Shutterstock

One in four adults has been diagnosed with a mental illness – but a fifth of people still think "one of the main causes of mental illness is a lack of self-discipline and willpower".

A survey conducted by the National Centre of Social Research asked 5,000 adults about their experience of mental health and found that 26 per cent had been diagnosed with a mental illness. A further 18 per cent of adults reported having experienced a mental illness but not having been diagnosed. Women were more likely to have been diagnosed with a common mental health disorder – 31 per cent of women compared to 17 per cent of men.


The most common diagnosis was depression, with 19 per cent of people surveyed saying they had been diagnosed with the condition. Other common diagnoses were anxiety, phobias and OCD, with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and eating disorders categorised as "serious conditions". Likelihood of being diagnosed with one of these serious conditions was 3 per cent or less.

"The survey leaves us in no doubt as to the prevalence of mental ill health in England" Rachel Craig, Head of Health Surveys at the Centre

Read next It’s not just testing that is failing, contact tracing is broken too It’s not just testing that is failing, contact tracing is broken too

Also notable was how background affected the data – people living in low income households were far more likely to have been diagnosed with mental illness than those in high income households (27 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women in the lowest income quintile compared to 15 per cent of men and 25 per cent of women in the highest). This pattern was repeated across all three categories – common mental disorders, serious mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence. A similar pattern was found by area deprivation.

Despite the prevalence of mental illness, the study also found that considerable stigma still exists. One in five participants answered "I don't know" when asked whether they agreed with the sentiment 'most women who were once patients in a mental hospital can be trusted as babysitters', and 19 per cent of adults agreed that 'one of the main causes of mental illness is a lack of self-discipline and willpower'. Attitudes to mental illness were also linked to demographic characteristics – participants in lower income households were less likely to be sympathetic to mental illness.

"The survey leaves us in no doubt as to the prevalence of mental ill health in England," Rachel Craig, Head of Health Surveys at the Centre told WIRED. "Despite it affecting so many of us, prejudice against people with a mental illness still exists, and there is some resistance to the provision of community care for people suffering with mental ill health".


It wasn't all bad news, though – the survey authors posit that an increase in mental health campaigning has led to "a cultural shift in understanding and recognition of mental illness".

"Campaigns such as Time to Change have aimed to prevent discrimination, reduce stigma and encourage conversation about mental health," the authors wrote.

This article was originally published in January 2016.