Valued Voice

May is Mental Health Month, bringing recognition and education around mental health disorders since 1949. In the United States, approximately one in five Americans will be diagnosed with a mental health illness each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4.9 million patients visit the emergency department yearly for a mental health disorder. Depression is a common mental health diagnosis, and it is estimated that roughly 5% of adults suffer from it worldwide. Other common mental disorders include anxiety, addiction/substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia. 

The WHA Information Center analyzed mental health illness visits from 2022-2025 for all places of service to see how it is impacting Wisconsin patients. Depression has the highest percentage of visits compared to other mental health diagnoses. In terms of gender, females have greater visit counts than males. The average age for depression and anxiety visits is around 40 years old. The age group with the highest number of visits is 11-20. 

There is no single cause for mental illness. According to the CDC, the following are factors that can contribute to the risk for mental illness:

• Early adverse life experiences, such as trauma or a history of abuse (for example, child abuse, sexual assault, witnessing violence, etc.
• Experiences related to other ongoing (chronic) medical conditions, such as cancer or diabetes
• Biological factors or chemical imbalances in the brain
• Use of alcohol or drugs
• Having feelings of loneliness or isolation