Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have a mental illness?
Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.
Some common disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. Symptoms can include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. When these occur in children under 18, they are referred to as serious emotional disturbances (SEDs).
What causes mental illness?
The exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, although it is becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.
What is considered a serious mental illness?
Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and borderline personality disorder.
Can you prevent mental illness?
Most mental illnesses are caused by a combination of factors and it cannot be prevented.
Can someone with a mental illness get better?
Most people with mental illnesses, who are diagnosed and get treatment, will respond well and can live productive lives. While some never have the same problem again, others may experience a return of symptoms. The important thing is that there is a range of effective treatments for just about every mental disorder.
Is Mental Illness Common?
Mental illnesses are very common; in fact, they are more common than cancer, diabetes or heart disease. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, an estimated 23% of American adults (those ages 18 and older) or about 44 million people, and about 20% of American children suffer from a mental disorder during a given year.
Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion, about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans, who suffer from a serious mental illness (one that significantly interferes with functioning). It is estimated that mental illness affects 1 in 5 families in America.
Further, more than 7 million American adults, and more than 5 million children and adolescents suffer from a serious mental condition (one that significantly interferes with functioning).
What are some of the warning signs of mental illness?
Symptoms of mental disorders vary depending on the type and severity of the condition. The following is a list of some general symptoms that may suggest a mental disorder:
In adults:
- Thoughts of suicide
- Denial of apparent/obvious problems
- Confused thinking
- Sadness or irritability lasting long periods of time
- Extreme highs and lows in mood
- Excessive fear, anxiety or worrying
- Socially withdrawing
- Dramatic changes in sleeping or eating habits
- Strong feelings of anger
- Increasing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
- Several unexplained physical problems
- Drug and or Alcohol Abuse
- Delusions or hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there)
In young children:
- Changes in school performance
- Poor grades despite strong efforts
- Excessive worrying or anxiety
- Hyperactivity
- Persistent nightmares
- Persistent disobedience and/or aggressive behavior
- Frequent temper tantrums
In older children and pre-teens:
- Inability to cope with daily problems
- Inability to cope with daily activities
- Drug and or Alcohol Abuse
- Changes in eating and/or sleeping habits
- Excessive complaints of physical problems
- Defying authority
- A negative mood, often combined with poor appetite and thoughts of death which last a long period of time
- Frequent anger outbursts
- Skipping school
- Stealing or damaging property
- Fear of gaining weight
What is the difference between mental health professionals?
There are many types of mental health professionals. The variety of providers and their services may be confusing. Each has various levels of education, training, and may have different areas of expertise.
Psychiatry is a specialty of medicine like surgery, internal medicine or pediatrics. All psychiatrists have therefore graduated from medical school and are M.D.s before taking additional training (usually three years or more) in the specialty of psychiatry.
Psychologists have obtained the Doctor of Philosophy or PhD degree from a university but have not received the medical training of a physician.
Am I going crazy?
A surprisingly common concern and question, many people are so afraid that they are going crazy that they don't dare to ask or bring the subject up for fear that others will find out the terrible truth about them! The fear of insanity is so common that it might even be thought of as a normal part of development for many people. Just as with other developmental phenomena, people "outgrow" it after a while.
The majority of people have probably been seriously afraid of losing their minds at one time or another, typically in adolescence and young adulthood. Because the topic is seldom raised or discussed people do not realize how common, in fact almost universal this fear actually is. Secrecy and shame, as always, make matters worse and cause more anxiety and suffering.
The presence of significant depression or anxiety or both is frequently associated with a fear of losing one's mind. Depression and anxiety alter the usual "feel" of the mind - and by introducing new and unpleasant emotions and thoughts, cause the individual to fear that he is losing control over his mind. It is this feeling and fear of loss of control that is usually misinterpreted as the approach of insanity. This of course causes still more anxiety and dread, especially when, as often happens, the individual is too frightened to discuss his fears with anyone. Thus people with obsessive-compulsive disorder or even with scattered obsessive-compulsive symptoms (rituals and repetitive or peculiar or frightening thoughts) quite commonly dread losing their minds.
What is a nervous breakdown?
"Nervous breakdown" is not a medical term nor does it have a precise definition. It generally refers to any state of sustained emotional distress that is severe enough to disrupt normal functioning for several days or more. Like many other words and phrases, "nervous breakdown" whatever the person using the term chooses decides it should mean. Even though nobody knows for sure what a nervous breakdown is, the prospect of having one is a sinister and frightening one because it suggests a complete loss of control and perhaps even insanity.
What is a chemical imbalance?
Although the phrase "chemical imbalance" has no precise definition it is commonly used to describe a type of depression (major depression, endogenous depression) that is thought to result at least in part from deficiencies in certain brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. Certain anxiety disorders as well as bipolar disorder (manic depressive disorder) and schizophrenia also involve disturbances of normal brain chemistry. Serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and probably many other substances, some known, others not yet known, play a role in mood regulation. Antidepressants and other medications work by restoring normal levels of these brain chemicals. There are no currently useful laboratory tests for such imbalances. Evidence for the chemical imbalance theory comes from research. In ordinary clinical practice the diagnosis of a "chemical imbalance" is made from the patient's history and symptoms and from his response to treatment.
Are the medications used to treat mental illness addicting?
Medication itself is never addicting because addiction is a clinical syndrome characterized by pathological salience (the substance is abnormally important to the individual and becomes a life-dominating obsession), drug seeking behavior, dishonesty, excess and continued consumption despite negative consequences. Addiction, in other words, consists of a complex interaction between the individual and the substance. For reasons that are still unknown but which probably have to do with both heredity and environment, only certain individuals are vulnerable to the syndrome of addiction.
Certain medications, including alcohol, induce states of physical dependence in everyone who ingests them long enough and in sufficient quantity. Physical dependence means that there may be a withdrawal syndrome if the intake of the substance is suddenly stopped or drastically reduced. Physical dependence and withdrawal syndromes are not addiction. They are easily managed in non-addicts by the gradual reduction of dosage until the substance is finally discontinued.
Most but not all substances involved in addiction can cause physical dependence - but physical dependence alone is not addiction.
Will I have to be on medication for the remainder of my life?
Although experience shows that some types of chronic or recurrent depression and other conditions do best with longer rather than shorter treatment, no one really knows for sure in an individual case whether medication will be required indefinitely. New medications and treatments are constantly being developed that will almost certainly transform our approach to psychiatric disorders in the next few decades. The important thing is to maintain good communication with the prescribing physician and to make decisions about length of medication use after thorough discussion. A not uncommon scenario is relapse of depression or other symptoms when medication is discontinued prematurely and without medical guidance.