Although it is difficult to open a newspaper today without finding an article on stress, latest figures show that we are hardly any more neurotic now than we were in the early 1990s.
New data from the Office for National Statistics showed that 17% of adults in Great Britain aged between 16 and 64 had a neurotic disorder in the week before interview last year, compared with 16% in 1993. The disorders included depression, anxiety, and phobias.
Women were found to be more neurotic than men, though the rate went up slightly among men but remained static among women. In 1993, 20% of women and 13% of men had a neurotic disorder, whereas in 2000 the corresponding figures were 20% and 14%
The most common disorder, experienced by 9% of people, was mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. In all, 4% of people had generalised anxiety disorder and 3% reported a depressive episode.
People tend to get less neurotic as they get older. Men and women aged 65 to 74 years had a lower rate of neurotic disorder (10%) than respondents aged under 65.
Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adults, 2000 can be accessed at www.statistics.gov.uk 