Cardiff Half Marathon For Mental Health
Kyle Watts is raising money for Mind
Story
I'm running the Cardiff University/Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 1st October.
This charity is very important to me after suffering with mental health problems, ranging from delusions (Believing things are real when they are not), Major Paranoia (Always thinking people wanted to hurt me or get to me) and Transient Psychotic Disorder. That past year has been hell for me. I have been in institutions but with amazing support from family, friends, doctors and Psychiatrists i have battled through this and feel great. I am now on very minimal medication and have taken up running as a sport to clear my mind.
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.
In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.
How common are specific problems?
Every seven years a survey is done in England to measure the number of people who have different types of mental health problems. It was last published in 2016 and reported these figures:
| Generalised anxiety disorder | 5.9 in 100 people |
| Depression | 3.3 in 100 people |
| Phobias | 2.4 in 100 people |
| OCD | 1.3 in 100 people |
| Panic disorder | 0.6 in 100 people |
| Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 4.4 in 100 people |
| Mixed anxiety and depression | 7.8 in 100 people |
Estimates for bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder and personality disorders are usually measured over a person's lifetime, rather than each year. Estimates for the number of people with these diagnoses can vary quite a lot but the most recent reported findings are:
| Psychotic disorder | 0.7 in 100 people* |
Bipolar disorder | 2.0 in 100 people |
Antisocial personality disorder | 3.3 in 100 people |
Borderline personality disorder | 2.4 in 100 people |
*Measured over the last year.
The survey also measures the number of people who have self-harmed, had suicidal thoughts or have made suicidal attempts over their lifetime:
| Suicidal thoughts | 20.6 in 100 people |
| Suicide attempts | 6.7 in 100 people |
| Self-harm | 7.3 in 100 people |
Note: these statistics have been taken from studies that have surveyed people living in private housing in England. The figures do not include the number of people experiencing mental health problems in hospitals, prisons, sheltered housing or people who are homeless. Therefore these figures may underestimate the prevalence of mental health problems.
How accessible is treatment?
Reports from both England and Wales suggest that approximately 1 in 8 adults with a mental health problem are currently receiving treatment. Medication is reported as the most common type of treatment for a mental health problem.