What Exactly is a Mental Illness

A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behaviour, energy or emotion, making it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Research is starting to uncover the complicated causes of these diseases, including genetics, brain chemistry, brain structure, experiencing trauma and/or having another medical condition, like heart disease.

The two most common mental health conditions are:

Anxiety Disorders – More than 18% of adults each year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (panic attacks), generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobias.
Mood Disorders – Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar depression, affect nearly 10% of adults yearly and are characterized by difficulties regulating one’s mood.

What You Can Do to Help

Although the general perception of mental illness has improved over the past decades, studies show that stigma against mental illness is still powerful, largely due to media stereotypes and lack of education, and that people tend to attach negative stigmas to mental health conditions at a far higher rate than to other diseases and disabilities, such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Stigma affects the number of seeking treatment and the resources available for proper treatment. Stigma and misinformation can feel like overwhelming obstacles for someone struggling with a mental health condition.

Here are a few powerful things you can do to help:

• Showing individuals respect and acceptance removes a significant barrier to coping with their illness. People seeing you as an individual and not as your illness can make the biggest difference for someone struggling with their mental health.
• Advocating within our circles of influence helps ensure these individuals have the same rights and opportunities as other members of your church, school and community.
• Learning more about mental health allows us to provide helpful support to those affected in our families and communities.