9 Fascinating Facts About Mental Illness Disorders

There are so many myths out there about how mental illness is caused.  There are just as many  plain out lies about mental illness that are just not true.  You may have heard all kinds of misconceptions about people who have a mental illness,  things like they are violent, or all people with  schizophrenia are violent maniacs who kill and molest children.  

 Or they are just lazy, and if they tried harder they could just get over it. These misconceptions, are just that, misconceptions. This is what stigmatizes people with a real mental illness. This kind of thinking is what keeps people with mental disorders in the closet. Hiding from treatment, fear of being made fun of. Fear of being called crazy.

Mental illness can be caused by many factors. Heredity is one factor. Often times it is inherited from a parent.  Trauma plays a huge role in mental illness, losing a job, divorce,  a death of loved one,  deteriorating health,  financial woes, all of these can add stress and trigger emotional problems and start an ongoing mental illness such as depression, and anxiety disorders.

 1.  Psychiatric disorders are genuine medical illnesses in and of the brain. There is a biological and genetic cause for psychiatric disorders. Do not let anyone tell you different,  or that it's your fault. 

It is not your fault.  It is not like getting cootie's. Mental Illness not contagious. You did not wake up one day and ask for a mental illness. Some causes of mental illness disorders listed below.

• Birth Trauma
• Chemical imbalances in the brain
• Biological, environmental, social and cultural factors.

These psychiatric disorders can to be treated with the proper medications. Therapy is also a recommended option. Some people do get a lot out of therapy. Others go their whole life and accomplish very little. You get what you put into it.

You're always going to be mentally ill,  so get it,  accept it,  and go with it.  It isn't always going to be a pleasant little ride.  The medications suck,  you have the blood draws that hurt,  you might gain weight from medications,  other side affects that drive you crazy.  But eventually you find some middle ground.  And live a half way decent life.  If you work at it.

2.  You may have the impression that people with mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia are violent and unpredictable.  When in fact most people with mental illnesses are much more likely to be the victim of a crime.   Believe me when I tell you this is 100% true. Crazy people get picked on just for looking crazy.

I have seen it way to often.  I have had my share of getting bullied just for walking  out of a "crazy" clinic.  People are not nice.  But they want you to believe WE are the ones who are violent and committing all the crimes.  When that is just not the case.  Crimes are committed everyday by your regular garden variety normal person.  But we are still crazy. And they are still normal.

There is a small portion of mentally ill people who is a risk to society and need to be imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital.  This cannot be denied.  They are the ones who kill their children or ones who kill celebrities,  or go off on a killing spree.  They needed help long before they became celebrities in the news.  They did not get the help they needed.  We should not be judged by what they do.

3.  You cannot make  mental illness go away.  As much as I and thousands of others have tried to make it disappear it is not going anywhere.  Most people with a mental illness recovers well and are able to lead almost fulfilling lives in their community,  when they receive appropriate ongoing treatment and support.

It all depends on the treatment plan you set forth for yourself.  How well you work together with your psychiatrist,  therapist,  and if you take your medications, and how well you balance the rest of your life. 

There are treatment services and community based support systems available.  It is just a matter of finding them and integrating them into your life. There is no reason a person with a mental illness should go without treatment. There are local and national services available to help those who need it. Follow the links for more information.

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/

http://www.nami.org/

http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home

4.  Mental Illness is not caused by bad parenting.  I am sure from people looking through their little magnifying glass they will make some judgments on how Paget got herself all googly eyed.  Mother wasn't paying attention,  Daddy was a rip roaring bad ass.  They were both drunks,  they were always locking her in the broom closet.  Now that might cause bad behavior,  but it doesn't make Paget a true blue mentally ill patient.

I am sure there are folks who will argue differently.  But Paget has a lot of problems and not just because her parents were abusive schmucks.  Slapping Paget with a coat hanger did not make a genetic imbalance.  It made her hate coat hangers. Calling Paget an ugly cow did not make her have manic depressive mood swings. Bipolar is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Causing moods to swing high to low.

5. Depression does not make you weak or lazy,  it is caused by chemical changes in the brain. That is NOT your fault.  With treatment you can live a very productive life if you so choose to. There have been many members of society who went on to have a successful career despite having a severe mental illness.  I am sure they were called a lot of names along the way too. Weak and lazy isn't as bad as stupid and ugly.

Check out these awesome people,  they supposedly have been touched by madness of some sort.  Besides I like being lazy sometimes.  Especially when I don't feel like doing anything.

• Isaac Newton-Physicist, philosopher
  
• Charles Dickens-English Novelist
  
• Patty Duke-American Actress
  
• Linda Hamilton-American Actress
  
• Patricia Cornwell-American Author
  
• Vincent Van Gogh-Dutch Painter
  
• Winston Churchill-British Politician

6.  Many people believe that schizophrenia is a split personality.  It most certainly is not.  It is an illness that affects people to not think clearly or logically.  There is often a significant loss of contact with reality.  You might see or hear things that do not exist,  you might speak in strange or confusing ways,  or believe that others are trying to harm you, or feel like you are being constantly watched.   Schizophrenia seems to be caused by a combination of problems including genetic vulnerability and environmental factors that occur during a person's development.

 Learm More about Schizophrenia  here

I lived with a young man who was afflicted with this illness. He was tormented his entire life.  He was a great artist as well.  Our bedroom was his canvas. Drawings of every imaginable creature, constant pacing,  talking,  screaming, voices kept him awake nearly always, until one day he took an overdose and his light, is now dark. He is sadly missed everyday.

7.  It is normal for the elderly to become depressed.  Unfortunately it often goes unrecognized because it is usually not reported.  The elderly are sometimes isolated,  so their depression is often overlooked.  Doctor's tend to ignore their mental complaints and concentrate on their physical ones.  Seniors are not liable to talk about their depression,  nor ask for help.

To learn more about elderly depression go here

8.  Children often develop mental illnesses.  One in ten children and teenagers are affected by a mental disorder.  It too gets ignored as regular teenage angst,  rebellion, and temper tantrums.  Children and teenagers have other ways at expressing their symptoms.  If you look hard enough you might get lucky and save your child from a lot of unnecessary misery.  A lot of these symptoms could be bad behavior,  so look closely. I mean your child could just be a huge brat. But better to be safe than sorry.

Common Symptoms of Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder

•Separation anxiety
•Explosive temper tantrums
•Marked irritability
•Frequent mood swings
•Distractingly
•Hyperactivity
•Impulsivity
•Fidgeting
•Silliness, goofiness
•Racing thoughts
•Aggressive behavior
•Carbohydrate cravings
•Lethargy
•Difficulty getting up in the morning
•Social anxiety
•Oversensitivity to emotional or environmental triggers

9.  And so,  we,  the ones with mental illnesses do get better,  with medications,  proper therapy and a positive treatment plan. We of course have  relapses,  because treatment is not a cure.  It is an ongoing condition that needs to be treated properly. Having a supportive family,  understanding supportive friends in our  network can  be helpful. Because sometimes we cannot do it alone. Reaching out and asking for help is one step forward to getting better.