Mental Disorders – A Serious Global Concern that Needs to Address

Abstract

A major global health concern that affects millions of individuals globally is mental illness. Recent estimates place the number of people with mental or behavioral disorders at 450 million worldwide, making up over 12% of all diseases (Friedrich, 2017). These issues include substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and concern disorders, among many other conditions. It is projected that 322 million people worldwide, or 4.4% of the total population, suffer from depression alone. These figures were featured in the report “Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates,” released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017. The prevalence of anxiety disorders, which currently affect 260 million individuals worldwide, or 3.6% of the total population, is another topic covered in the report. The consequences of mental diseases are prevalent in low and mid-income countries as well; they are not exclusive to high-income ones. According to the report, mental health issues are rising in these countries