The facts about mental illness
The hard part for many people, including me, was telling family, friends, and other loved ones about the diagnosis, given the stigma and ignorance in regards to mental illness. It's important that you take the disclosure process seriously, and protect yourself. The good news is you have control over who you tell. The following advice will also help you if you're the caregiver, partner, parent, or friend of someone with a mental illness.
Telling people is a very personal decision. Mental illness is all around us; in fact, if you entered a room of 40 people, it's likely about eight people in the room would have a mental illness serious enough to require professional help. The silence helps maintain the ignorance about mental illness. But that doesn't mean that it is beneficial for you to open up indiscriminately about your mental health. As an advocate I could say that it would be wonderful if everybody came out. But it is a very subjective decision and you have to consider the consequences.
Disclosure doesn't have to be all or nothing. Weigh the risks and benefits involved with telling certain people. Not everyone in the world needs to know if you struggle with diabetes or hypertension or some other illness. The same is true for mental illness. You're in charge, and should think about what the payoff is if you share information about your mental health.
Everyone is an individual and will deal with mental illness in their own ways. However, I hope that the following information arms you with the power to tackle ignorance, prejudice and fear.
Facts
- One in four people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime.
- 'Mental illness' is a general term that refers to a group of illnesses, in the same way that heart disease refers to a group of illnesses affecting the heart.
- Episodes of a mental illness can come and go in periods through people’s lives.
- Some people experience their illness only once and fully recover. For others, it recurs throughout their lives.
- Most mental illnesses can be effectively treated.
Though we know that many mental illnesses are caused by a physical dysfunction of the brain, we do not know exactly what triggers this.
- Stress may trigger some mental illnesses or may prolong episodes.
- Stress can also result when a person develops a mental illness.
People who have a mental illness often suffer a great deal. They can be disturbed and frightened by their illness.
Not only do they and their families have to cope with an illness that can radically alter their lives, they often experience rejection and discrimination.
- People with a mental illness need the same understanding and support given to people with a physical illness. A mental illness is not different - it is not an illness for which anyone should be blamed.
- It is rarely possible for someone with a mental illness to make the symptoms go away just by strength of will. To suggest this is not helpful in any way.
Mental illnesses can be separated into two main categories: psychotic and non-psychotic.
Psychotic illnesses
A psychosis is a condition caused by any one of a group of illnesses that are known, or thought, to affect the brain causing changes in thinking, emotion and behaviour. People experiencing an acute stage of a psychotic illness may lose touch with reality. Their ability to make sense of thoughts, feelings and external information is seriously affected, and they may become very frightened. Psychotic illnesses include schizophrenia and some types of depression. During an episode of these disorders, people perceive their world differently from normal. During an episode, what they see, hear and feel is real to them, but people around them do not share their experiences.
People with psychoses might develop delusions (false beliefs of persecution, guilt or grandeur) or they may Experience hallucinations where they see, hear, smell, taste or feel things which are not there. They may be depressed or elated out of all proportion to their life circumstances. To those around them, these episodes can be threatening and perplexing. People who are not familiar with this behaviour may find it difficult to understand the fear and confusion with which people with these conditions live. Effective medication and support from medical health professionals and counsellors mean that most people who experience a psychotic illness are able to live productive and rewarding lives.
Non-psychotic illnesses
Everyone has experienced strong feelings of depression, sadness, tension or fear. Some people’s feelings can become so disturbing and overwhelming that they have difficulty coping with day-to-day activities such as going to work, enjoying leisure time and maintaining relationships. These states describe a group of mental illnesses that are called non psychotic illnesses. They are a common experience for many people and include phobias, anxiety, some forms of depression, eating disorders, physical symptoms involving tiredness or pain, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Though the symptoms of these disorders are often not evident to others, they cause considerable personal distress. Most non-psychotic illnesses can be effectively treated, usually with a combination of medication and therapy, which help the person understand their illness, manage their symptoms, and lead satisfying lives.
More facts to think about:
- 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.
- 1 in 6 people will have depression at some point in their life. Depression is most common in people aged 25-44 years.
- 1 in 10 people are likely to have a 'disabling anxiety disorder' at some stage in their life. For manic depression and schizophrenia this figure is 1 in 100.
- 20 per cent of women and 14 per cent of men in England have some form of mental illness.
- 18 per cent of women have a 'neurotic disorder' such as anxiety, depression, phobias and panic attacks, compared with 11 per cent of men.
- Men are three times more likely than women to have alcohol dependence and twice as likely to be dependent on drugs.
- 15 per cent of pre-school children will have mild mental health problems and 7 per cent will have severe mental health problems.
- 6 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls aged 16-19 are thought to have some form of mental health problem.
