Final answer:
Around 18% of U.S. adults are affected by anxiety disorders annually, while 20% have some form of mental illness, and 5% experience serious mental illness. Mood disorders affect also 10% yearly. Pandemic stresses increased mental health service utilization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mental disorders affect a significant portion of the United States population, with anxiety disorders being the most common. According to the Anxiety and Depression Institute of America 2021, almost 18 percent of U.S. adults are likely to be affected by anxiety disorders in a single year, and 28 percent over a lifetime. However, not all anxiety symptoms amount to an actual disorder—occasional anxiety is a natural response to stress.
More broadly, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) indicates that over 50 million adults, or about 20 percent of the adult population in the U.S., have some form of mental illness or disorder. Of these, 13 million adults experience serious mental illnesses that impair their daily lives, making up about 5 percent of the adult population.
Mood disorders are the second most common type, with 10 percent of adults likely affected yearly and 21 percent over their lifetimes. Major mood disorders include depression, which is more than transient sadness, and bipolar disorder, characterized by dramatic mood swings. The impact of mental health issues has been highlighted further with the increase in the number of Americans seeking mental health help during the pandemic that began in 2020.