Psychological Challenges by the Numbers

This information is culled from a page on the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI) website.   

Annual prevalence among U.S. adults, by condition:

• Anxiety Disorders: 19.1% (estimated 48 million people)
• Major Depressive Episode: 7.2% (17.7 million people)
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 3.6% (estimated 9 million people)
• Bipolar Disorder: 2.8% (estimated 7 million people)
• Borderline Personality Disorder: 1.4% (estimated 3.5 million people)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: 1.2% (estimated 3 million people)
• Schizophrenia: <1 a=""> (estimated 1.5 million people)

According to the American Psychiatric Association: 

Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives. Women are more likely than men to experience anxiety disorders.

In any given year the estimated percent of U.S. adults with various anxiety disorders are:

• 7 to 9 percent: specific phobia
• 7 percent: social anxiety disorder
• 2 to 3 percent: panic disorder
• 2 percent: agoraphobia
• 2 percent: generalized anxiety disorder
• 1 to 2 percent: separation anxiety disorder

There is an overlap between anxiety disorders and other disorders. According to the American Psychiatric Association -- Depression is an anxiety disorder.