Mental health is well known in the 21st century, especially gaining popularity in the past decade from 2015 to 2025. Mental health is an essential part of overall well-being. Even so, it remains one of the most neglected areas in the American health care system. For many years, mental health has been treated as separate from physical health, even though both are extremely intertwined. Depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders affect millions of Americans every year, often leading to chronic illness, substance abuse, and reduced length and quality of life. Moreover, poor mental health has been proven to worsen the conditions of many chronic and related diseases. In recent years, the U.S. has started to acknowledge the growing mental health crisis, especially affecting teens and young adults, but the progress has been slow. Expanding access to mental health care is critical for improving the nation’s overall health and reducing suicide rates.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five adults in the United States experiences a certain mental illness in a single given year. This valuation accounts for more than 50 million people. Especially in today’s age, anxiety and depression have become especially common for younger generations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that rates of depression among teens have nearly doubled since 2010, and this trend has been extremely worsened by the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there has been an increase in awareness of the issue, the number of people receiving treatment has not corroborated. Millions of Americans continue to live with untreated illness because of a lack of providers, fear of judgment, lack of knowledge, and costs.

Mental health disorders have a direct effect on physical health. Studies show that untreated depression can worsen chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. People suffering from mental health conditions are more likely to develop unhealthy behaviors like substance use, not only worsening their quality of life but making them more prone to disease. These effects are often exaggerated due to already present mental health issues. The American Psychological Association estimates that mental health disorders cost the U.S. economy nearly three hundred billion dollars every year due to lost productivity and medical expenses.

The federal government has begun to try and address the mental health crisis through new legislation and funding efforts like the Affordable Care Act, which required insurance to cover mental health services at the same level as physical health services, known as mental health parity. This step while a move in the right direction still remains inconsistent, with many patients facing high copays, limited coverage, or just a narrow range of insurance providers supporting this.

Recent laws such as the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have moved billions of dollars in an attempt to expand school-based mental health programs and train more professionals. Moreover, the launch of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has attempted to make it easier for people to access immediate help during emergencies. Many states are attempting to experiment with telehealth, which is a service allowing patients to meet with therapists online, which was found extremely helpful during the course of the pandemic. These policy changes, while showing progress, need much more funding and effort to make mental health care a universal right and care that is both affordable and efficient.

“FastStats: Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mental-health.htm.

“Mental Illness.” National Institute of Mental Health, 2025, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.

“Mental Health Parity.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2025, https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health-parity.

“988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2025, https://988lifeline.org.

“U.S. Mental Health Workforce Shortage Areas.” Health Resources and Services Administration, 2025, https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-workforce/shortage-areas.

“Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.” Congress.gov, 2022, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2938.