How does mental illness affect family and friends?

When depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or another mental illness enter a family, the emotional cost can be high and family members can be deeply affected. Depending on their circumstances, they may struggle to help a family member who doesn’t have access to care or may not want assistance.

What percentage of people are depressed?

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 16.2 million U.S. adults had at least one major depressive episode in 2016. This represents 6.7 percent of the U.S. adult population. Depression is most common in ages 18 to 25 (10.9 percent) and in individuals belonging to two or more races (10.5 percent).

What percentage of teens are depressed?

About 20 percent of all teens experience depression before they reach adulthood. Between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time. Only 30 percent of depressed teens are being treated for it.

How do most people choose their friends?

Most people choose their friends unconsciously. That means they talk about someone that he is for example funny or nice or reliable. But this is a kind of intellectual surface.

What happens to people who don’t have friends?

What is often very sad about these situations is to see how negative people can get about themselves when they do not have friends. They may very well be able to function in terms of getting things done that they need done; they also may be able to contribute quite a lot to their communities.

Does it matter how many friends you have or not?

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how many friends you have. If you don’t feel the need to make more friends, trust your instincts without letting the opinions of others sway you. That said, loneliness can contribute to mental health symptoms, including anxiety and depression.

Is it bad to be friends with just one person?

Consistently turning to just one person for friendship and emotional support can put you both at a disadvantage when you struggle to fulfill that role. If you do desire more emotional support and companionship, a better goal is to find a few close friends to share your time with.