That’s 16 million people experiencing issues such as depression, addiction, anxiety and PTSD.

1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health issue at some point in their life.

This means that right now there are at least 10 million children and adults having issues with their mental health and well-being.

At any one time, 1/6th of the population will be experiencing a mental health problem.

If children aged between 5 and 16 don’t get the support they need, their problems will get worse. And it’s vital that they get help with their issues now, because:

1 in 10 school children has a diagnosable mental health condition.

By not giving children and young people the support they need at a young age, society is allowing their problems to manifest. With the right support at the right time, these problems can be managed and prevented. This is a serious issue because at the moment:

75% of all mental health problems are established by the time someone is 18.

This problem is largely caused by a lack of available services. Not only would providing more money for support services benefit young people who are experiencing mental health issues, it would also be a good investment, because currently:

75% of young people who are experiencing mental health problems aren’t receiving treatment.

This figure includes both the cost of providing treatment for mental health issues, and the cost to the economy from people missing work due to mental health problems. The economic cost of mental health problems should not be underestimated, because:

The estimated costs of mental health problems in the UK are over £100 billion each year.

In terms of causing disability, mental health is a bigger problem than both cancer and cardiovascular disease. Yet treatment for mental health problems is still woefully inadequate – in fact:

Mental health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK.

Imagine if you had a problem and it took that long to get the help you needed. You’d think it was unacceptable. You’d think something had to change. And you’d be right.

The average wait for effective treatment for mental health problems is 10 years.