Mental illness can strike anyone! It
knows no age limits, economic status, race, creed or color. During the
course of a year, more than 48 million Americans are affected by one
or more mental disorders.
Medical science has made incredible
progress over the last century in understanding, curing and
eliminating the causes of many diseases including mental illnesses.
However, while doctors continue to solve some of the mysteries of the
brain, many of its functions remain a puzzle. Even at the leading
research centers, no one fully understands how the brain works or why
it malfunctions. However, researchers have determined that many mental
illnesses are probably the result of chemical imbalances in the brain.
These imbalances may be inherited, or may develop because of excessive
stress or substance abuse.
It is sometimes easy to forget that our
brain, like all of our other organs, is vulnerable to disease.
Unfortunately, because people with mental illnesses often suffer from
symptoms which are behavioral, they are sometimes thought of
differently than people with physical ailments. Instead of receiving
compassion and support, people with mental illnesses may be greeted by
unsympathetic, unfair or hostile responses.
Most of the intolerance can be
attributed to the stigma that accompanies mental illness. As a
society, we often perceive people who have a mental illness as
strange, scary, even dangerous. These misconceptions frequently result
in blatant discrimination. In fact, when people with mental illnesses
are asked to identify the biggest problem they face, most say it is
simply lack of acceptance.
People who suffer or have suffered from
mental illness have many obstacles to overcome. Don't let your
attitude or actions be yet another hurdle!
Did You Know?
Abraham Lincoln fought depression for many years. After overcoming
his illness, he went on to become President of the United States!
Others who have conquered their mental
illness are Dick Clark; Ted Turner; Alma Powell, wife of Colin Powell;
Mike Wallace, of 60 Minute; Joan Rivers, comedienne, Art Buchwald,
humorist-columnist; Dick Cavett, TV talk show host; Kitty Dukakis,
wife of Michael Dukakis, and Patty Duke, actress.
The best way to dispel misconceptions
and eliminate discrimination about mental illness is to get a clear
understanding of how it affects people.
What Is A Mental Illness?
A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe
disturbances in thinking, perception and behavior which may
significantly impair the person's ability to cope with life's ordinary
demands and routines. Many mental illnesses are believed to have
biological causes, just like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Depending on the type and severity of the mental illness, with the
proper care and treatment, a person can learn to cope, improve, or
experience a full recovery.
The Five Major Categories Of Mental
Illness:
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses. The three
main types are: phobias, panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive
disorders. People who suffer from phobias experience extreme fear or
dread from a particular object or situation. Panic disorders involve
sudden, intense feelings of terror for no apparent reason and symptoms
similar to a heart attack. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder
try to cope with anxiety by repeating words or phrases or engaging in
repetitive, ritualistic behavior such as constant hand washing.
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder which
involves extreme mood swings such as extreme sadness or elation, sleep
and eating disturbances, and changes in activity and energy levels.
Suicide may be a risk with these disorders.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is the most disabling and serious of the mental
illnesses. Schizophrenia is believed to be caused by chemical
imbalances in the brain that cause a variety of symptoms including
hallucinations, delusions, withdrawal, incoherent speech and impaired
reasoning.
Dementias
This group of brain disorders includes diseases like Alzheimer's
which leads to loss of mental functions, including memory loss and a
decline of intellectual and physical skills.
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are serious, life-threatening
illnesses. Anorexia is self-starvation while bulimia is cycles of
bingeing (consuming large quantities of food) and purging (
self-inducing vomiting or abusing laxatives). Behavior may also
include excessive exercise. People with anorexia and bulimia have a
preoccupation with food and an irrational fear of being fat.
Common Misconceptions About Mental
Illness
Myth: "Mental illnesses are not
real diseases like heart disease and cancer."
Fact: While many psychiatric disorders can not be detected
through simple blood tests or biopsies, these diseases have been
linked in studies to a biological origin. Some psychotic disorders may
be situational and temporary, caused by extreme stress or life changes
such as a death of a loved one or a divorce.
Myth: "People who need
psychiatric care should be locked away in institutions."
Fact: The notion that all people with mental illnesses should
be institutionalized is a thing of the past. Today, there are a
variety of care providers, programs and medications that allow most
patients to lead productive lives within their communities.
Myth: "A person who has had a
mental illness can never be normal."
Fact: Mental illness is often a temporary condition. A
previously well-adjusted individual may have an episode of illness
lasting weeks or months, and then may go for years, even a lifetime,
without further difficulty. To label such a recovered patient
"abnormal" is both unfair and unrealistic.
Myth: "Mentally ill persons are
dangerous."
Fact: The vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not
violent. In the cases when violence does occur, the incidence
typically results from the same reasons as with the general public
such as feeling threatened or excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs.
Myth: "Recovered mental patients
can work low-level jobs but aren't suited for really important or
responsible positions."
Fact: Like everyone else, people with mental illnesses are
individuals. Career potential depends on a person's particular
talents, abilities, intelligence, experience and motivation as well as
his/her current state of physical and mental health.
Why Stigma Still Exists
Unfortunately, the media are responsible for many of the attitudes
and misconceptions we hold regarding people with mental illnesses. As
a society we are bombarded with images of people with mental illnesses
as being homicidal madmen, women with 16 personalities, or homeless
people talking to themselves.
Newspapers, in particular, often stress
a history of mental illness in the backgrounds of people who commit
crimes of violence. Television news programs frequently sensationalize
crimes where persons with mental illness are involved. Comedians make
fun of people with mental illnesses, using their disabilities as a
source of humor. Furthermore, national advertisers present
stigmatizing images as promotional gimmicks to sell products.
Ironically, the media also offer the
best hope for eradicating stigma because of their power to educate and
influence public opinion. Objectively, the media have a responsibility
to provide a broader perspective on people with mental illnesses.
How You Can Help:
- Be positive and helpful. Respond to
people who have a mental illness as individuals. Learn about the
person and deal with them on the basis of your knowledge, not your
assumptions.
- Do what you can to help people with
a mental illness reenter society. Support their efforts to obtain
housing and jobs.
- Don't let false statements about
mental illness or people with mental illnesses go unchallenged. Many
people have wrong and damaging ideas on the subject, but honestly
believe that their views are accurate. Correct information may help
them change both their ideas and actions.
- Spread the word. Tell others what
you have learned. Help give people recovering from a mental illness
what they need most, a chance.
Source: National Mental Health
Association
