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Mental Illness: An Overview
 Mental illnesses are medical conditions that can
disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to
relate to others and daily functioning.
 Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental
illnesses are brain-based conditions that often result
in a variety of symptoms that can affect daily life.
Overview of Mental Illness
 Mental illnesses include depression, schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety,
borderline personality disorder and others.
 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-5) is the standard classification of mental disorders
used by mental health professionals in the United
States.
Prevalence
 One in four adults—approximately 60 million
Americans— experiences a mental health disorder in a
given year. One in 17 lives with a serious mental illness
such as schizophrenia, depression or bipolar disorder
and about one in 10 children lives with a serious mental
or emotional disorder.
 Mental illness usually strike individuals in the prime of
their lives, often during adolescence and young
adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and
the old are especially vulnerable.
What is Stigma?
 Three out of four people with a mental
illness report that they have experienced
stigma. Stigma is a mark of disgrace that
sets a person apart.
 When a person is labelled by their illness
they are seen as part of a stereotyped
group. Negative attitudes create prejudice
which leads to negative actions and
discrimination.
Stigma brings harmful experiences
and feelings:
 Reluctance to seek help or treatment
 Lack of understanding by family, friends, co-workers or
others you know
 Fewer opportunities for work, school or social activities or
trouble finding housing
 Bullying, physical violence or harassment
 Health insurance that doesn't adequately cover your
mental illness treatment
 The belief that you'll never be able to succeed at certain
challenges or that you can't improve your situation
Treatment Methods
 Early identification and treatment is of vital
importance; By ensuring access to the
treatment and recovery supports that are
proven effective, recovery is accelerated and
the further harm related to the course of
illness is minimized.
Treatment
 Services to optimize recovery usually include some
combination of psychosocial supports (e.g. family
involvement, work or school support, psychotherapy
and self-management strategies) and medications (to
reduce symptom intensity).
 Unfortunately, fewer than one-third of adults and
one-half of children with diagnosed mental health
disorders receive treatment every year.
Highly Treatable
 The best treatments for serious mental
illnesses today are highly effective; between
70 and 90 percent of individuals have
significant reduction of symptoms and
improved quality of life with a combination of
pharmacological and psychosocial treatments
and supports.