HALF of British adults have experienced mental health problems such as depression or stress, a shock new poll by the Sunday Express has revealed. The study found that women are most likely to suffer mental health issues.
Young people aged 18-24 are also most likely to suffer psychological problems but least likely to seek professional help.
Work is named as the most likely cause, followed by family, health and finance.
The poll, part of our crusade for better mental health, reveals the shocking extent of the problem facing our nation.
It comes as Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to the Sunday Express about the "stress" of political life and praised Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson after she recently revealed she had suffered a mental health breakdown.
Ms Davidson also confessed she felt she could never be a candidate to be prime minister as a result.
Our survey, conducted last week, involved 1,000 adults aged 18 and over.
It found 49 per cent of people had suffered from mental health issues such as depression or stress.
Women were the worst affected at 55 per cent. Of that 49 per cent affected, 78 per cent said they had sought professional help.
Those aged 18-24 were least likely to seek help (67 per cent), while those aged 65-plus were most likely (89 per cent).
Worryingly, 18-24 year-olds said they are turning to alcohol as a way to ease their problems, with 20 per cent saying they consider drinking to be a useful way of coping.
The most common catalyst for mental health issues is work – cited by 51 per cent – closely followed by family (45 per cent), health (37) and finance (33).
Social media was named as the biggest problem for 25 per cent of 18-24s. It is commonly believed that a quarter of the population has suffered a mental health problem.
Our findings suggest the true number is far higher.
Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of mental health research charity the Centre for Mental Health, said: "These findings are very important and show that having a mental health difficulty affects at least half of us – every family, every school and every workplace will be affected.
Mr Bell added: "Despite its prevalence there is still a long way to go before the NHS treats mental health on an equal basis to physical health and, despite recent investment, services are still patchy.
And he added it was worrying to learn around seven out of 10 18-24 year olds had experienced a problem or stress.
The high number of people citing work as a cause of their distress has alarmed the charity Mental Health First Aid England.
It is calling for a change in the law to give mental health equal importance to physical health in the workplace.
Jaan Madan, workplace lead for the charity, said: "It's encouraging that young people feel able to come forward to seek support with their mental health but concerning that so many are struggling with conditions such as depression and anxiety.
A Workplace Wellbeing Index survey of 44,000 staff across 74 employers in England and Wales, conducted by Mind, reported that 48 per cent of workers had experienced poor mental health but only half of them had told their employer about it.
Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at Mind, said: "Most of us will experience high pressure in our jobs from time to time. In small doses, it is not necessarily problematic and can actually be helpful, for example when it comes to meeting deadlines.
"It's only when pressure becomes prolonged or unmanageable stress that it can negatively affect our physical or mental health problems.
SARAH LAMB first suffered from depression when she was just 13.
By the time she was 14 she had begun to self harm.
Sarah, now 29, and from Chelmsford, Essex, said: "I was very stressed at school. I was a perfectionist and felt I was failing at everything.
"I had seen a GP but he didn't do anything.
He decided to "watch and wait" and told me to place an elastic band over my wrist and ping that instead of cutting myself.
Sarah had been taken to A&E with self-inflicted injuries on at least 12 occasions in three months before she was admitted to hospital in December 2006.
When she was 17, Sarah, begged to be hospitalised, fearing suicide.
"I said if I go home I know I am going to kill myself," she added.
But there was no place on a children's ward and she was sent to an adult institution with dangerous patients who assaulted her.
Outlining the problems facing anyone desperate for NHS help, Sarah said: "Waiting times need to be reduced, and often you only get six therapy sessions. No significant progress can be made in six weeks.
Another who suffered from mental illness is Regie Butler, 50, a police sergeant.
He had suicidal thoughts when his marriage collapsed and he faced financial ruin.
"I could not see any way out, and I felt like a complete failure. It was not a case of wanting to die, but more no longer wanting to live," he says.
Five years ago the suicidal thoughts returned and Regie, from Devon, found professional help.
THERESA May praised Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson for coming forward to talk publicly about her battle with mental illness.
Davidson, who is pregnant with her first child, has said she was diagnosed with clinical depression when she was 18.
She said she had started self-harming at 17, punching walls, and cutting her stomach and arms with blades or broken glass.
She has ruled out ever being leader of the Conservatives, despite frequently being tipped for the position.
In our poll more than half said that well-known people like Ruth Davidson, and also Prince Harry, who speak about their mental health issues, has helped reduce the stigma surrounding the issue.
Prince Harry revealed last year that he sought counselling after enduring two years of "total chaos" while still struggling to come to terms with the death of his mother, Diana Princess of Wales.
John Woodcock, independent MP for Barrow and Furness, announced he was suffering depression in December 2013.
He has been prescribed antidepressants "to relieve black moods".
The 39-year-old father-of-two, who has been an MP since 2010, said: "Every time someone in the public eye speaks about mental health issues it helps to make it seem more normal.
He added: "The Government and NHS is genuine in its desire to create parity of physical and mental health but we are miles away from it.
"In my constituency I see many people who can't get the help they desperately need.