World Mental Health Day is on Sunday, October 10th, and this year, the focus is on Mental Health in an Unequal World. At Spring Health, we’re strongly aligned with the cause — every day, we work to make mental health universally accessible by eliminating every barrier to care.

Mental health conditions are on the rise, and inequality can exacerbate these issues. 

• Nearly one billion (970 million)people worldwide have a mental health or substance abuse disorder. (Our World in Data, 2018)
• Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the world, affecting 284 million people. (Our World in Data, 2018). Spring Health, a mental health and wellness benefit, offers support for anxiety and other mental health conditions. 87% of people who used their Spring Health benefit experienced a reduction in anxiety symptoms.

We’re taking this opportunity to highlight the changes needed to address mental health in an unequal world and talk about ways anyone can help.

Global Mental Health Inequalities

The global pandemic, climate crisis, and social upheavals throughout the United States and the world, have highlighted the systemic inequalities disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as historically marginalized people at the intersection of various identities. Along with socioeconomic inequities across race, gender identity, and sexual orientation, access to mental health remains unequal.Between 75% and 95%of people with mental health issues in impoverished and developing communities do not have access to any mental health services.

Significant societal changes need to happen in order to address the effects of an unequal world on mental health. And while there’s work to be done, we’re proud to be leaders in the field when it comes to diversity. 47% of our in-network clinicians identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — 3x the American Psychological Association National Average.

 

 

Photo by //unsplash.com/@totalshape?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Total Shape on Unsplash

Source: https://www.springhealth.com/supporting-mental-health-in-an-unequal-world/