Mental Illness

How common is mental illness? Millions of people have it. Mental illness is a disease, just as arthritis and asthma are. You didn't do anything to cause your illness, and it's not your fault that you have it. There are many forms of mental illness, including serious conditions such as bipolar disorder, bipolar mania, and schizophrenia, which are discussed below.

Special chemicals in your brain (called neurotransmitters) move messages from one nerve cell to the next. Messages are thoughts, feelings, and perceptions (things you see and hear). When brain chemicals get out of balance, these messages can become jumbled. As a result, the final message you get may not make any sense. So you may feel confused or nervous or afraid.

How Do I Know If I Am Ill?

Mental illness has many faces, ranging from occasional episodes of depression to severe, chronic conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Unlike broken bones that can be seen by an x-ray, the form of mental illness someone has can be hard to diagnose. It can also be hard to know how severe their condition might be.

It is important to talk to a healthcare professional if you believe that you or a loved one may be suffering from a mental illness. In order to determine if you are ill, a doctor might ask you many questions, such as these:

• Do you have difficulty sleeping, either too much or too little?
• Have you been sad or depressed for a long period of time?
• Have your relationships with loved ones changed?
• Do you ever do things without knowing why you did them?
• Do you ever hear or see things that other people do not?
• Have you ever thought of suicide?
• Do you get nervous or angry easily?
• Are you often anxious or afraid?
• Do you drink a lot of alcohol or take street drugs?

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