What is Mental Illness?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, mental illnesses are common in the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (46.6 million in 2017). Mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Two broad categories can be used to describe these conditions: Any Mental Illness (AMI) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI). AMI encompasses all recognized mental illnesses. SMI is a smaller and more severe subset of AMI.
Any Mental Illness (AMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder. AMI can vary in impact, ranging from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment (e.g., individuals with serious mental illness as defined below). According to a survey in 2017, there were an estimated 46.6 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with AMI. This number represented 18.9% of all U.S. adults.
Serious Mental Illness (SMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. The burden of mental illnesses is particularly concentrated among those who experience disability due to SMI. The 2017 survey indicated that there were an estimated 11.2 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with SMI. This number represented 4.5% of all U.S. adults.
Based on diagnostic interview data from National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) among U.S. adolescents aged 13-18, an estimated 49.5% of adolescents had any mental disorder. Of adolescents with any mental disorder, an estimated 22.2% had severe impairment.
Although mental disorders are common and can be highly disabling, they also can be identified and diagnosed reliably, and treated with a high degree of effectiveness.
Common forms of mental illness include:
Major Depressive Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Schizophrenia
Anxiety Disorders
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
The landmark Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health encourages Americans to seek help if they have questions about mental health or mental illness, just as they would seek help when questions arise about their general health.
What is Substance use?
According to the National Institute on Drug use, substance use and addiction is a complex illness and not just a social problem, which is often the myth. However, substance use affects all types of people regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status along with their families.
Based on a survey conducted in 2018 by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 57.8 million Americans had a mental and/or substance use disorder. Of these, 19.3 million people age 18 or older had a substance use disorder and 9.2 million people age 18 or older had both a substance use disorder and a mental illness.
The path to substance use and addiction begins with the conscious decision of taking drugs or drinking alcohol, but often ends with compulsive behavior characterized by drug craving, seeking, and use that persists even in the face of negative consequences. Evidence has proved that prolonged use of drugs and/or alcohol has long-term effects on brain metabolism and activity, and treatment is necessary to end this compulsive behavior.
Treatment for substance use is offered through a variety of methods and is often tailored to meet an individual's needs in efforts to assist him/her in learning to control the condition and live relatively normal lives.