Did You Know? Facts About Depression and Anxiety

In 2017, around 17.3 million adults age 18 or older in the United States had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year (6.7% of adults in the U.S.).
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.
A 2016 survey indicated that the most common mental health conditions reported by lawyers over their legal career were anxiety (61.1%), depression (45.7%), and social anxiety (16.1%).
Anxiety is highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
Between 80% and 90% of people with depression respond well to treatment. Almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms.
At least one study has found that survivors of COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing mental health issues like anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD for the first time within 90 days of diagnosis.

If you are concerned about your safety or well-being, or that of a friend or colleague, you can get help 24/7 by calling:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1.800.273.8255

For More About Depression and Anxiety:

ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs Mental Health and Substance Use Resources – https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/resources/links_of_interest/

Anxiety and Depression Association of America – https://adaa.org/

Jeffrey Fortgang and Shawn Healy, The Full Weight of the Law: How Legal Professionals Can Recognize and Rebound from Depression (2017)

Sources:

“The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” Patrick R. Krill, JD, LLM, Ryan Johnson, MA, and Linda Albert, MSSW, Journal of Addiction Medicine, January/February 2016, Vol. 10, Issue 1 –
https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Fulltext/2016/02000/The_Prevalence_of_Substance_%20Use_and_Other_Mental.8.aspx
Anxiety and Depression Association of America – https://adaa.org/
“Bidirectional Associations Between COVID-19 and Psychiatric Disorder: Retrospective Cohort Studies of 62?354 COVID-19 Cases in the USA,” Maxime Taquet, PhD, Sierra Luciano, BA, Prof. John R. Geddes, FRCPsych, Prof. Paul J. Harrison, FRCPsych, The Lancet, November 9, 2020 – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30462-4/fulltext
“What Is Depression? The American Psychiatric Association –
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

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