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Some illnesses are transient, but mental health disorders are often longer-lasting and complex. They can affect one's daily life and relationships, so it becomes important to be informed about certain realities while living with a mental illness.
How much you understand about your mental health disorder can impact how it affects your daily life and relationships. Even when you don't have a mental illness, knowing some facts can help improve your relationships with people that live with it.
To help you achieve a higher quality of life, here are crucial things you must know about mental illness.
Mental health disorders are just as common as other physical conditions like cancer and diabetes. Statistics show that about one in five American adults yearly experiences a mental health issue. Suicide, a leading cause of death in the US, is attributed to mental illness.
It would help if you didn't consider your mental health challenges as a personal weakness. No, they're more about how your genes and brain are wired. Your personal experience, such as trauma, may also influence your mental health. But it's never because you're weak.
Many mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are passed through genes. A brain malfunction, possibly during development, may also affect one's intelligence and thinking patterns.
Whether you're mentally ill or know someone who is, knowing this can go a long way to avoid discrimination.
While one person may experience only a few symptoms of depression, another may experience many others. Each person may be affected differently based on their personality and unique nature.
But it is still depression, and getting treatment regardless of severity is crucial to maintaining a high quality of life.
About one in five American adults experience one mental health challenge or the other.
One in six young people experiences major depression at some point.
One in 20 Americans lives with a severe mental illness, such as major depression and schizophrenia.
Even though it is never 10 in 10 people, mental illness affects everyone in the long run. It may be your relative, friend, or partner battling the condition. A loved one may also die from suicide due to severe depression. Consequently, it affects you indirectly.
Unfortunately, children also live with mental health issues. Schizophrenia, ADHD, and bipolar disorder are some mental illnesses that begin from childhood. Half of all mental problems shoe first signs before the individual turns 14.
If you notice your child exhibiting any warning signs of mental illness, the best you can do is get help immediately.
A general misconception is that people with mental health challenges tend to be violent. But the truth is, they are not more likely to be violent than anyone else. Only 3%-5% of violence is associated with people with a severe mental health disorder. In contrast, mentally ill individuals are ten times more likely to be victims of violence.
It would be best not to treat people with mental illnesses like outcasts. Avoid calling them debilitating names, and do your best to show inclusion, knowing their condition was never their fault.
Even though you don't personally know anyone living with a mental illness, you can help fight the stigma by spreading the truth about the condition just like people do with breast cancer.
Mental illness can severely impair one's quality of life and relationships. Even though you're not the one with depression or substance abuse, you can help that person find help.
The truth is, people living with mental illness are often shy to come out and get help. Treatment can be through medication, therapy, or counseling. But the first step is to step out and contact a mental health care provider.
