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Mental and substance use disorders affect people from all walks of life and all age groups. These illnesses are common, recurrent, and often serious, but they are treatable and many people do recover. Learning about some of the most common mental and substance use disorders can help people recognize their signs and to seek help.

According to SAMHSA’s 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (PDF | 3.4 MB) an estimated 43.6 million (18.1%) Americans ages 18 and up experienced some form of mental illness. In the past year, 20.2 million adults (8.4%) had a substance use disorder. Of these, 7.9 million people had both a mental disorder and substance use disorder, also known as co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.

Various mental and substance use disorders have prevalence rates that differ by gender, age, race, and ethnicity. To read more about this, visit the Specific Populations and Health Disparities topics, and to find SAMHSA data that can be sorted on various factors, visit the NSDUH page.

SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of mental and substance use disorders on America’s communities. SAMHSA works to prevent and treat mental and substance use disorders and provide supports for people seeking or already in recovery.