Mental health is, by all accounts, having a bit of a moment. A raft of celebrities – from Stephen Fry to Selena Gomez – have spoken out about their diagnoses. Depression and anxiety, once completely taboo subjects, are now common hashtags across Instagram and the subject of advertising by brands like Ford and Lloyds Bank.
However, it’s not a case of a rising tide lifting all boats. Only 17% of people in the UK have a diagnosable mental health condition. Yet 87% describe their mental health as less than good, and almost three in four were so stressed or anxious at some point last year that they felt “unable to cope”. Those with a formal condition are merely the tip of a much larger – and growing – iceberg: the undiagnosed strugglers.
Those without a label are suffering in silence. While people with a formal condition are most likely to talk about it and seek help – thanks to more widely accepted terminology and the prevalence of prescribed medication – the undiagnosed strugglers do not have the language to speak out. Suicide is the leading cause of death for young men and women, with 5,717 suicides registered in 2024. But the majority of suicide cases involve people with no mental health diagnosis. We live in an era when it’s far easier to say ‘I have Autism’ or ‘I’m having panic attacks’ than it is to say ‘I’m having a really hard time getting by’. And despite having our feeds full of advice from influencers on “managing the winter blues” and “5 ways to feel less anxious”, we don’t actually know what to do or where to turn when we feel sad.
The solution exists, it just costs money. 77% of people who receive talk therapy are able to meaningfully improve their mental health scores, with the effects lasting years into the future. However, waiting lists for counselling on the NHS are at an all-time high, with 14,586 people currently waiting 18+ months for mental health treatment, and private counselling is becoming increasingly unaffordable with the rising cost of living.
Spill exists to fix this imbalance. We work to increase the total amount of money available for treatment, decrease the cost of treatment itself and democratise these advances across the world.
Our mission is to reduce unnecessary emotional pain. We do this by making high-quality mental health support easily accessible for people around the world**.** You can read on to learn more about how we are doing it.
<aside>
start
</aside>
<aside>
Next:
</aside>