Mental or emotional illness: What is it?

People with mental or emotional illnesses can include anyone you work with, from the janitor to the president of the corporation; or our friends, teachers, parents or children. The difficulties they face range from minor disturbances caused temporary stress, to a severe chronic condition.

Facts

Mental/emotional illness is not a choice.
Mental/emotional illness is our nation's leading medical problem, more widespread than cancer, lung, and heart disease combined.
One in five -- about 48 million -- adult Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental or emotional disorder.
Over 23 million Americans will get mental health treatment this year.
An estimated 15 to 25 percent of the population will experience at least one episode of severe depression during their lives.
Mental illness can kill. Suicide is a leading cause of death in Minnesota.
10 to 14 year-olds: 3rd leading cause
15 to 34 year-olds: 2nd leading cause
35 to 49 year-olds: 4th leading cause

Definitions

Most mental illnesses have definite causes and require care and treatment. Research points to genetic, biochemical, neurological, psychological and environmental causes. Physical trauma, acute stress or drug abuse may also bring on the illness. With the appropriate care and treatment, improvement and/or recovery can happen.

Depression is persistent unhappiness with decreased energy, loss of appetite, changes in sleep patterns, withdrawal and suicidal thoughts.

Anxiety is fearfulness or uneasiness that arise from anticipation of danger. The anxiety may be focused on a certain thing or situation (phobias), may be generalized, or may also be experienced in periods of sudden onset and accompanied by physical symptoms (panic attacks).

Psychotic means that the person has lost touch with reality. Psychosis usually shows up in three forms:

Hallucinations: hearing voices, seeing or feeling things that aren't there
Delusions: a false belief that cannot be corrected by reason
Disordered thinking: a lack of logical continuity, resulting in disorganized and fragmented expression of thoughts

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder characterized by a loss of touch with reality, disordering of thought processes, delusions, hallucinations and an inability to think straight.

Manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, causes a person's mood to alternate between being very energetic, euphoric, exaggerated and/or irritable to being very depressed, and occasionally psychotic.

Early symptoms

If someone you care about has these symptoms, make sure he or she finds the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Remember, the earlier someone gets help, the better. Losing control of one's life, thoughts, or behavior is a terrifying ordeal that requires help from others to regain control.

depression
excessive sleeping or an inability to sleep for extended periods of time
social withdrawal and isolation
shift to unusual behavior; basic personality change
deterioration of social relationships
inability to concentrate or cope with minor problems
extreme preoccupation with religion, the occult, or sexual issues
hostility from someone who is usually passive and compliant
dropping out of activities
decline in school or athletic performance
forgetfulness and losing things
deterioration and abandonment of personal hygiene
excessive writing or printing without apparent meaning
inappropriate laughter
inability to express feelings, especially joy
flat, unchanging facial expressions
bizarre behavior or irrational statements
cutting or scratching oneself