1 in 4 Columbus Adults Report Experiencing Depression

Broadly, Ohio has a mental health problem. The state’s nearly 12 million residents report widespread mental illness–at rates greater than most of the rest of the country, according to the 2023 State of Mental Health in America report published by Mental Health America. 

Ohio ranks No. 40 for “prevalence of mental illness.” 

The organization surveyed U.S. residents across 15 questions about their experience with mental health illness. 

Overall, Ohio found itself in the bottom half of U.S. states, at No. 33, for the full suite of mental health questions that Mental Health America posed in the report. The criteria for that ranking included measures such as:

• Adults with Any Mental Illness (AMI) 
• Adults with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year 
• Adults with Serious Thoughts of Suicide 
• Youth with at Least One Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the Past Year 
• Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year
• ..and more

Ohio is a large state anchored by its three largest metropolitan areas: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati (cities where New Pathways has opened clinics, by the way). Outside of its major urban centers, Ohio has several mid-sized cities (Toledo, Akron, Dayton) that give way to rural counties and a blend of agriculture and manufacturing sectors. 

Based on numbers alone, though, broad surveys like the Mental Health America report tend to provide a snapshot of major cities in the U.S. 

Columbus, in particular, has kept pace with those overall numbers out of Ohio. According to the city’s own Key Community Health Indicators report, published in 2023, Columbus residents self-report instances of depression at the same rate as the broader state (25%). The city’s 2022 population estimate was about 908,000.

Set alongside those numbers in the national and local reports are the subsequent mental health problems, the ripple effects of this shaky foundation. According to Mental Health America, “55% of adults with a mental illness receive no treatment–over 28 million individuals.”

Taking those numbers to the city of Columbus, that’s nearly 125,000 people who are experiencing mental health illness without receiving treatment. 

Mental Health America points out that “28% of all adults with a mental illness reported that they were not able to receive the treatment they needed. Most reported they did not receive care because they could not afford it.”

READ MORE: Does Medicare Cover Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression? 

Zooming in further, Columbus is home to the Ohio State University’s 66,000 students. That population is susceptible to mental health issues, especially in the wake of the pandemic just a few years ago. 

OSU offers strong support for student mental health through its counseling and consultation services. However, some students might need more specialized care. For those individuals, New Pathways provides ketamine therapy, a cutting-edge treatment showing a 70% success rate in addressing treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

When traditional treatments like pharmaceutical medication don’t work, ketamine infusion therapy offers a new option. This treatment option can fill in the gaps displayed by the Mental Health America report. Each patient at New Pathways receives careful administration of infusions, with a personalized treatment plan tailored to their needs.

College students deal with a lot: academic pressures, financial stress, and a fast-changing environment. In some ways, this pressure does not diminish even after graduation; the working world in today’s post-pandemic economy delivers its own brand of stress, which means that mental health solutions are more important than ever for all ages. 

Trends from nationwide, state, and local reports are helpful to monitor, as mental health across the board is a fragile and delicate variable. 

Access points to mental health treatment are important to understand and improve–and just as important are the alternative therapeutic treatments that can provide real relief to those who are suffering.