Today, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 mental health apps. In the U.S. alone, there are 1.2 million mental health providers. And Mental Health Awareness Month began 75 years ago. It’s safe to say we’ve never been more aware of mental health. And yet, some fear that as awareness of mental health has gone up, the state of our mental health has gone down.
A 2023 study found that one out of every two people in the world will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime. The situation with young people is even worse. “The youth mental health crisis is very real,” Dr. Harold Koplewicz, founding President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute, tells me. “The most common disorders of childhood and adolescence are not infectious diseases but mental health disorders. Ev