Corona, CA, Mental Health Treatment

What Is the Mental Health Rate in California?

A 2022 report from the California Health Care Foundation points to just how widespread mental health conditions are in the state. According to the foundation, about 1 in 7 adults in California has some kind of mental illness, and 1 in 26 has a serious mental illness that affects their ability to meet daily responsibilities. Among younger Californians, 1 in 14 children has some kind of emotional disturbance that leads to difficulty functioning in daily activities like school or their relationship with their family. The National Alliance on Mental Illness says more than 5.5 million California adults have some kind of mental health condition — a total that is more than six times the population of San Francisco. It’s clear that there is a growing need for evidence-based help, including treatment for mental health in Corona, CA.

While California’s suicide rate was below the national level, this still claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Californians in 2020, and 1.2 million adults had suicidal thoughts during that year. The statistics show that mental health conditions affect people at higher rates when viewed by gender, race, or income level. Sadly, nearly two-thirds of adults with a mental health condition did not get treatment for their illness, and two-thirds of adolescents with depression were untreated. When considered together, state statistics make it clear that California, like the rest of the country, is greatly in need of effective, compassionate treatment for a wide variety of mental health disorders, including schizophrenia treatment.

Is There a Shortage of Mental Health Professionals in California?

Across the country, there simply aren’t enough mental health professionals to meet the clear need for treatment and help — and that’s unfortunately also the case in California. A 2022 article from the nonprofit news outlet CalMatters relied on interviews with dozens of experts in the field, providers, and officials to examine the impact of this shortage in the state, finding that the shortage’s impacts aren’t equal across all areas of behavioral health care. For example, county mental health departments were particularly struggling to hire enough professionals, as were nonprofits and commercial health plans. Even though the number of licensed behavioral health providers in California grew by nearly 20% from 2016 to 2020, a simultaneous increase in demand for mental health help meant the shortage only intensified.

Help for children and teens was even more dire, with close to a third of all counties in California simply having no child or adolescent psychiatrists. While the San Francisco Bay area had considerably more psychiatric help for people of all ages, other parts of the state lack the number of professionals needed to meet the growing demand for mental helath treatment for all kinds of conditions. Another concern is the number of current professionals nearing retirement, meaning many more people will be needed soon just to meet current staffing levels — and even then, it’s just not enough to meet the demand for treatment across the state and for mental health in Corona, CA.

What Is the Hardest Mental Illness to Live With?

In short, any mental illness that severely affects a person’s ability to meet daily responsibilities and maintain some kind of sense of peace and happiness is going to be hard to live with. Some mental health conditions can be particularly difficult to handle, including:

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): This complex mental health condition makes people feel intense emotions, instability in relationships, and a distorted view of themselves, making even the most minor of things feel emotionally exhausting and challenging.
• Severe Depression: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting 1 in every 3 American adults. At its most severe, especially when it doesn’t respond well to typical treatments like antidepressant medications, it can become life-threatening, leading to thoughts of suicide that need to be immediately addressed.
• Schizophrenia: While it’s a relatively rare mental helath condition, affecting less than 1% of Americans, its psychotic symptoms, mood changes, and disordered thinking can fundamentally change how people function at work or home and make it difficult to live.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This condition, which happens after someone experiences or sees a traumatic experience, can affect people for years after the event, making them afraid of triggers that will remind them of the experience and leading to isolation, fatigue, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
• Eating Disorders: There are many types of eating disorders, including bulimia and anorexia. Whatever the type, this condition can be extremely dangerous because of the health effects of not eating enough or eating too much. If left untreated, people who suffer from eating disorders are at risk of severe physical and mental health challenges and even death.