According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every five Americans have experienced or are currently experiencing some form of mental illness. That is a huge number, but even more shocking is the number of people who fail to seek treatment for their disease. In fact, 60% of those with mental illness will not receive the care they need in order to properly treat their disorder.
As a result of these overwhelming numbers, great strides are being made to educate the public about the importance of mental health. And fortunately, the more exposure people have to this information, the more the negative stigma surrounding mental health diminishes. When this stigma is eliminated, it is much more likely that people suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar, and any one of the 200 mental disorders, will seek professional help for their symptoms.
With this in mind, Lakeview Health put together a list of the cities with the best and worst mental health across the US. They looked into the top cities across America to figure out which ones had the highest population of people with depression and other forms of mental illnesses.
The cities with the worst overall mental health will probably come as a bit of a surprise to most. They aren’t the always cloudy or excessively rainy places that may first come to mind, nor are they boring towns in the middle of nowhere. Most are actually on or near the west coast, have warm sunny weather and offer plenty of recreational activities. In fact, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas all made it into the top 6, which goes to show mental illness can be found everywhere. Arizona, in particular, has a very high population of people with mental illness with 3 of its cities in the top 10. Phoenix and Tucson actually make up the top 2 with the lowest cities scores of 10 and 10.5, respectively.
What about the best cities for mental health? As it turns, out the majority are actually on or near the east coast. It’s true San Francisco, Seattle, and Oakland are in the top 10, in fact San Francisco and Seattle make up the top 2, but all others can be found in the east. Florida actually has 2 cities in the top 10, Miami and Jacksonville. Other high scores can be found in Washington DC and Atlanta, Georgia.
One of the clear takeaways that can be seen through this research is the regional divide that exists between the worst and best cities for mental illnesses. And while California had cities on both sides of the spectrum, generally speaking, the west corresponded to the worst instances, while the east made of the majority of the best. Most importantly though, mental health disorders can be found all over the US and just because a city was one of the best, doesn’t mean advocacy for eliminating stigmas and educating citizens should stop.
Earlier on, it was mentioned that those experiencing symptoms of a possible mental health disorder should reach out to a professional. But because they are so many mental illnesses and the fact that symptoms can vary from person to person, it can be difficult to pinpoint signs of mental illness. If you experience any of the signs from this list, please schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor or a mental health specialist as soon as possible.
- Feeling extreme or unrelenting sadness
- Experiencing excessive or nonstop worry
- Problems with concentration or confused thinking
- Notable changes in sleep or eating patterns
- Changes in sex drive
- Suicidal thoughts
- And any other symptoms that impede your ability to carry out everyday tasks
Visit NAMI for a more exhaustive list of mental illness symptoms.
