THE VALUED VOICE

Since 1949, May has been known as Mental Health Month to bring recognition and education around mental health disorders. Each year in the United States, almost one in five Americans will have a diagnosable mental health illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the number of “visits to the emergency department with mental disorders as the primary diagnosis” is about 4.9 million visits. Depression is a common mental illness, and it is estimated that roughly 5% of adults suffer from it worldwide. Other common mental disorders include anxiety, addiction/substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD and schizophrenia.

The WHA Information Center analyzed mental health illness visits from 2016-2023 from all places of service to see how it is impacting Wisconsin patients. Milwaukee County has the highest visit count of combined mental health visits, followed by Dane County. Depression has the highest visit count when compared to the other mental health diagnoses. Females have a significantly higher number of visits than males. The average age for depression and anxiety visits is around 39 years old. The age group with the highest number of visits is 11-20, followed by ages 21-30.
 
There is no single cause for mental illness. The following are factors that could contribute to risk for mental illness according to the CDC:
 

• Early adverse life experiences, such as trauma or a history of abuse (for example, child abuse, sexual assault, witnessing violence, etc.)
• Experiences related to other ongoing (chronic) medical conditions, such as cancer or diabetes
• Biological factors or chemical imbalances in the brain
• Use of alcohol or drugs
• Having feelings of loneliness or isolation