MENTAL ILLNESS
Mental
illnesses are medical diseases of the brain, and are treatable just as
heart disease or lung disease. Mental illness refers to a group of disorders
causing severe disturbances in thinking, feeling, and relating. They result
in a substantially diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands
of life. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age -- children, adolescents,
adults, and the elderly -- and they can occur in any family. Several million
people in the U. S. suffer from a serious, long term mental illness.
The cost to society is high due to lost productivity and treatment expense.Mental
illness is not the same as mental retardation. The mentally retarded have
a diminished intellectual capacity usually present since birth. Those with
mental illnesses are usually of normal intelligence although they may have
difficulty performing at a normal level due to their illness.
A mental
illness is not caused by bad parenting and is not a character weakness
or flaw. These illnesses are due to biochemical disturbances in the brain
-- they are neurobiological disorders.
A.Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is one of the most serious and disabling of the mental illnesses. It affects approximately one person in a hundred, men and women about equally. The onset is usually in the late teens or early twenties. People with this brain disorder usually have several of the following symptoms:disconnected, confusing language poor reasoning, memory, judgment high levels of anxiety eating and sleeping disorders hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not externally real) delusions (persistent false beliefs, contrary to facts or without evidence) deterioration of appearance and personal hygiene ioss of motivation, poor concentration tendencies to withdraw from others.
B.Affective Disorders
Affective
disorders are the most common psychiatric illnesses.They are also called
mood disorders. Many cases go
unrecognized
and untreated. The disorder may be Bipolar (manic depressive) in which
a person swings between extreme high and low moods, or it may be Unipolar
in which a person suffers from persistent severe depression. Without proper
medical treatment, such persons experience repeated or continuous periods
of illness and perhaps hospitalization. About six percent of the population
suffers from an affective disorder.These disorders are a major cause of
suicide.Persons diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder cycle between manic
and depressive phases, and usually have several of the following characteristics
during a manic phase:boundless energy, enthusiasm, and need for activity
decreased need for sleep, grandiose ideas and poor judgment, rapid, loud
disorganized speech short temper and argumentative, impulsive and
erratic behavior possible delusional thinking.
Since
the causes of long term mental illnesses are not known,there is no effective
prevention nor cure at this time. Moreresearch is needed to determine causes
and strategies for prevention. However, adequate care and proper treatment,
including medication, can substantially improve the functioning of persons
suffering from these
disabling
illnesses.