The State Of Mental Health In America Report
For the 7th year in a row, Mental Health America (MHA) released its annual State of Mental Health in America Report, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on fifteen mental health and access measures for both adults and youth (ages 12-17). This year, Vermont moved to the No. 1 spot, ahead of Pennsylvania, and Nevada remained last at No. 51.
This year, the State of Mental Health in America report is accompanied by a spotlight examining the data from the over 1.5 million people who have come to take a screen from January to September 2020, to understand the impact of COVID-19 on mental health. As the pandemic relentlessly persists, we are seeing the highest levels of anxiety and depression reported since the pandemic hit the U.S. in March.
This is a troubling trend being fueled by loneliness and isolation. We are also seeing alarming numbers of children reporting thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
The 2021 State of Mental Health in America report confirms the trend from the past 7 years of reporting, that mental health in the U.S. continues to get worse and many states were already facing rising rates of mental health conditions and poor access to care, making them ill-prepared from the start to tackle the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on these findings, policymakers at every level of government need to act immediately to address this growing mental health crisis.
Download the report here.