Home | Latest News | Site Map | NAMI MD |
Mental Illness | Policy | News |Affiliates |
Help for You | Help Us |
Join | Web Sites | Other Organizations | Glossary | Search

About Mental Illness

[What is Mental Illness?] [Schizophrenia] [Affective Disorders] [Other Mental Illnesses] [What causes Mental Illness?] [Can Mental Illness be cured or prevented?] [More information]

What is Mental Illness?

Mental illness refers to a group of disorders causing severe disturbances in thinking, feeling, and relating. They result in a substantially diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age -- children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly -- and they can occur in any family. Several million people in the U. S. suffer from a serious, long term mental illness. The cost to society is high due to lost productivity and treatment expense.

Mental illness is not the same as mental retardation. The mentally retarded have a diminished intellectual capacity usually present since birth. Those with mental illnesses are usually of normal intelligence although they may have difficulty performing at a normal level due to their illness.

A mental illness is not caused by bad parenting and is not a character weakness or flaw. These illnesses are due to biochemical disturbances in the brain -- they are neurobiological disorders.

[top]

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most serious and disabling of the mental illnesses. It affects approximately one person in a hundred, men and women about equally. The onset is usually in the late teens or early twenties. People with this brain disorder usually have several of the following symptoms:

• disconnected, confusing language
• poor reasoning, memory, judgment
• high levels of anxiety
• eating and sleeping disorders
• hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not externally real)
• delusions (persistent false beliefs, contrary to facts or without evidence)
• deterioration of appearance and personal hygiene
• loss of motivation, poor concentration
• tendencies to withdraw from others

[top]

Affective Disorders

Affective disorders are the most common psychiatric illnesses. They are also called mood disorders. Many cases go unrecognized and untreated. The disorder may be Bipolar (manic depressive) in which a person swings between extreme high and low moods, or it may be Unipolar in which a person suffers from persistent severe depression. Without proper medical treatment, such persons experience repeated or continuous periods of illness and perhaps hospitalization. About six percent of the population suffers from an affective disorder. These disorders are a major cause of suicide.

Persons diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder cycle between manic and depressive phases, and usually have several of the following characteristics during a manic phase:

• boundless energy, enthusiasm, and need for activity
• decreased need for sleep
• grandiose ideas and poor judgment
• rapid, loud disorganized speech
• short temper and argumentative
• impulsive and erratic behavior
• possible delusional thinking

Persons with Unipolar Depression, or the depressive phase of Bipolar Disorder , may have several of the following symptoms:

• difficulty in sleeping
• loss of interest in daily activities
• loss of appetite
• feelings of worthlessness, guilt and hopelessness
• feelings of despondence or sadness
• inability to concentrate
• possible psychotic symptoms
• suicidal thoughts or actions

[top]

Some Other Disabling Mental Illnesses

• Schizoaffective disorder
• Dissociative disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Personality disorders

[top]

What causes Mental Illness?

The causes of mental illnesses are not as well understood as other physical diseases, but research is providing useful information on the functioning of neurotransmitters and brain chemistry that is involved. Heredity may be a factor as it is in diabetes and cancer. Stress or use of "street" drugs may contribute to the onset of an illness in a vulnerable person.

Mental illnesses are medical diseases of the brain, and are treatable just as heart disease or lung disease.

The shame and fear once associated with cancer has been largely dispelled by accurate information and understanding. The same will happen for brain diseases -- mental illnesses -- once the facts are known and shared.

[top]

Can Mental Illness be cured or prevented?

Since the causes of long term mental illnesses are not known, there is no effective prevention nor cure at this time. More research is needed to determine causes and strategies for prevention. However, adequate care and proper treatment, including medication, can substantially improve the functioning of persons suffering from these disabling illnesses.

[top]

For More Information....

The NAMI headquarters website, www.nami.org, has a great deal of information on illnesses, treatments and research. Click on the following for more information:

• Illnesses and Treatments

• Research News

Home | Top | Site Map | Latest News | NAMI MD |
Mental Illness | Policy | News |Affiliates |
Help for You | Help Us |
Join | Web Sites | Other Organizations | Glossary | Search