Depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions are serious disorders that often require treatment to resolve. Mental illness can have a significant negative impact on the quality of life and overall functioning of a child, adolescent or adult. Unfortunately, the majority of people that struggle with mental illness never seek treatment. It is very important to schedule an evaluation if you or your child is struggling with any of the following issues:
- Significant sadness
- Lack of interest in activities
- Sleep difficulties
- Low motivation
- Diminished energy
- Excessive worry
- Panic attacks
- Specific fears or phobias that cause daily struggles
- Significant struggles with low self-esteem
- Obsessions and compulsive behaviors
- Problems with attention and focus
- Behavioral problems
- Mood swings
- High levels of irritability
- Emotional reactivity
- Learning difficulties
- Self-injurious behaviors
- Emotional struggles secondary to traumatic life events
Recent data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that 17.3 million adults in the United States will have at least one major depressive episode in a given year. In fact, it is estimated that 15% of adults will experience depression at some point in their lifetime. Additionally, 2.3 Million or 9.4% of teenagers in the United States have struggled with a major depressive episode at some point in their lives. Many people believe that struggles with mental illness are rare despite the fact that data confirms psychiatric struggles are prevalent in the world and afflict a large part of the world’s population. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 300 million people in the world suffer from depression alone. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent and affect 18.1% of the US population or approximately 40 million adults. Suicide continues to rank as the third leading cause of death in adolescents and the tenth leading cause of death amongst adults.
You are not alone. It is never too early or too late to be evaluated and enter into potentially life saving mental health treatment.