Joe Davies published an article for Mind Essential about surprising mental health statistics:

• Anxiety is the world’s most common mental ailment, impacting 284 million individuals worldwide. (2018, Our World in Data)

• A mental health or drug addiction disease affects 970 million individuals globally. (2018, Our World in Data)

• The top causes of disability in the United States were recognized as anxiety, major depression, alcohol use disorders, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, and dysthymia (chronic moderate depression) (U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators, 2013)

• Mental illness affects more women (11.9%) than men worldwide (9.3%). (2018, Our World in Data)

• Mental diseases are thought to be responsible for 14.3% of all deaths worldwide, or around 8 million deaths per year. (2015, JAMA Psychiatry)

• Mental health patients have a much greater mortality rate than the overall population, with an average life expectancy loss of 10.1 years. (2015, JAMA Psychiatry)

According to research done in 2011, Verywell health reports there are several reasons why patients do not adhere to medicine treatment plans:

• Denial of the problem: Many diseases and conditions are easy to ignore, even when they have been diagnosed. This is particularly true for diseases that are asymptomatic, meaning they don't have noticeable symptoms that bother the patient. For example, if you have diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), you may not have symptoms that get in the way of everyday life. You may not even have known you had the condition until it showed up on a routine examination.

• The cost of the treatment: Your medications and therapies may or may not be covered by insurance, and the more out-of-pocket costs you have, the less likely you are to buy the drugs or make treatment appointments.

• The difficulty of the regimen: Patients may have trouble following the directions, particularly if they have memory problems or dementia. For example, taking a pill in the middle of the night, or being unable to open a "child-safe" container, may create a barrier to compliance.

• The unpleasant outcomes or side-effects of the treatment: Any perceived negative— such as an unpleasant taste of medicine, the prick of a needle, or the pain of physical therapy—may keep you from following through. Also, patients may be reluctant to start a medication after reading about the possible side effects.

• Lack of trust: If for whatever reason, you don't believe your treatment is going to make a difference in your health, you may not be motivated to comply.

• Apathy: When you don't realize the importance of the treatment, or you don't care if the treatment works or not, you are less likely to comply.

• Previous experience: Especially in the cases of chronic or repeat conditions, patients will sometimes decide that a treatment didn't work in the past, so they are either reluctant or unwilling to try it again.

• CBT- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychological treatment that combines talk and behavioral therapy in which patients reframe negative thinking patterns into positive thoughts ultimately transforming one's thoughts and ultimately resulting in positive actions and behaviors in difficult moments ("Behavioral therapy: Techniques and effectiveness.")

*Play therapy for treating children and enhanced therapies can help with specific disorders such as eating disorders and substance abuse.

• DBT- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a more sophisticated version of CBT and focuses more on awareness and acceptance in life of the things you cannot change while also working on at the same time things you can change to improve your emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life ("Behavioral therapy: Techniques and effectiveness.") Developed in the late 1980s by Marsha Linehan, a psychologist and suicide researcher.

• ACT- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior and cognitive therapy. Patients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions. Acceptance of these feelings leads to commitment to making necessary changes in their behavior ("Behavioral therapy: Techniques and effectiveness.") Developed in the 1980s by Steven Hayes, psychologist and professor at the University of Nevada

TFT- Trauma Focused Therapy is a form of therapy involving many different methods and involves accounting for a client’s trauma and its impact on their behavior, mental health, and ability to engage in treatment (Gupta).

• Prolonged Exposure (PE): Prolonged exposure teaches individuals to gradually approach their trauma-related memories, feelings and situations. They presumably learn that trauma-related memories and cues are not dangerous and do not need to be avoided ("Prolonged Exposure.")

• Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR): A structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories ("Eye Movement.")

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): A specific type of CBT that helps patients learn how to modify and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to trauma ("Cognitive Processing Therapy.")

Take charge of your mental health with these advocacy tips:

• Be on time to your appointments.

• Bring along a close friend or family member to appointments to help remember important information. Ask if you can record your appointment on your phone or device.

• Bring a list of questions to discuss at your appointment.

• Practice self-advocating with someone you trust.

• Emphasize the severity of what you're experiencing.

• Be honest, healthcare professionals are trained for your symptoms and have heard it all! You cannot shock them with your thoughts.

• Get a second opinion if you feel you do not agree with your diagnosis or if your medicine treatment plan is not working. Not all mental health care providers are trained in every area, and some may specialize and know more about your condition than others.

• Educate yourself about your diagnosis and medication treatment plan.

• Stay calm.

• Create your own goals.

• Don't be afraid to say what isn't working, even with your therapist. Sometimes you need to part ways with your therapist if you have learned everything to their capabilities. Do not be afraid to hurt their feeling by moving on.

Please see the Documentation tab for a full list of national resource information.

• National Helpline Database (verywellmind.com)

• Mental Health Centers | Mental Health Facilities Near You (mentalhealthclinics.org)

• Women's Shelters, Transitional Housing (womenshelters.org)

• Find AA Meetings Near You - AA Meeting Locator (aa-meetings.com)