Mental Illness
Mental illnesses are biologically-based disorders which interfere with an individual's ability to think, feel, act, and relate within the standard norms of society. The American Psychiatric Association identifies hundreds of mental disorders ranging from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to Violent/Self-Destructive Behaviors. Mental illness can be physical as well as psychological and emotional, and some are classified as "major mental illnesses" because of their propensity to seriously impair an individual's ability to function. Severe mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Mental illness can strike any person at any time (one in five Americans and Australians, and one in six Canadians, will be affected some time in their life), account for more hospital admissions than any other single disease, and cost U.S. society more than $150 billion annually.
Mental illness afflicts people of every age, race, creed, and socioeconomic background. It can be extremely frightening and confusing to the sufferer, their families and their friends. It was not until the 1950s that mental illness became part of mainstream medicine. For centuries, it was so misunderstood and feared that sufferers were confined to insane asylums where they were shackled and treated as mere animals. In 1953, metal from such shackles was melted down and formed into a 300-pound Mental Health Bell and placed at the headquarters of the National Mental Health Association in Alexandria, Virginia as a symbol of hope and liberty for people with mental illnesses. Yet even today, mental illness brings about feelings of shame, disapproval, discrimination, and rejection.
There is no clear understanding of what causes mental illness. Biochemical imbalances may be triggered by environmental and emotional stresses, and genetic predisposition is a factor. Symptoms are usually behavioral, such as confused thinking, prolonged depression, high anxiety/panic attacks, delusions of grandeur and hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, social withdrawal, dramatic swings between highs (mania) and lows (depression). Depression in the elderly is common and commonly unrecognized. Mental illness is often unrecognized in children; warning signs include poor grades despite strong efforts, excessive worry or anxiety, hyperactivity, persistent nightmares, frequent temper tantrums, substance abuse, excessive complaints of physical ailments, inability to cope with daily activities, and frequent outbursts of anger.
Major mental illnesses include schizophrenia, mood or affective disorders (depression/manic-depression), panic/anxiety disorders, eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), personality disorders, posttraumatic stress syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and organic brain disorders. Treatment aims at reducing symptoms, improving social and personal functioning, and strengthening coping skills. Many types of therapies and medications are available and can be grouped in categories of psychosocial rehabilitation, biomedical therapy, psychotherapy, and behavioral therapy. These can be used alone or in combination.
Mental illness is not mental retardation. While it cannot be cured, most can be treated effectively. The first step in the road to recovery is awareness that something is wrong followed by accurate diagnosis and treatment from well-informed specialists. Appropriately licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses and social workers, mental health counsellors, case managers, and outreach workers are all available to treat and rehabilitate people suffering from mental illness.
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