Mental health problems are on the rise, but many people don’t feel that their experience is serious enough to seek help.
This is at a time when we are seeing growing cynicism around mental health, with suggestions that we have an overdiagnosis of mental health problems.
Currently, investment into mental health is not keeping pace with demand, leading to long waiting times, and immense pressure on the NHS. The mental health system is reactive and overstretched.
The Big Mental Health Report 2025, recently released by national charity Mind, gives the full picture of the current mental health crisis we’re all facing and what can be done to improve it.
The report – produced with the Centre for Mental Health and external research partners – brings together publicly available data about mental health, stigma and discrimination alongside the voices of people with first-hand experience of living with a mental health problem.
The findings show that the mental health crisis cuts across all areas of life – from housing, to benefits, employment, education, relationships and more.
They paint a picture of worsening mental health and services struggling to keep up with demand.
We’re seeing a widening of health inequalities, with some groups more likely to struggle with their mental health than others – particularly those living in deprived areas, who are experiencing the worst outcomes.
It’s also clear that mental health problems are disproportionately impacting young people and women.
The data shows that more people are reaching out for help with their mental health, but getting timely support is still a huge challenge.
Some key statistics:
- One-in-five adults (20.2%) in England are living with a common mental health problem, such as anxiety and depression (compared to 1 in 6 in 2014). Rates are higher in women (24.2%) than in men (15.4%).
- Adults in England in the most deprived areas had higher rates of common mental health problems (26.2%) compared with those in the least deprived (16.0%).
- There are rising rates of poor mental health in young people, too. 1 in 5 people aged 18-25 in England reported living with a diagnosable mental health problem.
- Children from the least well-off 20% of households are 4x more likely to experience serious mental health difficulties by the age of 11, compared to those growing up in the wealthiest homes.
You can read the full report here: mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/the-big-mental-health-report
- Andrew Brookes is from Mind in West Essex (mindinwestessex.org.uk).
