Overview of Mental Illness

What is a mental illness? A mental illness has been defined as “a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning (NAMI).” Just like heart disease or diabetes, a mental illness is a medical condition. I repeat a “medical condition.” Usually with mental illness the person suffering can see a change, if not, total interference in their ability to handle their everyday life. Mental illness does not discriminate by age, race, religion or income. Therefore, it is important to remember that having a mental illness does not make you weak or mean you’ve had a poor/bad background. Seeking treatment and getting the support you need is important with all illnesses; the same is true for your mental illness. The stigma has to end and it starts with awareness.

Overview/Facts:

Some serious mental illnesses include:
- major depression,
- schizophrenia,
- bipolar disorder,
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD),
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- More safe and effective treatments exist today than ever before. As a result, studies have shown that many people with mental illness recover.

Each year, roughly 57 million Americans will be affected by one or more mental illnesses. Of these:
- Roughly 40 million will suffer from some type of anxiety disorder, such as panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia, or social phobia.
- Roughly 18 million will suffer from some form ofdepression
- Roughly 2.6 million will suffer from bipolar disorder
- Roughly 2.4 million will suffer from schizophrenia

In fact, rates of successful treatment for mental illnesses are often as high as or even higher than for common medical conditions, such as heart disease. For example:
- Panic disorder has a successful treatment rate of 70-90%.
- Depression has a successful treatment rate of over 80%.
- Schizophrenia has a successful treatment rate of roughly 60%.