Overview

• More than one in five adults aged 16 to 74 in England reported a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey found.
• Prevalence among 16-24 year-olds climbed to 25.8%, with 36.1% of young women affected, marking a significant jump since 2014.
• Lifetime self-harm reports rose to 10.3% overall, with 24.6% of 16-25 year-olds and 31.7% of women in that age group saying they had self-harmed.
• Individuals in the most deprived areas and those facing debt or unemployment were disproportionately likely to experience mental health issues or engage in self-harm.
• Although treatment rates increased to 47.7%, charities warn that long waiting lists and unequal funding leave many without timely support, leading to calls for cross-government prevention strategies.