Nearly half of Americans will develop some sort of mental disorder some time in their lives. With better detection techniques, the number of people who report problems like depression, anxiety, and impulse control problems is increasing, but the latest report says treatment is inadequate.
One of the more surprising findings of this study was that the onslaught of mental illness begins as young as the early teens. Half of the disorders documented began at age 14. Three quarters had begun by age 24.
“Mental disorders are really the most important chronic conditions of youth in America,” said Ronald Kessler, a Harvard Medical School epidemiologist who helped lead the study. “These early onset disorders very seldom come to the attention of the treatment system unless they’re very severe.”
Many of the symptoms often go ignored, especially in teens, often dismissed as normal teenage angst. The symptoms are mild, like low-level anxiety (chronic nail biting) or persistent shyness. Experts suggest that the untreated symptoms often lead to a steady escalation of problems such as recurrent depression, phobias, clinical anxiety, or substance abuse.
As reported in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, the study (National Comorbidity Survey Replication) reports that it often takes sufferers 9 to 23 years to seek treatment, if they seek treatment at all, which is commonplace that they don’t.
Researchers believe that there is a social stigma attached to therapy that prevents people from seeking adequate treatment.
“It raises the possibility that the stigma against treatment may be even greater than the stigma against the disorders themselves, something that those of us in the profession tend not to realize,” said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
While half show symptoms of disorder within their lifetimes, 25% meet treatment criteria in any given year.
“We need to do a better job of figuring out which mild and moderate disorders are likely to become seriously debilitating in the future and which ones are self-limiting,” Kessler said. “There’s a lot of potential for working with early onset cases and doing early intervention to try to nip things in the bud.”
The findings provide hope for addressing the problems early in life before they can reach a point that is debilitating for patients. If these disorders go untreated, they can interfere with significant life achievements like high school or college grades and graduation, maintaining close relationships, and keeping a job.
“There are ripple effects through the life course,” said Kessler. “These illnesses have a fundamental effect on how people’s lives turn out. They are impaired before they have a chance to get their adult life on track.”
Researchers also hope to address the quality of care. Of the fraction of people who actually seek treatment are given adequate care.
