Demi Lavato advocated for more awareness about mental health during her DNC speech, as 44 million Americans are affected by mental health issues.
Millions of people in the United States face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental-health condition, and each one has a story that is unique to them,” Ken Duckworth, M.D., medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, tells SELF. Specifically, around 18.5 percent, or around 44 million, of adults in the U.S. are affected by a mental illness each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.