I feel the need to write a post about the importance of mental health because suicide is becoming an epidemic.

As reported on People.com, the Linkin Park frontman, Chester Bennington died las week at age 41. Six children lost their father that day.

Mental health issues are still considered taboo and we simply turn our heads until something big happens, like suicide or a mass shooting.

Mental healthcare does not mean that you need to go to therapy, but it does mean taking care of your emotional self.

Mental health also means that when someone is consistently feeling sad, mad, anxious, or any emotion, that person should consider seeking help.

I will be the first person to say that mental health services can be difficult to find, but they are out there. And for whatever it’s worth, there are people actively trying to work on the broken system that is mental health in America.

To help put this epidemic in perspective, I have pulled together the most current statistics I could find about mental health in the hopes that these facts can elevate this topic to the level it needs to be.

This is an URGENT topic that needs immediate attention.

Our society does not take mental health seriously and it makes me wonder how many more need to die before we start to realize that our mental state defines our physical state.

Take the time to read through the statistics and decide to make the change.

The change can be small, even eliminating the use of the words “crazy” or “insane” in every day conversation.

The change can be big, like deciding to call a therapist in order to sort out a painful or confusing piece of your life.

The change can be moderate, like incorporating a daily meditation and reflection into your routine before you go to bed.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can even do a quick search on Google for “self-care” to get more tips on amping up your mental health care.

Do Not Become a Statistic. Seek Help.

On average, there are 121 suicides per day, and men die by suicide 3.5x more often than women.

Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (43.8 million) experiences mental illness in a given year, and 1 in 5 youth aged 13-18 experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life.

9.8 million adults 18 years old or older have thought about trying to kill themselves in 2015.  Of those, 2.7 million made suicide plans and 1.4 made a nonfatal suicide attempt.

Mental illness is associated with increased occurrence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, epilepsy and cancer.

64% of youth with depression do not receive any treatment.  Even among those with severe depression, 63% do not receive any outpatient services.

Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.  Nearly half (45%) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for two or more disorders.

Nationally, 57% of adults with mental illness receive no treatment, and in some states like Nevada and Hawaii that number increases to 70%.

90% of the youth (ages 10-24) who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness.

Life is so short and we can be happy as long as we make the choice to take care of our mental health.

Do you want you or your family member to be a statistic?

Make the change and speak up.