Mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thinking, perception and behavior.  If these disturbances significantly impair a person’s ability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines, then he or she should immediately seek proper treatment with a mental health professional.  With the proper care and treatment, a person can recover and resume normal activities.

Many mental illnesses are believed to have biological causes, just like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but some mental disorders are caused by a person’s environment and experiences.

Mental illness can strike anyone!  It knows no age, economic status, race, creed or color.  During the course of a year, more than 54 million Americans are affected by one or more mental disorders.

• About one in five adults (ages 18 and older) has a diagnosable mental disorder.
• Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
• Mental illnesses often appear for the first time during adolescence and young adulthood.  While they can occur at any age, the young and the old are especially vulnerable.
• Four of the 10 leading causes of disability (lost years of productive life) in the United States and other developed countries are mental disorders, which include major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Many persons suffer from more than one mental disorder at any given time.
• With proper care and treatment, between 70 and 90 percent of persons with mental illnesses experience a significant reduction of symptoms and an improved quality of life.
• More than two-thirds of Americans who have a mental illness live in the community and lead productive lives.

Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses.  The three main types are: phobias, panic disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders.  People who suffer from phobias experience extreme fear or dread from a particular object or situation.  Panic disorders involve sudden, intense feelings of terror for no apparent reason and symptoms similar to a heart attack.  People with obsessive-compulsive disorder try to cope with anxiety by repeating words or phrases or engaging in repetitive, ritualistic behavior such as constant hand washing.

Mood Disorders
Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder (or manic depression).  Symptoms may include mood swings such as extreme sadness or elation, sleep and eating disturbances and changes in activity and energy levels.  Suicide may be a risk with these disorders.

Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and acts.  Schizophrenia is believed to be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain that produce a variety of symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, withdrawal, incoherent speech and impaired reasoning.

Dementias
This group of disorders includes diseases like Alzheimer’s which leads to loss of mental functions, for example memory loss and a decline in intellectual and physical skills.

Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.  People with these disorders have a preoccupation with food and an irrational fear of being fat.  Anorexia is self-starvation while bulimia involves cycles of bingeing (consuming large quantities of food) and purging (self-induced vomiting or abusing laxatives).  Behavior may also include excessive exercise.