What is Mental Illness?

What is mental illness you ask? We all have our own idea of what mental illness entails based on our own experiences and/or people we know but understanding exactly what it means can benefit all parties.

“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a medical problem, just like heart disease or diabetes,” (Parekh, 2015).

The broad definition of the term is provided by Dr. Ranna Parekh as, “mental illnesses [being] health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.” It is important to note that a large percentage of all adults experience some form of mental illness at some point or in many points in their lives. I think it’s safe to say that it's a part of life; especially the lives we live today.

The way the world functions today is vastly different from just a few decades ago. The pace of life has picked up to a sometimes unbearable speed and at points, we find ourselves spinning out of control. It is these types of outside sources and pressures that can so easily make us fall into the hands of mental illness.

These invisible illnesses "do not discriminate" (Parekh, 2015) and can take hold of your life before you even know they have taken control. It is these types of outside sources and pressures that can so easily make us fall into the hands of mental illness and even sometimes it is out of our control as to weather you are effected.

Mental illness takes many forms and can consist of the following:

• Substance Abuse

• Eating Disorders

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Behavior Disorders, i.e Bipolar Disorder

• Schizophrenia

• Autism

• More...

*not a comprehensive list

The most important thing to know is that it is manageable and sometimes treatable. There are so many ways to find help and get what is needed to overcome any illness. My blog will go over some of these illnesses, modes of treatment and other ways to cope throughout the process. Stay tuned for tools, stories, relatable material, and more.

~ Find your Truth ~

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