What is mental illness?
When someone is mentally ill, there is a problem with how their brain works.
They cannot just use will power to get better. It is not like smoking or losing weight. Mental illness is a medical disorder, and has nothing to do with intelligence or personality.
Getting the right treatment is the most important thing. With the right medicines and professional help, many people with mental illness can manage their symptoms. They can still have a good quality of life.
The term “mental illness” includes many different types of mental disorders. Mental disorders can affect people in very different ways. A mental disorder will affect the way a person thinks, feels or behaves.
Here are the main three types of mental illness:
Thought/Psychotic Disorders
Thought and psychotic disorders make it hard for people to separate what is real from what is not, e.g. Schizophrenia
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders affect how a person feels; for example, very sad or hopeless. If a mood disorder becomes severe, it can appear to be a thought disorder,e.g. Bipolar disorder and depressive disorders
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders make a person feel overwhelmingly anxious and fearful,
e.g. Panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
