Mental Illness Essay

Mental illnesses

There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
Most people with an illness can return to living normal, productive lives after receiving the appropriate treatment. Sometimes mental illnesses can be referred to as mental disorders or psychiatric illnesses. But those terms are mainly used by the professionals. There are also the terms neurosis and psychosis. Those words can be used to describe the severity of the illness. The term Neurosis is a mild disorder that causes distress but doesn’t interfere with a person’s everyday activities. The term Psych...

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...If a person has personality disorder, parts of their personality makes it hard for them to live with themselves or other people. They often feel unhappy or distressed and find that other people upset them or they try to harm other people. About one in ten people have a personality disorder but many will not be severe. There are treatments but they usually are not effective because they are usually so complicated.
I have really enjoyed doing the research for this project. Mental illnesses are something that I have been really fascinated in, and by writing about several of these illnesses I have learned quite a bit. I never realized that some of these mental illnesses could be so similar yet affect their lives so differently. Many people could not live a happy life if it was not for the help of their loved ones, and the doctors that make their treatments available.