Is There A Mental Health Epidemic?

What do we consider an epidemic to be?

There is a soaring prevalence in the West, countries like the UK, US, Australia, and Canada, where nearly 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 adults reports experiencing a mental illness each year.  

Among young people, the numbers are even higher: over 30% of Gen Z report clinically significant anxiety or depression symptoms.

Rising rates, especially post-COVID the WHO reported a 25% global increase in depression and anxiety in the first year of the pandemic alone.

Mental health referrals and diagnoses continue to rise year-on-year, particularly for children, teens, and young adults.

Mental health services have become overloaded.
In the UK, nearly 1 million children were referred to NHS mental health services in 2023–24 this is an 86% increase in just five years!

Waiting lists for therapy and psychiatric support are months to years long in many regions.

So what are the reasons for this and what can we do to support everyone who needs help, so no one falls through the cracks.

The current mental health crisis has multiple, interconnected causes, personal, societal, economic, and systemic.

There are of course far too many causes to go into on a social post, some of the obvious reasons being cost of living crises, debt and housing insecurity combined with constant pressure to be “productive,” “optimised,” and successful and overwork and burnout being normalised, especially in hustle cultures and the gig economy.

We are living in times of a perfect storm, but therapists like the skilled, diverse team at Change Grow Thrive are equipped to help you navigate this.

It's not right to go it alone.
Please talk to one of us today, reach out via the contact form here at Counselling Gloucestershire for more information.

Your GP may also be able to offer a referral and we offer means tested fees where appropriate.