Key points
- Behavioral health is a key component of overall health.
- Behavioral health refers to the topics of mental distress, mental health conditions, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and substance use.
- Promoting positive behavioral health includes addressing factors at multiple levels, including social determinants of health—supporting the environments where we live, work, learn, and play.
Overview
Behavioral health refers to a state of mental, emotional, and social well-being or behaviors and actions that affect wellness. Behavioral health is a key component of overall health. The term is also used to describe the support systems that promote well-being, prevent mental distress, and provide access to treatments and services for mental health conditions.
Behavioral health is an umbrella term that refers to the following topics:
- Mental health (i.e., well-being, mental distress, mental health conditions)
- Suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts
- Substance use or substance use disorders
Improving behavioral outcomes means addressing factors at multiple levels, including social determinants of health—supporting the environments where we live, work, learn, and play.
Mental health and suicide
Suicide is one of the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2023, there were over 49,000 deaths by suicide—or one suicide death every 11 minutes.
About 49% of all people who die by suicide have a history of a diagnosed mental health condition.3 However, suicide is not caused by any single factor.
- While not all people who die by suicide were known to have a mental health condition, there are many shared risk factors that can lead to both poor mental health and risk for suicide.
- These factors include challenges in relationships, substance use, physical health, and financial, legal, housing, or work stress.
- Similar to risk factors, there is also a range of factors at individual, relationship, community, and societal levels that can protect people from suicide.
Suicide is preventable. Working holistically to reduce these risk factors, as well as promote well-being and prevent mental distress, can reduce deaths by suicide.
Risk and protective factors for suicide
Suicide is preventable. Working holistically to reduce these risk factors, as well as promote well-being and prevent mental distress, can reduce deaths by suicide.
Related conditions
Mental health and substance use
People may sometimes turn to drugs, alcohol, and other substances to help them cope with stress, trauma, or mental distress. Substance use may lead to developing a substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder, which can result in serious health outcomes such as drug overdose.
Although drug overdose deaths have increased over the last two decades, recent data indicate we are turning the tide on overdoses in part due to public health investments such as CDC’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) program. However, overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44, highlighting the importance of sustained efforts to ensure this progress continues.
Mental health conditions and SUDs often co-occur, meaning a person can have both a mental health condition and an SUD at the same time.
Co-occurrence of SUD and mental health conditions
People with a mental health condition are more likely to use substances or have an SUD than those without a mental health condition. Additionally, people who use substances or have an SUD can develop other mental health conditions.
- In 2023, approximately 20.4 million adults in the United States had both a mental health condition and an SUD.
- In 2022, 22% or 1 in 5 people who died of drug overdose had a non–substance-related mental health condition. The most common conditions were depression (13%) and anxiety (9%).
- In 2022, approximately one-fourth of people who died of drug overdose with a non-substance-related mental health condition had at least 1 recent potential opportunity for intervention—such as current treatment for substance use disorders or recent emergency department visit.
Implementing evidence-based screening for substance use and mental health disorders during potential intervention opportunities and expanding efforts to integrate care could improve mental health and reduce overdoses.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/about/about-behavioral-health.html
