Cases of mental health in Scotland double in a decade

The number of Scots who say they have a mental health condition had more than doubled in ten years.

It's one of the figures emerging from analysis of the last national census carried out in 2022.

Figures released on Thursday show 617,100 people reported having a mental health issue in the 2022 survey - 11.3% of the population.

This is an increase from 4.4% in 2011.

Scotland's youth is speaking up

For young people between 16 and 24 its increased from 2 and a half percent in 2011 to 15 point 4 percent in 2022.

Mental Wellbeing minister Maree Todd suggested the increase could be due to Scots being more likely to come forward and seek support.

The figure was 5% for those aged 25 to 34 in 2011, rising to 17.5% in the most recent survey.

In all other age groups - except for the 85 and over category which saw a fall in mental health problems - the figure more than doubled.

Male vs Female

In each age group, women reported more issues than men, with the biggest gap seen among 16 to 24-year-olds.

Jon Wroth-Smith, the director of census statistics at National Records of Scotland, said: "In 2022 15.4% of people aged 16 to 24 reported having a mental health condition, up from 2.5% in 2011.

"Females in this age group were twice as likely to report having a mental health condition, at 20.4% compared to males at 10.5%.

"There were also increases in older age groups, but the biggest increases were seen in younger groups and it is now more common for younger people to report a mental health condition. This is the reverse of what we saw in 2011."

Carers

There was also a 27 and half percent increase in people classing themselves as unpaid carers.

In 2022, 627,700 people in Scotland reported being an unpaid carer, up by 135,500 - 27.5% - in 2011.

The largest number was seen in the 50-64 age group.

Of those, almost a quarter - 24.3% - spent more than 50 hours a week looking after someone, while 55.9% spent up to 20 hours doing so.

Ms Todd said: "These findings show that people feel more able to come forward and talk about their mental health than they were in 2011, which I hope is a welcome sign that stigma is decreasing.

"They also demonstrate why it is important that the right help and support is available for all those in need. We have ensured access to counselling services in all secondary schools as well as trusted online advice."

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