How common are mental health problems?

“All the world is mad save for me and thee, and sometimes I wonder about thee” - Old Quaker saying

Mental health problems are very common! If you have experienced a mental health disorder, mild, moderate or severe, you are certainly not alone – even if you may feel that way.

Nearly half the New Zealand population will experience a mental health problem over their lifetime. Figures released by the New Zealand Government in 2007, report “46.6% of the population is predicted to have a disorder at some time in their lives, with 39.5% having already done so and 20.7% having a disorder in the past 12 months”. 

You can read more about this report from the document Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey 2006, which provides the first set of information on mental heath disorders in New Zealand.

International rates of mental illness

Worldwide, an estimated 14% of all disease is due to mental health disorders, which are more important than heart disease, stroke and cancer in contributing to other serious health conditions. This is because mental health and substance abuse problems are so disabling.

However, the true effect they have worldwide is likely to be underestimated, because so many people – professional and otherwise - still fail to appreciate the connection between mental health disorders and other health conditions. 

Mental health disorders increase your risk of infectious and non-infectious diseases, and contribute to unintentional and intentional injury – and vice versa. Having more than one illness at one time makes it harder to seek help, receive a diagnosis and treatment, and makes it difficult to predict how each disorder will progress.