Mental health is an essential part of our well-being that affects how we think, feel, and act. People with impaired mental health have difficulties handling stress, making choices, and relating to others.
The number of people with mental disorders has increased in the past two decades, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2020, more than four in 10 U.S. adults (42.8 percent) have anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms, while before the onset of the pandemic in 2019, this number was 10.8 percent. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children under age eighteen in the United States has increased to 10.8 percent, and almost 22 percent of adolescents aged 16 to 17 have had at least one major depressive episode.
