A term generally referred to as mental illness is used to describe a diseases or condition affecting the brain which affects the way a person thinks, behaves, feels and his/her relation to others and surroundings. A person suffering from this condition would often be unable to cope with life’s daily routines and demands.

Mental illness covers a wide scope of generic label for different types of emotional or cognitive dysfunction. Illnesses falling within this category include schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety, to name a few. Current opinion in psychology traces its origin as either psychological or biological in nature. Biological causes points to the anatomical, chemical or genetic makeup of a person as the mental-illness-causing factor. Trauma or severe conflict could bring or contribute to psychological dysfunction.

Other terms used interchangeably for mental illness are: “mental disorder”, “psychiatric or psychological disorder”, “and behavior problem”, “emotional problem”, “abnormal psychology”. But “insanity” is the most commonly used term for mental illness, and it is also the term used for legal purposes.

The subject of mental illness was usually surrounded with mystery and fear in the past. However, present day understanding and even the ability to offer effective treatments to patients suffering from this disorder, have tremendously progressed. And yet, lack of information or disinformation regarding the illness had stood in the way of individuals needing this kind of help.

Mental illness is a common occurrence, and much more the milder conditions. The American Psychiatric Association has stated that: “one fifth of Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder during any given year. One fifth of school-age children are also affected by these conditions. Severe and persistent mental illness is less common, but still afflicts 3 percent of the population” (See “Let’s Talk Facts About What is Mental Illness?”).

Despite high prevalence of mental illness, about only half of people with mental illness seek professional help. Mental illness may be perceived as less real compared to physical illness, leading to less support in the part of policy makers and insurance companies to pay for treatment. Parents too, may receive blame for causing mental illness in their children. A more common public reaction to people with mental illness is to shun them, live as far as possible from them, or avoid working and socializing with them. All these factors combined do not help the person with mental illness; thereby much is desired in alleviating this problem which permeates all levels of society.

Mental illness does not occur in isolation. It is common to all countries and its effects are felt everywhere. It is estimated that even in established market economies, mental illness ranks towards the burden of disease and by 2020, it is predicted that depression will be the second highest contributor to the disease burden globally. The possibility of developing some illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, only increases with age. A person, who doesn’t suffer any mental illness now, may suffer it in the future.

What then is a mentally healthy person? A person who has mental health simply means he or she does not have any mental illness. The person is able to cope with the ordinary and extraordinary relationship that comes along his path. It is has been said that mental health is the invisible man of health problems. Mental health is as important as physical health for a person’s well being (See “Mental Health”).

The occurrence of mental illness can be caused by different factors or a combination of these several factors. Different explanations are offered by different schools of thought, such as biological, psychological or social explanations for causing mental illness. Current theories however, have mostly acknowledged that all three contribute in varying amounts to a person’s mental ill-health. Many psychiatric diseases can be classified as syndromes, or the association of several clinically recognizable features that do not always have a single cause.

The currently most popular explanation for mental illness is biological explanations. It believes that a person suffering from mental illness may exhibit a difference in brain structure or function or in neurochemistry, either through genetic or environmental vulnerabilities. Research findings for example, have shown that people with schizophrenia have enlarged ventricles and reduced gray matter in the brain. In addition, other studies have also found that imbalance in neurotransmitters could also play a factor in causing mental illness. Studies have focused on the neurotransmitters dopamine, nor epinephrine, and serotonin. If these chemicals are out of balance or may not be working properly, messages sent to the brain may not be sent correctly leading to symptoms of mental illness.

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