Mental health stigma is continuing to be an issue within the Church, though we might be seeing signs of improvement. One of the best ways to fight mental health stigma is developing awareness within your congregation and community. Start to normalize a discussion around mental health, whether preaching about it or with these church mental health awareness cards, in order to educate and allow for an environment where it is seen as safe to discuss.
One of the biggest organizations working to better understand the impact of mental health and substance misuse in America is SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). For over a decade, they have been tracking mental health and substance use statistics and just released the numbers for 2018.
The Data
So what does the report say? SAMSHA provides some great summarizations.
Serious Mental Health Problems
Serious mental health disorders are those with a rating of severe on a scale from mild, moderate, and severe.
The biggest percentage increase in serious mental health disorders was with 18-25 year olds, increasing over 200% since 2008
Serious mental illness disorders have increased to 11.3 million for adults in 2018, up from 8.3 million in 2008.
Suicidality Rates
Significant increases in suicidality were observed in 18-25 year olds.
The amount of people attempting suicide has nearly doubled since 2008.
Co-Occurring Disorders
Co-occuring disorders are when people have both mental health and substance use disorder. Currently, 9.2 million people have co-occurring disorders.
That compares to 47.6 million adults that have a mental health diagnosis (1 in 5 individuals in the United States) and 19.3 million adults with a substance use disorder (1 in 12 individuals in the United States).
Gaps In Treatment
The large gap in treatment need continues, the biggest being with co-occurring disorders (90.4% of individuals not in treatment) and substance use disorders (89.8% of individuals not in treatment).
57.6 million people have a diagnosis and are not in any kind of treatment.
How Your Church Can Use This?
Knowing information does not actually change anything. We need to figure out how this can be implemented in a church setting. So, how can your church use this information? Here is an article on 10 Free Ways Your Church Can Stop Mental Health Stigma you might want to check out that will easily incorporate this data.
If you are a church that preaches about mental health from the pulpit, use these updated numbers. Sharing mental health information helps. In fact, there is a common saying in mental health that the number one mental health disorder is Major Depressive Disorder, yet the symptoms make you feel like the only one who struggles with it.
Use social media consistently. Don't know what to share? Start with tweet-able content. All of the statistics above are perfect for bullet points. Then gather some stories from your church to share. Not sure what? Use these for examples.
Share these statistics with your leadership, elders, and volunteers. Use this to inspire change in your ministry. Maybe that means adding a new small group on mental health. Maybe it means expanding your benevolence fund to include mental health concerns. Maybe it means changing how you do hospitality and care ministry. Whatever you do, do it well.
What is your biggest takeaway with this data?
Jeremy Smith is a clinical mental health counselor in Ohio and founder of www.churchandmentalhealth.com.
