A term generally referred to as mental illness is used to describe a diseases or condition affecting the brain which affects the way a person thinks, behaves, feels and his/her relation to others and surroundings. A person suffering from this condition would often be unable to cope with life's daily routines and demands.
Mental illness covers a wide scope of generic label for different types of emotional or cognitive dysfunction. Illnesses falling within this category include schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety, to name a few. Current opinion in psychology traces its origin as either psychological or biological in nature. Biological causes points to the anatomical, chemical or genetic makeup of a person as the mental-illness-causing factor. Trauma or severe conflict could bring or contribute to psychological dysfunction.
Other terms used interchangeably for mental illness are: ?mental disorder?, ?psychiatric or psychological disorder?, ?and behavior problem?, ?emotional problem?, ?abnormal psychology?. But ?insanity? is the most commonly used term for mental illness, and it is also the term used for legal purposes.
The subject of mental illness was usually surrounded with mystery and fear in the past. However, present day understanding and even the ability to offer effective treatments to patients suffering from this disorder, have tremendously progressed. And yet, lack of information or disinformation regarding the illness had stood in the way of individuals needing this kind of help.
Mental illness is a common occurrence, and much more the milder conditions. The American Psychiatric Association has stated that: ?one fifth of Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder during any given year. One fifth of school-age children are also affected by these conditions. Severe and persistent mental illness is less common, but still afflicts 3 percent of the population? (See ?Let's Talk Facts About What is Mental Illness??).
Despite high prevalence of mental illness, about only half of people with mental illness seek professional help. Mental illness may be perceived as less real compared to physical illness, leading to less support in the part of policy makers and insurance companies to pay for treatment. Parents too, may receive blame for causing mental illness in their children. A more common public reaction to people with mental illness is to shun them, live as far as possible from them, or avoid working and socializing with them. All these factors combined do not help the person with mental illness; thereby much is desired in alleviating this problem which permeates all levels of society.
Mental illness does not occur in isolation. It is common to all countries and its effects are felt everywhere. It is estimated that even in established market economies, mental illness ranks towards the burden of disease and by 2020, it is predicted that depression will be the second highest contributor to the disease burden globally. The possibility of developing some illnesses such as Alzheimer's, only increases with age. A person, who doesn't suffer any mental illness now, may suffer it in the future.
What then is a mentally healthy person? A person who has mental health simply means he or she does not have any mental illness. The person is able to cope with the ordinary and extraordinary relationship that comes along his path. It is has been said that mental health is the invisible man of health problems. Mental health is as important as physical health for a person's well being (See ?Mental Health?).
The occurrence of mental illness can be caused by different factors or a combination of these several factors. Different explanations are offered by different schools of thought, such as biological, psychological or social explanations for causing mental illness. Current theories however, have mostly acknowledged that all three contribute in varying amounts to a person's mental ill-health. Many psychiatric diseases can be classified as syndromes, or the association of several clinically recognizable features that do not always have a single cause.
The currently most popular explanation for mental illness is biological explanations. It believes that a person suffering from mental illness may exhibit a difference in brain structure or function or in neurochemistry, either through genetic or environmental vulnerabilities. Research findings for example, have shown that people with schizophrenia have enlarged ventricles and reduced gray matter in the brain. In addition, other studies have also found that imbalance in neurotransmitters could also play a factor in causing mental illness. Studies have focused on the neurotransmitters dopamine, nor epinephrine, and serotonin. If these chemicals are out of balance or may not be working properly, messages sent to the brain may not be sent correctly leading to symptoms of mental illness.
I used to think that anyone afflicted with a mental illness was going to be a very ill person for the rest of their lives.
Having personally seen a family member gain a very reasonable standard of living from being chronically ill, I now believe that it is possible.
For some, a mental illness may only last a couple of weeks or months, but for others the time could lead into many years.
I am a carer, and certainly no medical expert, but I am speaking from experience of my own situation and from observing many other situations with people who I personally know and who have suffered chronic illnesses.
GETTING A DIAGNOSIS There are many types of mental disorders and because of the fact that specialists are dealing with matters of the mind, it is often hard to: 1. Establish the symptoms because at the time of ill health, communication can be a severe hindrance, or 2. The client could be showing symptoms of several different illnesses. There are other issues too, but unfortunately getting a good diagnosis often takes longer than we hoped.
Having said that, once you know what you are dealing with as a carer, I would suggest that you find out as much information as you can about the particular illness, then, as soon as you think there is a chance, start taking positive steps towards recovery.
"Recovery", I said. What do you mean, but now I believe it is more a question of "how and when" rather than a question of "if". Let me promise you, I never used to think this way at all.
RECOVERY Ten years ago when my son became ill with paranoid/schizophrenia all we could think of was that 'this illness will go away soon and all will be well'. But it wasn't quite that simple and there certainly are too many stories to tell now. Once you have seen your loved one go to the depths of 'hell' all you want is for them to be "OK", well, anyway that was what we thought. After all these years of watching a my chronically ill son, and with the knowledge I have now, I know that once a mentally ill person is ready life can be so much better.
Now, I am so happy to say, my son is living independently in a self contained flat on the property, drives his own car and maintains it, sorts out his own medication (with a little prompting at times), feeds and clothes himself to a fairly high standard and handles his finances well. A situation I was starting to think I would never see again. So, to all carers and family members reading this article I would encourage you not to give up hope but work through that horrendous first stage of everyone learning to cope with the illness and support the person who is ill as our journey, as carer and family, is nowhere as bad as their journey. It may only take months for things to settle down but, as in our case, it may take years.
It is very important that the person with a mental illness is living in an environment that is reasonably free from continual aggravation, and definately in a situation where they are not made to feel guilty for their illness. But don't give up - it is such a wonderful feeling to see them getting on with their lives again, having a laugh and joining in social occasions.
Another very important issue, I believe is getting the medication right and it being taken on a regular basis and again this is easier said than done!
COPING AS A CARER Learn to understand why they do what they do, and what the possibilities are of other behaviours that they may adopt, but try and keep an open mind. If you are forewarned to some of the behaviours they may have, you will cope so much better.
I have now seen a number of people who have been chronically ill regain a positive and meaningful life so believe me IT IS POSSIBLE in lots of cases, given the right circumstances.
Both Robert Ii Smith & Kaye Dennan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robert Ii Smith has sinced written about articles on various topics from Insurance, Financial Planning and Medicine. Robert Smith has spent more than 15 years working as a professor at New York University. Now he spends most of his time with his family and shares his Univesity experience in. Robert Ii Smith's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
Kaye Dennan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Medicine, Family and Family Travel. From personal experience Kaye has written an ebook to help carers learn coping strategies when looking after a mentally ill person. Kaye has published an ebook called Managing MENTAL ILLNESS - Coping Strategies for the Carer and it is available at. Kaye Dennan's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.