According to a report by Mental Health America, more than 10% of young people in the United States suffer from depression. Out of them, 16.39% of young people aged between 12-17 have experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, and 11.5% suffer from severe depression.

Unfortunately, over 28 million mentally ill adults in the U.S. don’t receive treatment.

Every July, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is observed to bring attention to the unique obstacles that racial and ethnic minority communities face concerning mental illness in the United States.

In 2021, it is estimated that only 39% of Black or African American adults, 25% of Asian adults, and 36% of Hispanic/Latino adults with any mental illness were treated, compared to 52% of non-Hispanic white adults.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine is organizing an Executive Round Table discussion on October 26th to highlight the impact of anxiety and depression on workplace performance.

Attendees will learn from experts and share their experiences. The session will cover various mental health issues.  Business leaders like Tyrone Taborn, C.E.O. of Career Communications Group, will participate.

The session will be led by the department director, James “Jimmy” Potash, M.D., M.P.H. Attendees are encouraged to learn from experts from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

To secure your virtual seat and obtain the Zoom link, please R.S.V.P. to Monica Butta at mbutta2@Jhmi.edu.

Mental Health America observes May as Mental Health Month, providing a toolkit to educate and inform about mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949 and was started by the Mental Health America organization.

World Mental Health Day falls on October 10. The primary objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues worldwide and to mobilize efforts to support mental health.

The day allows all stakeholders working on mental health issues to discuss their work and what more must be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

The World Foundation of Mental Health has set the theme for 2023 as “Mental health is a universal human right.” World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness of mental health and drive positive change for everyone’s mental health.

Wellness Advocate Greg Lindberg and Lifelong Labs provide information and resources that inspire individuals and communities to accept and overcome adversity with resilience and determination.

Lindberg stresses the importance of community support during tough times. He encourages people to reach out and lean on one another for emotional support and guidance.

Lindberg says adversity can be difficult to experience, but those challenges allow us to grow and transform. They encourage us to develop new skills, deepen our understanding, and become more resilient.

Lifelong Labs provides information and resources for anyone interested in joining the company on the journey of embracing adversity. Together, we can build a brighter and more resilient future by acknowledging challenges and committing to overcome them. To learn more, visit LifelongLabs.com.

A report published by Mental Health America in 2023 states that over 1 in 10 young people in the United States suffer from depression that significantly impairs their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life.

Approximately 16.39% of young people aged between 12-17 years have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year. Furthermore, 11.5% of young people, which is over 2.7 million, suffer from severe major depression.

Sadly, over 54.7% of adults with mental illness in the US do not receive any treatment, which totals over 28 million individuals.

Only 28% of young people with severe depression receive consistent treatment (7-25+ visits in a year), and 57.3% of young people with severe depression receive no care at all.

In the US, over 1.2 million young people covered under private insurance do not have coverage for mental or emotional difficulties.

Moreover, there are an estimated 350 individuals for every mental health provider in the country, although these figures could overestimate active mental health professionals, including providers who are no longer practicing or accepting new patients.

Previous studies by the US Department of Health Services Administration found that historical oppression, violence, and dehumanization against Black and African American people led to present-day racism, which is structural, institutional, and individual.

This perpetuates creating a less affluent and mistrustful community that experiences various disparities, including inadequate access to healthcare. The community is also dealing with layers of individual and new mass traumas, including COVID-19, police brutality, and divisive political rhetoric, which makes it challenging to manage responsibly.

Historical adversity, such as slavery, sharecropping, and race-based exclusion from resources, leads to the socioeconomic disparities experienced by Black and African American people today.

Despite some progress made over the years, racism continues to impact the mental health of Black and African-American people. Although negative stereotypes and attitudes have decreased, they still occur with measurable, adverse consequences.

Historical and contemporary instances of negative treatment have led to a mistrust of authorities who are not seen as having the best interests of Black and African Americans in mind.

Those living below the poverty level are twice as likely to report severe psychological distress than those living over 2x the poverty level. Adult Black and African Americans are likelier to feel sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than adult whites.

A National Survey conducted in 2018 found that 16% of Black and African Americans reported having a mental illness, and 22.4% said they had a severe mental illness in the past year. Serious mental illness rose among all Black and African Americans between 2008 and 2018.

Although the rates are lower than the overall US population, major depressive episodes increased from 9% to 10.3% in Black and African American youth aged between 12-17 years, 6.1% to 9.4% in young adults aged 18-25 years, and 5.7% to 6.3% in the age range of 26-49 years between 2015 and 2018.