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Mental illness

A mental illness ispsychiatric disorder that results indisruption inperson's thinking, feeling, moods,abilityrelateothers. Psychiatrists generally attribute mental illnessorganic/neurochemical causes that can be treatedpsychiatric medication, psychotherapy, lifestyle adjustmentsother supportive measures. Compare rational-emotive therapy.

Mental illnessdistinct fromlegal conceptinsanity.

Mental health, mental hygienemental wellnessall terms useddescribeabsencemental illness.

Advocacy organizations have been tryingchangecommon perceptionpsychiatric disorders assignpersonal weaknesssomethingbe ashamedto an affliction akinphysical diseases (likemeasles).

Tablecontents
1 Prevalenceand diagnosismental illness
2 Controversy overnaturemental illness
3 Categorizationmental illness
4 Symptomsmental illness
5 External links

Prevalenceand diagnosismental illness

According toPresident's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, major mental illness, including major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,obsessive-compulsive disorder, when comparedall other diseases (such as cancerheart disease), iscommonent causedisability inUnited States. AccordingNAMI (National Alliance forMentally Ill) an American advocacy organisation, twenty-three percentNorth American adults will suffer fromclinically diagnosable mental illness ingiven year, but less than halfthem will suffer symptoms severe enoughdisrupt their daily functioning. Approximately nine percent13 percentchildren underage18 experienceserious emotional disturbancesubstantial functional impairment,five percentnine percent haveserious emotional disturbanceextreme functional impairment due tomental illness. Manythese young people will recover from their illnesses before reaching adulthood,go onlead normal lives uncomplicated by illness.

The treatment success rate forfirst episodeschizophrenia60 percent, 65 percent70 percentmajor depression,80 percentbipolar disorder.

Atstart of20th century there were onlydozen recognized mental illnesses. By 1952 there were 192 andDSM-IV today lists 374. Depending on your perspective this could be seenbe

Controversy overnaturemental illness

The subjectprofoundly controversial, e.g. homosexuality has been considered such an "illness" from timetime,obviously this perception variescultural biastheoryconduct.

Itimportantnote thatexistencemental illness andlegitimacy ofpsychiatric professionnot universally accepted. Some professionals, notably Doctor Thomas Szasz, Professor EmeritusPsychiatry at Syracuse,profoundly opposed topracticelabelling "mental illness" as such. "Thereno suchas mental illness"not an uncommon statement at gatheringstherapists emphasizing patient careself-control, often decrying labels as suitable onlypill salesmen. This movement, known as anti-psychiatry argues againstbiological originmental disorders, or else suggests that all human experience hasbiological originso no patternbehavior can be classified as an illness per se.

Neurochemical studies have proven that theresystemic lackscertain neurotransmitters inbrainscertain individuals. Also, some structural differences between brainspeoplebehavioral differences can be detectedbrain scans. Some mental illnesses tendrunfamilies,there have also been strongly suggestive, but not conclusive, links between certain genesparticular mental disorders. Routine teststhese conditions are, however, not generally requiredprescriptiondrugs, andnot always employedlaw either. Itnot clear whether these differencesbrain chemistry arecause orresultmental disorders. Anti-psychiatrists argue that traumatic life experiences that exceed an individual's coping ability can resultlasting changesbrain chemistry. Patternslearned behavior can also alter brain chemistry,better orworse. Cognitive behavior therapy focuses on changing patternsthinking through learning, which may ultimately restore so-termed "healthy" brain chemistry.

Drug therapiessevere mental illnesses such as bipolar disorderclinical depression whichconsistentbiochemical models have been remarkably effective,therereportsincreasively effective treatmentsschizophrenia. Anti-psychiatrists, however, argue that drugs merely masksymptomsmental suffering by physically cripplingbrain's emotional response system. Studies have shown that many patient's symptoms return once drug treatmentceased.

Seearticles on anti-psychiatrycausesmental illness forfuller treatmentthese topics.

Categorizationmental illness

Many mental illnesses have been categorised into groups accordingtheir common symptoms, indiagnostic manual calledDSM-IV. Therethirteen different categories. Some categories containmyriadillnessessomeonlyfew:

Symptomsmental illness

In addition tocategorized illnesses, theremany well-defined symptomsmental illness such as paranoia thatnot regarded as illnessesthemselves, but only as indicatorsone ofillnesses belongingone ofclasses listed above.

See also:

External links


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