, schools, workplaces and the wider community – to better protect mental health and prevent mental health conditions. These environments need to give everyone an equal opportunity to thrive and reach the highest attainable level of mental health and well-being.
• Third, we must strengthen mental health care so that the full spectrum of mental health needs is met through a community-based network of accessible, affordable and quality services and support.

Each path to transformation is a path towards better mental health for all. Together, they will lead us closer to a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected; where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy mental health and to exercise their human rights; and where everyone can access the mental health care they need.”

Read the UN news article here.

Read the World Mental Health Report in its entirety here.

Photo by Vesky on Unsplash