5 Facts: Correcting Mental Health Myths

Mental health is one of the most misunderstood and neglected areas of public health. This has to change, considering the fact that more than 1 billion people suffer from mental health issues every day.

At Project HOPE, we’re working to ensure everyone has access to the care they need to heal and feel their best — and that includes mental health.

Here are five common myths, and the facts that tell the true story of the crisis.

Myth 1: COVID-19 started the mental health crisis.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that half of the world’s population would experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives, with the economic cost of poor mental health amounting to over 4% of annual GDP.

The crisis was already affecting people in every country and on every continent — including health workers. In 2019, almost half of all health workers surveyed in the U.K. reported experiencing negative mental health conditions. Another study that same year found that one-quarter of all health worker sickness absences in the country were for mental health conditions. In 2018, burnout among health workers was already considered “a significant public health problem.”

The pandemic made things significantly worse. More than half of all health workers responding to the virus experienced mental health issues and rates of burnout skyrocketed. Among the general population, the first year of COVID-19 led to a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

In response, Project HOPE provided mental health and resiliency trainings to help frontline health workers protect their own mental wellness while responding to COVID-19. The trainings, which were adapted from New York City Health + Hospitals’ HERO-NY training, reached 100,000 health care workers across 41 countries.

Myth 2: Mental health conditions are more likely to occur in adulthood.

About half of all cases of mental illness begin by 14, and three-quarters develop before 25.

It is estimated that 1 in 7 adolescents and teens ages 10 to 19 experience mental health conditions, but most cases go undetected and untreated. This makes it critical to provide support early on, especially in conflict settings where children often make up many of those displaced — like the current Ukraine crisis.

With more than 6.9 million refugees having fled Ukraine — almost all of whom are women and children — Project HOPE has mental health specialists on the ground and is supporting local organizations to scale up mental health support for refugees in Poland, Romania, and Moldova, the three countries that have received the most refugees.

Myth 3: Gender doesn’t matter when it comes to mental health.

Women are more likely to experience mental health conditions. This includes women health workers, who make up nearly 70% of the global health workforce.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women health workers reported higher rates of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress. Stressors that make them more prone to experiencing mental health conditions included higher risk of exposure and infection, increased workloads and decreased leadership, and greater caregiving responsibilities at home.

Through our global mental health and resiliency trainings, Project HOPE has supported better mental health efforts for women health workers around the world. The overwhelming majority of the 1,000 health care workers who received our initial trainings were women. These participants went on to cascade the training to reach tens of thousands more health workers, around 70% of whom were women.

Myth 4: Mental health has no real impact on physical health

Mental health illness ripples into physical health, weakening the immune system and increasing the risk of chronic diseases.

In the U.S., people living with depression are 40% more likely to develop cardiovascular and metabolic diseases like diabetes — those with serious mental illness are at nearly double the risk. In 2021, one-third of U.S. adults with mental illness also experienced a substance abuse disorder.

A recent study underscores the detrimental impacts of poor mental health on social determinants of health. Globally, those who experience mental distress are nearly twice as likely to have low incomes, be unemployed, and feel dissatisfied with the cleanliness of their environment. 

Myth 5: There is no treatment for mental health conditions.

Not all mental health conditions are chronic; there are effective treatments, and research shows that there are many long-term benefits to getting attention and support as early as possible.

Yet 35% to 50% of people in high-income countries suffering from severe mental health issues go without it. In the U.S., less than half of adults and children living with mental health conditions don’t receive treatment. In low-income countries, the treatment gap is even greater: more than 75% of people experiencing mental health challenges never receive care.

Stigma and lack of resources are some of the greatest barriers to care. Mental health has been a sorely neglected area of global health — especially during conflict, natural disaster, or emergency, when the risk of mental health disorders can double. Governments only spend around 2% of their health budgets on mental health, and many low-income countries have fewer than 1 mental health worker for every 100,000 people.

Reducing stigma is an important part of expanding mental health care. Project HOPE is focused on increasing understanding, reducing stigma, and expanding mental health support services for health workers and communities when and where it’s needed most — especially in times of emergency and crisis, like Gaza, Beirut, Haiti, and Ukraine, when mental health is pushed aside until basic needs like food, shelter, and safety are met.

This story has been updated from a story that was published on May 5, 2022