WELL? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
CHAPTER FIVE. PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Experience of mental health problems
5.1 People were questioned about their own experience of mental health problems. First, they were asked if anyone close to them had ever had a mental health problem diagnosed by a doctor or other health professional. Seventy percent of the people interviewed said that they knew someone who had had a mental health problem diagnosed at some time in their life. The most common diagnosis was depression, followed by panic attacks, severe stress and Alzheimer's Disease.
5.2 Women were more likely than men to say that someone close to them had been diagnosed with a mental health problem, particularly panic attacks. Experience of mental health problems in a close friend or relative was also reported to be more evident among 25-54 year olds than other age groups. People in the upper income groups and people who reported that they had a large amount of stress in their lives were also more likely than others to know someone with experience of such a problem. Respondents in the over 75 age group, those who saw themselves as stress-free and those with complete control over factors affecting their mental health all reported low contact with other people's mental health problems.
Table 5.1: From what you know, has anyone close to you ever been told, by a doctor or other health professional, that they had one or other of these kinds of mental health problems?
Base: all = 1381
| All
% | Male
% | Female
% | Stress free
% | Large amount of stress
% | Income less than 5,200
% | Income36,400 or more
% |
Eating disorders | 11 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
Nervous breakdown | 18 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 19 |
Severe stress | 22 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 34 | 20 | 33 |
Schizophrenia | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 12 |
Personality disorders | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
Anxiety disorders | 12 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 21 | 18 | 15 |
Manic depression (bipolar affective disorder) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 13 |
Panic attacks | 26 | 22 | 29 | 9 | 41 | 26 | 25 |
Alzheimer's Disease/dementia | 20 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 8 | 29 |
Depression | 44 | 42 | 45 | 25 | 56 | 39 | 60 |
Any other mental health problem | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Not sure of problem | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Any of these | 70 | 66 | 73 | 50 | 84 | 66 | 80 |
None of these | 29 | 32 | 26 | 49 | 15 | 33 | 19 |
Don't know | 1 | 1 | * | - | - | - | - |
5.3 More than a quarter of people in the sample (27%) said that they themselves had experienced a mental health problem at some time in their life. Depression was again the most common condition (18%) followed by panic attacks (10%), severe stress (8%) and anxiety disorders (5%) - no other condition was mentioned by more than 3% of the sample. Many of those people with personal experience of a mental health problem identified more than one condition that they had experienced.
5.4 Table 5.2 relates to personal experience of mental health problems among various sub-sample groups. Notable findings include the relatively high percentages of women (in general) and both men and women aged 25-64 who reported such experience. Those people who reported large amount of stress in their lives, little (if any) control over factors affecting their mental health, smokers, those with long term limiting conditions and respondents struggling on their incomes were most likely to have had a mental health problem diagnosed at some time in their lives. The most common single condition (depression) was recorded in a quarter of women aged 35-54 and, even more strikingly, by well over a third of those who claimed little or no control over the factors affecting mental health. Almost 40% of those people who said that they suffered a large amount of stress said they had been diagnosed with depression at some point.
Table 5.2: Have you ever been told, by a doctor or other health professional, that you personally have had one or other of these kinds of specific mental health problems?
Base: all = 1381
(NB - row not column %)
| | All
% | Severe stress
% | Anxiety disorder
% | Panic attacks
% | Depress-ion
% | None of these
% |
All | % | 27 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 68 |
Male | % | 23 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 72 |
Female | % | 31 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 64 |
Aged 25-34 | % | 31 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 23 | 61 |
Aged 35-44 | % | 33 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 62 |
Female 35-54 | % | 36 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 26 | 60 |
Social class AB | % | 16 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 81 |
C1 | % | 29 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 65 |
C2 | % | 24 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 70 |
DE | % | 34 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 61 |
Working | % | 23 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 71 |
Not working | % | 31 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 65 |
Long standing limiting condition | % | 43 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 30 | 52 |
No long term condition | % | 19 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 76 |
Heavy smokers | % | 42 | 11 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 53 |
Non-smokers | % | 23 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 72 |
Complete control over mental health | % | 12 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 83 |
Good deal of control | % | 22 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 74 |
Some control | % | 43 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 52 |
Little/no control over mental health | % | 53 | 23 | 20 | 31 | 38 | 38 |
Easy to manage on income | % | 20 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 76 |
Difficult to manage on income | % | 45 | 13 | 9 | 21 | 32 | 50 |
Stress free | % | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 87 |
Large amount of stress | % | 54 | 27 | 15 | 25 | 39 | 40 |
Other people's attitudes towards mental health problems
5.5 Those people who said that they had personally experienced a (diagnosed) mental health problem were asked about their experience of other people's attitudes towards their condition. Two-thirds of the group said that they had not had any trouble in this respect; however, a sizeable minority (32%) reported a variety of difficulties, as summarised in the Table 5.3.
Table 5.3: Have you experienced any of the following as a result of other people's attitudes towards your mental health problem(s)?
Base: all who have ever had a diagnosed mental health problem = 440
| % |
Physically abused in public | 3 |
Unable to/discouraged from going on holiday | 3 |
Unable to/discouraged from participating in social events, such as going out with friends | 12 |
Graffiti or rubbish targeted at the home | 1 |
Verbally abused in public | 8 |
Experienced discrimination at work | 7 |
Unable to/discouraged from participating in children's school-based activities | 1 |
Been overlooked/refused for promotion | 4 |
Physically abused within the family | 4 |
Been refused a job | 6 |
Unable to/discouraged from taking part in local community life | 4 |
Verbally abused within the family | 7 |
Other | 2 |
Any of these | 32 |
None of these | 68 |
5.6 Although the base sizes involved are necessarily quite small, those people who had experienced anxiety disorders and panic attacks were more likely to feel unable to join in social events than those with other mental health problems. Verbal abuse was also associated with anxiety disorders.
Disclosing a mental health problem
5.7 A small minority (14%) of those people with personal experience of a mental health problem said that they had decided not to disclose the condition when making any one of a variety of applications. The sample sizes for each condition are too small to allow for further disaggregation.
Table 5.4: Have you decided not to disclose this problem/any of these problems when applying for any of these?
Base: all who have ever had a diagnosed mental health problem = 373
| % |
Bank loan | 2 |
Driving licence | 3 |
Education and training opportunities | 3 |
Life insurance | 2 |
Medical insurance | 1 |
Mortgage | 3 |
Travel insurance | 3 |
Credit card | 3 |
Job | 10 |
Any of these | 14 |
None of these | 85 |
Don't know | 1 |