Back to Table of Contents Mental Health Matters in Your Community Reprinted from Mental Health Matters , a publication of the Cattaraugus County CMHP Team Mental health means something to everyone. For many, it means minding stress levels and finding a healthy balance between work and home. For those suffering from mental disorders, mental health means learning to manage and overcome their illness. Regardless of what mental health may mean to individuals, the attention aid to mental health and mental illness is disproportionate to the attention devoted to physical health. Taken collectively mental illnesses are the most prevalent health problem in America today.
Mental illness is more common than cancer, lung, and heart disease combined.
Ironically, mental illness is less regarded and receives fewer resources than most physical health problems. Depression is predicted to be the 2nd greatest cause of premature death and disability worldwide by 2020. Nearly two-thirds of all people with diagnosable mental disorders do not seek treatment. Depression greatly increases the risk of developing heart disease. People with depression are more than 4 times as likely to have a heart attack than those without a history of the illness.