What is Mental Illness?

A recent conversation with another survivor inspired me to write a post related to mental illness.  If you have been a subscriber to our blog since the beginning, you know that I have a strong passion for ending the stigma of mental illness.  I think that there are a number of contributing factors related to the increasing suicide rates we see in the world today; the stigma of mental illness is one of them.  So what is mental illness?

What do you think about when somebody says, “mental illness?”  When I ask people this question, I often get a  similar response.  Usually the person describes someone who has been diagnosed with a chronic mental illness such as Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder.  People who haven’t experienced mental illness personally usually have this image of someone similar to what you see in the movies or on network television shows, like Criminal Minds.  Yes, chronic mental disorders such as Schizophrenia are in fact, mental illness.  And as someone who has worked closely with individuals who have suffered from an illness such as this, I will tell you it is awful.  It is an everyday battle, worse than you can imagine.  But, there is this other type of mental illness, one that is rarely talked about in everyday life.  I am referring to anxiety and depression.  Two mental illnesses, yes these are mental illnesses, that are rarely the topic of discussion in everyday conversation in our society.  Let me give you some statistics…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1 in 10 adults (age 18 or older) in the United States report depression.  That comes out to a little over 31 million adults.  Keep in mind this does not consider those who may feel too ashamed to report symptoms of depression.  It gets even worse.  According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, affecting 40 million adults in the United States.  This comes out to 18% of the population.  It continues to amaze me that so many people are affected by these two disorders, yet it is still not a topic of conversation.

So, here is what prompted this blog post.  My friend who happens to be another survivor talked to me about her fear that her father’s mental illness will be passed along to her.  Like many others, her father had not been formally diagnosed with a disorder, especially not a chronic mental illness like I discussed above.  So, I asked her what exactly she was afraid of inheriting.  Here is the thing about mental illness; it isn’t necessarily a life sentence.  I truly believe that we all at some point in our lives are impacted by mental illness.  I will use myself as an example.  When I was 16, I was involved in a near fatal car accident.  Shortly after, I was diagnosed with PTSD and treated accordingly.  At 31, I would say that I no longer have PTSD, but I did in fact have this mental illness at a time in my life.  After the birth of my daughter, I believe I battled some form of postparatum depression and anxiety.  I wasn’t formally diagnosed exactly, but I know myself well enough to know when something isn’t right.  I talked about it openly and was able to get past it, and would say that today I no longer have symptoms associated with this disorder.  So, if we look at my life thus far, I would say that I have already experienced my own mental illness.  And that doesn’t even take into account depressive symptoms I have had throughout the years.  Here is my point.  Mental illness is common.  It may not impact everyone, but I can guarantee it impacts someone you know.

I provide these statistics, and disclose my own personal information for one reason; to further prove that we need to talk about how we are feeling.  As a society we need to accept that sadness and fear are normal emotions.  These emotions do not make us weak; they make us human.  People need to feel like they can openly share how they are feeling without judgment, in order to obtain the help that they need.  I truly believe that this will help decrease the increasing suicide rates we continue to see.

Statements such as, “Just get over it” or “It could be worse” do not validate a person’s feelings.  They make it seem like what they are feeling is wrong.  Our lack of understanding about mental illness alienates the person who so desperately wants to ask for help.  It doesn’t give a hopeless person hope, it takes what is left away.  Changing human perception is not easy, and often takes time; but it can be done.  I challenge everyone who reads this to try and validate someone who may reach out for help.  Listen to the person talking about something that may seem minuscule to you, but is important to them.  If someone tells you about something difficult they are going through, listen to them, don’t quickly tell them how much worse it could be.  If a man shows emotion, or breaks down in tears, do not belittle him or make him feel weak for feeling.  If a new mother cries about her exhaustion or verbalizes the emotions she is feeling as a result of her new role, listen to her.  We all know that life can be worse, but when you are going through something difficult, this is the “worse” that others talk about.  As a society we encourage people to talk and reach out for help when they need it.  But what we also need to do, is listen.

Related posts:

The Power of the Stigma of Mental Illness Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness Recognizing Mental Illness Awareness Week 2013 with NØSTIGMAS The Importance of the Semicolon Tattoo