Some Facts About Mental Illness

• It is estimated that as many as 2.8 million Americans suffer from severe mental illness.
  
  
• One in every four American families is affected by mental Illness.
  
  
• Mental Illness fills more hospital beds than cancer, lung and heart disease combined.
  
  
• The cost of mental illness to society, including lost productivity, absenteeism, and substance abuse, exceeds $180 billion a year.
  
  
• Recent research indicates severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic depression (bipolar disorder) are biochemically caused brain diseases. They are not caused by poor home environment or the result of character flaws. While there are no known cures, treatments are available which can substantially reduce the symptoms of these illnesses and enable those affected by them to meet the challenges of daily living.