World Economy Loses $1 Trillion due to Mental Health Crisis: Disturbing Mental Health Costs

The world is currently experiencing one of the biggest mental health crises of all time. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that a billion people currently have problems with mental health [1].

Because of that, mental health costs are soaring. Mental health costs are estimates of how much the lost productivity costs to the world economy. The number we provided in the title is the indirect costs of depression and anxiety to the economy [1].

This article summarizes the economic impact of mental health in the United States and worldwide. We’ll also look at how mental health costs are formed and what can be done in the future on the state, company, and individual levels to reduce them.

Economic Impact of Mental Health in Numbers

State-level economic conditions and citizen well-being are closely connected. Numerous studies have proven that poverty is one of the biggest drivers of anxiety and depression. Two of the most costly mental health conditions.

Let’s dive deeper into mental health costs:

• According to the Breeze App Mental Health, the more negative experiences a child has at an early age, the less they will earn. A study showed that people who earned less than $15,000 per year had a significantly higher mean Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) score [2].
• The US alone loses approximately $282 billion on mental health costs that could be prevented yearly [3]. This equals 1.7% of the country’s GDP. The EU was estimated to lose a similar amount of GDP on mental health costs—1.6% [4].
• In a study by Trautmann, Rehm, and Wittchen, the costs of mental disorders to the economy (estimated at $16.3 trillion for 20 years) were comparable to the economic losses associated with cardiovascular diseases. Mental health costs were higher than the economic costs of cancer or diabetes [5].
• In England, the annual economic impact of mental health is estimated to be $404 billion (£300 billion) [6].
• Staff turnover accounts for 39% of all yearly mental health costs in England [6].

These statistics don’t take into account the stories of millions of people who struggle through everyday and have to go through poverty, burnout, mood swings, brain fog, etc.

Why Does Mental Health Impact the Economy?

Mental health isn’t a problem at the personal level, as employers tend to say. Nor is it a “problem” of sensitive, entitled people.

Mental health is the foundation on which concentration, stress tolerance, energy, and communication are based. That’s why it can impact the economy through these factors:

• Absenteeism. WHO claims that nearly 12 billion working days in the world are missed due to mental health issues [1]. The mental health costs include lost productivity, insurance expenditures, and the value of statistical life. The most frequent reasons why people call in sick due to mental health reasons are stress, depression, anxiety, and burnout.
• Presenteeism. According to Mental Health Network (MHN), presenteeism due to mental health includes [6]:
  • Lower levels of productivity.
  • More mistakes.
  • Lower standard of work than usual.
  • A lack of care about results and output.
  • Starting late or finishing early.
  • Putting in more hours but less output.

Many employees still show up to work while emotionally exhausted, distracted, or mentally overwhelmed. Not only does it harm the business and economy as a result, but it also can be dangerous for the emotional health of an employee, only expanding the economic impact of mental health issues.

• Staff turnover. People with mental health problems are twice as likely to not be employed. They also change workplaces more often and rarely move up the career ladder. Due to this, businesses have to put in more resources into hiring and recruitment, increasing mental health costs.
• Unpaid (invisible) labor. Mental health conditions can also limit a person’s ability to carry out unpaid household chores. And although this work doesn’t directly impact the economy, it does so through secondary factors. For example, childcare is unpaid labor, but the better the childcare is, the more this kid can contribute to the economy [2].
• Unemployment and underemployment. People with untreated mental health conditions are more likely to be unemployed or partially employed compared to people who rate their mental health as satisfactory. Moreover, they are rarely interested in being engaged, which is why the likelihood of receiving promotions or bonuses decreases.

How Mental Health Costs Can Be Reduced

Reducing mental health costs should happen at every level to be really effective: state, community (incl. company level), and individual.

The best strategy is to aim at the prevention of mental health conditions. Some things that are already (partially) implemented at a state level:

• Spreading accessibility of mental health services.
• Launching campaigns that fight mental health stigma.
• Funding and popularizing suicide prevention initiatives.
• Providing affordable therapy access.
• Implementing compulsory mental health policies in different communities, such as schools, workplaces, internet communities, kindergartens, etc.

Since the economic impact of mental health problems mostly comes from workplaces, it’s worth paying more attention to them. Workplace mental health programs become effective when they move beyond symbolic wellness messaging and actually address working conditions:

• Demand realistic workloads.
• Integrate flexible scheduling to ensure work-life balance.
• Provide confidential counseling/mentoring support.
• Ensuring fair pay for overtime.
• Provide digital wellness opportunities for 24/7 help.

Conclusion

Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin group, said, “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your business.”

Mental health has been an economic issue since the beginning of the economy, but only now have people begun to recognize this connection. When millions of people live in chronic stress without proper support, the costs eventually appear everywhere: in lost working days, reduced productivity, higher turnover, growing healthcare expenses, etc.

At the same time, this can be changed, or at least improved. Some companies like Google, Cisco, Adobe, etc., commit to supporting their workers mentally. Their examples confirm Richard Branson’s words.

A healthier economy ultimately depends on healthier people. And treating mental health as essential infrastructure rather than an afterthought benefits not only individuals but society as a whole.

Sources (Accessed May 2026)

1. Over a billion people living with mental health conditions – services require urgent scale-up. WHO Media Team. WHO. September 2025.
2. The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health and Development in Young Children. E. M. Webster. Global Pediatric Health. February 2022.
3. Macroeconomics of Mental Health. B. Abramson, J. Boerma, A. Tsyvinski. NBER Working Paper Series. April 2024.
4. The Economic Case for Preventing Mental Ill Health. OECD. OECD Health Policy Studies. April 2026.
5. The economic costs of mental disorders. S. Trautmann, J. Rehm, H. U. Wittchen. EMBO Reports. August 2016.
6. The Economic And Social Costs of Mental Ill Health. F. Cardoso and Z. McHayle. Centre for Mental Health. March 2024.