About Mental Health
Many people are seeking to take control of their mental health using self-help, and to find approaches they can use alongside, or even instead of, prescribed medication. In this section you will fiind information on how you can help yourself manage your mental health condition.
One in four affected
It's easy to think that mental health issues don't concern us but in fact a quarter of us will have problems with our mental wellbeing at some time in our lives.
Mental health problems are equally common in men and women, but the types of problems differ. Women are one-and-a-half times more likely to be affected by anxiety and depression, while men suffer more from substance abuse (one in eight men is dependent on alcohol) and some types of personality disorders. Men are also more prone to suicide: 75% of suicides are men, mostly young men.
Serious mental health problems are also more common than you might think, with one in 100 people diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 630,000 people contacting specialist mental health services in England at any one time.
All these figures are based on people who have sought help for their mental health problems. Many more could be living with undiagnosed mental health issues, according to mental health charity MIND.