WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
MENTAL HEALTH : WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ?
The World Health Organization notes that mental health is an integral component of health defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being."
"MENTAL ILLNESS" YOU SAID ILLNESS ?
Classifications divide mental illnesses into groups : mood disorders: depression, bipolar disorder ...; anxiety disorders: phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder ...; psychotic disorders: schizophrenia, psychosis related for example to toxins ... ; eating disorders: bulimia, anorexia ...; personality disorders or developmental disorders: autism ... These diseases are manifested by a disturbance in emotions, perceptions, behavior, reasoning or thinking, combined with distress or significant distress and more or less permanent functional impairment. Their triggering is related to environmental factors and / or individual vulnerability.
WHY A FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH ?
Because we are all concerned
Today in France :
* 25% of the entire population is concerned by psychiatric disorders
* 4.5% of all deaths are due to alcohol abuse
* 19% of 15 to 75 year-olds have experienced, experience or will experience a period of depression during their lifetime
* 10.6% of health related expenses in France are for psychiatric disorders
* 60% of high school students have tried cannabis
* the 5 most expensive psychiatric disorders are: schizophrenia, depression, substance abuse, bipolar disorder and anxiety
* there are 3 times more deaths caused by suicide than by road accident
* psychiatric pathologies are ranked third after cancer and cardiovascular disease as the most frequently encountered health problems
* the first cause of handicap and longterm work stopage are psychiatric disorders
To help research
In recent years, advances in research have given rise to major therapeutic advances in the field of mental health: better understanding of triggers, including environmental triggers, for better prevention and new therapies; development of new molecules or psychoeducation programs like cognitive remediation. The list of achievements as well as the needs is long.
The Foundation is contributing to these advances by awarding grants, promoting partnerships between teams of researchers and both public and private health care providers and by co-financing programs validated by its scientific advisors.
To support patients and their families
Mental illness is a source of suffering for both patients and families.
Working to de-stigmatize, change the outlook of society concerning these disorders, supporting training programs and speaking for of patients' families, helps make a concrete contribution to make the suffering less unbearable.