Yes, they are. The World Health Organisation stated in 2017 that the previous decade saw an increase in reported poor mental health. However, it lumped the figure of a 13 per cent upturn with substance abuse disorders – a related, though separate issue. According to Mind, the British charity that specialises in mental disorders and support, between 1993 and 2014, common mental disorders increased by 20 per cent. Consequently, any way you look at it, such problems are more commonplace than they used to be. The reason for this is not proven beyond doubt, although it seems that increased awareness among clinicians and the public at large will account for why so many more diagnoses are made today than used to be the case. The idea that people today may be more sensitive or have less resilience than previous generations may well be overstated from that point of view, therefore.