Q&A: How common is mental illness?

Q: How common is mental illness?

A: Mental illnesses are not uncommon. Truth be told, they occur more than cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. Based on the US Surgeon General, an estimated 23% of American adults (those ages 18 and older) or about 44 million people, and about 20% of American children bite it from a mental disorder at any given year.

Even though mental disorders are common, the main problem that comes with this illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion, about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans, who have a serious mental illness. It is estimated that mental illness impacts 1 in 4 families in America.

Heavy, Frequent Cannabis Use Associated With Mental Illness

 

A recent study has shown that people suffering from a mental illness are more than seven times as likely to use marijuana weekly as those that have no mental illness. Albeit some research showed correlation between cannabis use and mental illness, up to this day, the precise numbers and prevalence of cannabis use are yet to be known.