Writer’s Quick Guide: Mental Illnesses
NOTE: This post is meant to be a quick and basic guide to different mental illnesses, and therefore probably does not contain enough information to write a good, in-depth character/story or paper. Always do as much research as possible to whatever you’re writing!
What is a mental illness?
A mental illness (also called a mental disorder) acts in a wide range of conditions which constantly affects the way one feels, behaves, thinks, and acts.
What causes mental illness?
While the exact cause of mental illness has yet to be discovered, researchers are discovering that such conditions are often cause of biological, and psychological factors:
Genetic:
Researchers are discovering that in many cases, mental disorders are genetic, and are often passed down from parents or grandparents to their children through genes. In a lot of cases, mental illnesses are simply based off how their genetic code is built. However just because someone in your family has suffered from a mental illness, doesn’t mean that you will as well.
Biological:
Many mental illnesses such as depression are caused by an abnormal amount (too little or too much) of a brain chemical known as neurotransmitters. The purpose of these neurotransmitters is to help brain cells communicate with each other, so if chemicals are ‘not working properly’, messages cannot be correctly sent through the brain, leading to symptoms of mental illness.
Psychological Trauma:
Probably the most commonly-displayed cause of mental illness throughout fiction and pop culture, psychological trauma (especially experienced as a child) such as neglect, severe physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or a significant loss, such as the death of a parent or friend.
Who suffers from mental illnesses?
According to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), here are the facts and numbers of mental illness:
Approximately 18.6% of adults in the U.S (1 in 5) experience a mental disorder every year
Approximately 4.1% of adults in the U.S (1 in 25) experience a mental disorder which substantially interferes with one or more major life activities
Approximately 21.4% of adolescents aged 13-18 in the U.S (1 in 5) will experience a severe mental disorder at some point in their life.
1.1% of adults in the U.S live with schizophrenia
2.6% of adults in the U.S live with bipolar disorder
16 million adults in the U.S have experienced a major depressive episode in the past year
18.1 percent of adults in the U.S have experienced some sort of anxiety disorder
Approximately 26% of homeless people live with a mental disorder, while 46% live with a severe mental disorder.
Approximately 20% of state prisoners in the U.S suffer with a mental illness
Anxiety Disorder:
Anxiety disorder ranges in a wide variety of types and severety, including generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorders, amongst others. Sufferers from anxiety disorders experience a wide variety of symptoms including irrational or unusually intense feelings of panic, fear, and/or unneasiness in certain situations People with this illness often experience insomnia or trouble sleeing, panic attacks, and an inability to remain calm or still.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity Disorder:
(ADHD) referred to as ADD (attention deficit disorder) by some doctors, is a condition which widely ranges in severety. People diagnosed with this disorder display sympotms such as fidgeting a lot and having difficulty sitting still and paying attention. People diagnosed with this disorder are often seen as ‘annoying’or ‘obnoxious’, often talk too loudly, or have a difficult time contolling their emotions, while the reality is that their behavior is very complusive. This disorder is usually diagnosed between the ages of 6 and 12.
Autism:
Autism is a term and disorder used to describe a wide variety of complex brain development. These disorders are characterized in a wide range of severey in social interaction, verbal (and nonverbal) communication, and motor coordination. While the most obbvious signs of autism usually begin to emerge between 2-3 years old, studies suggest it begins in the very early stages of brain and mental development. Autism is a very common, and very complex disorder, ranging from above average intellectual skills, while others are too disabled to live independantly.
Bipolar Disorder:
Also known as manic-depressive illness, this mental illness is one which causes the person diagnosed to experience frequent and unusual changes in mood, productivity, activity levels, and the ability to completely simple, every-day tasks. Recent studies have shown that bipolar disorder tends to run in families, but can be managed with medication. People with this disorder will experience what is often called ‘mood episodes’, where the sufferer will go through an unusually sudden and intense shift in emotion than their usual or recent feelings.
Dementia:
Dementia, rather than a specific disease or illness, is actually more of an umbrella term that describes a decline in mental stability or function, that has become severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most commonly seen and commonly used example of dementia.
Major Depression:
Major depression is a type of “clinical depression”, caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. People diagnosed with major depression suffers with feeling depressed, lost, or anxious for most of the day, and often experience a sense of fatigue and loss of energy. Common symptoms include insomnia or hyersomnia, constantly feelings of guilt, lonliness, and worthlesness, and constant thoughts of suicide and feeling as though they might be better off dead.
Obsessive Complusive Disorder (OCD):
OCD is a term that describes excessive thoughts which lead to repetitive behaviors. People suffering from OCD can be obsessive about many different things such as dirt and germs, which cause them to clean and wash their hands obsessively. They will do these things again and again compulsively to relieve the anxiety it is causing them, even though the disorder is very stressful dehabilitating for many people who have it.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
PTSD is triggered by either experiencing or witnessing horrifing events or images. Sufferers will often experience many symptoms such as experiencing uncontrollable thoughts about the triggering event, nightmares and flashbacks about the events, and severe anxiety, as well as extreme emotional distress and a clearly physical reaction when the disorder is triggered or the sufferer sees or experiences something which reminds them of the event.
Schizophrenia:
This complicated mental illness caused by an imbalance or abnormal amount of neurotransmitters. This illness is most notable for the fact that it causes sufferers to experience or interpret reality incorrectly or abnormally. This is a chronic, and very severe and disabaling disorder, which comes in a variety of severety and symptoms. Common symptoms include hallucinations, in which one or more of the bodie’s sense experiences something that isn’t really there, such as feeling phantom fingers brush across the skin, and hearing voices amongst others. They may also suffer from delusions and constant anxiety, as well as movement disorders, where they may repeat a movement again and again without realizing they’re doing it, or become catatonic where the sufferer will remain completely still and unresponsive for long periods of time.
