What is the deadliest mental illness in the world?

Asked by: Domenica Pouros  |  Last update: July 7, 2025
Score: 4.1/5 (40 votes)

Those with the highest all-cause mortality ratios were substance use disorders and anorexia nervosa. These higher mortality risks translate into substantial (10-20 years) reductions in life expectancy.

What mental illness has the highest death rate?

The anorexia death rate is the highest of all mental illnesses as it is a very complex and complicated disorder. It requires early diagnosis and access to care with close follow-up and often long-term treatment.

What is the most painful mental illness?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has long been believed to be a disorder that produces the most intense emotional pain and distress in those who have this condition. Studies have shown that borderline patients experience chronic and significant emotional suffering and mental agony.

What is the most damaging mental disorder?

A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses (Arcelus, Mitchel, Wales, & Nelson, 2011).

What is the most violent mental illness?

Psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia can sometimes be associated with aggressive or violent behavior.

Top 5 Deadliest Mental Illnesses

37 related questions found

What is the hardest mental illness to treat?

Borderline personality disorder historically has been viewed as challenging to treat.

Can schizophrenics be violent?

Most people with schizophrenia aren't violent. But if violence is likely, they need help. Getting help is a way to protect the person or those around him or her.

What's the rarest mental disorder?

Rare Mental Health Conditions
  • Clinical Lycanthropy. ...
  • Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder. ...
  • Diogenes Syndrome. ...
  • Stendhal Syndrome. ...
  • Apotemnophilia. ...
  • Alien Hand Syndrome. ...
  • Capgras Syndrome. ...
  • Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.

What is the #1 most diagnosed mental disorder?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): One of the most common mental disorders, GAD is characterized by excessive worry about issues and situations that individuals experience every day. Any worrying that is out of proportion to the reality of the situation may fall under this disorder.

What is the death rate of depression?

At a population level, 3.5% of deaths were attributable to anxiety/depression. Adjusting for demographic factors, anxiety/depression was associated with an elevated risk of mortality (HR=1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.40, 1.84). Chronic diseases and health behaviors explained much of the elevated risk.

Why is BPD so bad?

A person with borderline personality disorder is often unable to trust their own feelings or reactions. Lacking a strong sense of self leads to a sense of emptiness and sometimes a sense of being non-existent, which is another reason BPD hurts so much.

What is the most painful illness to live with?

In fact, CRPS is known as the world's most painful incurable condition. In the United States, it is referred to as the “suicide disease” as it can lead sufferers to resort to suicide as the only means to escape the huge pain that they bear.

What mental illness causes excessive talking?

People who talk excessively are labeled “compulsive talkers” and “oversharers.” Garrulousness could be a personality trait, but sometimes, talking a lot can stem from health conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, generalized anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder.

What is the highest mental illness in the world?

Across both sex and year, the two most common mental disorders were depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. The least common were schizophrenia and eating disorders (table 1). Table 2 presents age-standardised prevalence by mental disorder and region in 2019.

Is ADHD a mental illness?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought).

What is the hardest mental illness to live with?

What Is the Hardest Mental Illness to Live With?
  • Schizophrenia.
  • Severe Bipolar Disorder.
  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
  • Major Depression and Treatment-Resistant Depression.
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Eating Disorders.
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • So, What is the hardest mental illness to live with?

What is the most serious mental illness?

TAC's definition of severe mental illness includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar I disorder, and major depression with psychotic features. These disorders often include psychosis as a component.

Which country has the highest rate of bipolar disorder?

Bipolar Disorder From a Global Perspective

Based on population share, Brazil, Australia and Finland have the highest rates of bipolar disorder diagnoses. Many Asian countries have a lower incidence rate — in China, around . 4% of the citizens will be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

What is the most mysterious mental illness?

Capgras Syndrome

Capgras is a mental condition in which you feel that a close friend, spouse, family member or a pet has been replaced by an identical imposter. People suffering from this disorder feel that their reality has become warped or substituted.

What is a funny name for mental illness?

In recent years, phrases like this have become ubiquitous, particularly online: “stressy depressy,” short for stressed and depressed, “menty b,” short for mental breakdown, and “suey,” short for suicidal, are just some of the jokey shorthand people have begun using to talk about mental health and mental illness.

What is the rarest delusion?

People with Cotard's syndrome (also called walking corpse syndrome or Cotard's delusion) believe that parts of their body are missing, or that they are dying, dead, or don't exist. They may think nothing exists. Cotard's syndrome is rare, with about 200 known cases worldwide.

What mental illness has violent outbursts?

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is a mental health condition marked by frequent impulsive anger outbursts or aggression. The episodes are out of proportion to the situation that triggered them and cause significant distress.

Do schizophrenics feel love?

The desire for love, meaningful personal relationships, romance, and family is well documented in persons with schizophrenia (Davidson and Stayner, 1997; Redmond et al., 2010; Davidson, 2011), as well as present in the clinical experience.

How long do schizophrenics live?

Mortality Rates in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders

13.6, respectively). The overall weighted average life expectancy was 64.7 years and was lower for men than women (59.9 years vs. 67.6 years, respectively) [18].