Massachusetts also has the best ratio of mental health providers to its overall population - There is at least 1 psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed clinical social workers, counselor, or specialized nurse practitioner for every 159 residents. Residents in Massachusetts, on the other hand, report having the lowest number of mentally unhealthy days on a population weighted basis at 12.1 days. The other day he came in and said, ‘Ain’t that a shame: I’m 30 years old and carrying my life around in a backpack.’ It broke my heart.” ![]() As Marie sits at the breakfast table in McDowell, drizzling honey onto home-made biscuits, she reflects on how her son John represents everything that McDowell has become: “It’s like he’s in a hole with no way out. Marie Bolden is a long-time resident of McDowell, WV and has witnessed her son’s battle with mental health, drug addiction, and poverty. McDowell County in West Virginia has the highest rate of reported mentally unhealthy days of any county in America - 25 mentally unhealthy days per month.Ī teacher in McDowell, West Virginia teachers music to students with mental health challenges - Source: New York Times Residents in these 3 states report on having 18+ mentally unhealthy days per month on average. Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia have the highest rates of mental health challenges. ![]() This data helps us understand which regions in the US have the greatest strife as well as the least support. First, the CDC surveys Americans annually about their mental health (“ Now thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days in the past 30 days was your mental health not good?” ) and second, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services keeps identifier records on the number of mental health providers in each county. Two datasets are instrumental in figuring out where policymakers, health advocates, and community organizations can focus their efforts to help Americans most in need. When care isn’t provided in communities that need it most, people like Tega are left alone, struggling to find help.ġ in 3 Americans say they struggle to find mental health support - Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness So when I couldn’t eat or sleep from anxiety, I didn’t know how to articulate how I felt.” I would never bring up depression or my mental health because I felt like all I had to do was go to school and get good grades. We would say that anxiety was a myth, depression was a myth and praying was the answer to all the problems. “ Growing up, mental health was not something that was talked about in my family. ![]() Growing up in New Mexico, her family struggled to address and understand her mental health: ![]() Tega Orhorhoro knows how difficult it is to talk about mental health. New data is now available that helps us shed light on which regions in America are suffering the most with mental health challenges so we can focus our efforts here to help turn the tide. But even when facilities are located where we need them, stigma still dominates the conversation. However, mental health clinics and doctors are showing up in cities that have the most funds, rather than positioning themselves in the South and Mid-East where care is most needed. 1 in 5 adults in America is struggling with mental health and 43,000 Americans with an underlying mental illness die by suicide each year. Mental health providers are not located where people are struggling with mental health.
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