We seem to always know the latest dance craze, which celebrity is cheating on their significant other, or which celebrity got arrested and what for. In the meantime, we have the severity of mental illnesses on the rise everyday. Let me throw some statistics at you:
- Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.1
- Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.3
- 6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.6
- 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.7
- Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.8
- Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic disorder and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults aged 18–44.16
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 10–34.20
- More than 90% of people who die by suicide show symptoms of a mental health condition.21
- Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide.22
This Red Table Talk took the time to shed more light on mental illness, or as Willow called it emotional illness as they sat down with hip-hop artist, Kid Cudi who shared his own story. In 2016, he made a public post to his fans on Facebook that he had been dealing with anxiety, depression and suicidal urges. Jada could relate to him as a result of her dealing with her own depression and suicidal urges in the beginning of her days in the industry. She thought that success would be the answer and it wasn’t. She turned to drugs and drinking, as did Kid Cudi to escape from the emptiness they felt. Cudi mentioned he woke up one more morning and said to himself, “Man, this isn’t healthy. And I don’t know what else to do, but to get some help and find some places I can go.” That’s what he did. He went to rehab for a month. For him, it was about getting to the core of his depression and in order to reach that core, talking was his go-to. He found out that it was things from his childhood. Events that he needed to be okay with and finding peace within those events.
Willow mentioned a lot of young people are leaving here everyday due to mental illness or emotional illness and they escape those issues by substance abuse or drinking. It’s how they associate the two together. We have to do better in looking out and checking up on each other. We have to slow down on isolating and remember that we all have our own struggles we deal with everyday. Both Cudi and Jada mentioned that their kids helped them stay out of trouble and to help them see another day. They both suggested it’s all about looking for enjoyment in the small things and finding the things that help you keep your head above water.
I want to end by saying for the ones that didn’t think they’d make it this far, thank you for staying in the fight. We love you.
If you’ve thought about suicide and need someone to talk to, please call the number below:
1-800-273-8255
#stillRising
#stillRising 