Introduction
Mental illness has for a long time been conceived as a problem that usually leads to insanity, rendering the person useless and hopeless at the same time, and often also associated with mental hospitals which is where all those suffering from mental illnesses are thought to end up. This is quite far from the truth as with advances in modern medicine, there a lot of diseases and illnesses that are now curable or at least treatable, thereby highly reducing symptoms and dramatically delaying future onsets. Mental illness has been described in various forms, and is now slowly starting to sound increasingly benign as the field of medicine is evolving. Regardless of how a statement may have described the problem, it is how you choose to deal with it that counts the most.
History
There is no telling as to how long mental illnesses have been around us. An educated guess would presume that mental illnesses have probably existed for as long as we have. It’s not like the human race got exposed to some chemicals along the way and started losing their sanity. Perhaps though, the nature of mental disorders back then was different from that of the present. Remarkably, most mental disorders cannot be diagnosed through a machine, but are rather discovered through a series of questions that could be logical, or maybe even complex in nature. For example, the much famous Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is only found in the United States, but if you move on to different parts of the world, there is no proper record of any such diagnosis. This suggests that people all around the world have described mental disorders by their own understanding; one that is not necessarily coherent.
Features
Something to remember is that almost all mental illnesses are now treatable. The days of watching people die miserably from a disease while you sit and watch helplessly are way past us. Although undoubtedly, it is not just the medicine that does its part, but also the genuine support that is offered by the people around. Most mental disorders are thought to be a result of some chemical imbalance in the brain. Some mental illnesses are more drastic than the others. If you look at Bipolar disorder for example, you will see that the disorder has been classified into several types; each progressively more intense than the previous. The same example also proves that even though a significant amount of the population is suffering from the same or similar diseases, they are still successfully managing their lives and responsibilities from the help of advanced medicine. People suffering from Bipolar disorder experience manic attacks, and even suicidal thoughts. Yet, with proper medication hundreds if not thousands have described their lives as peaceful.
Tips and comments
Strikingly, even depression is classified as a mental illness. There are no proper statistics to suggest this, but with much exploration of many Middle Eastern countries, one could say that one out of every five women is depressed because of the limitations posed on them, and also because of being deprived of basic human interaction. Of course this does not mean they need to be institutionalized, but then again, it is rather healthy to keep in touch with a psychiatrist. People feel that a psychiatrist should only be visited when dealing with severe mental disorders, but that is again incorrect. Sometimes mental disorders present themselves through physical symptoms. These symptoms are usually random and cannot be cured unless the underlying problem is properly addressed. People should know by now that visiting a therapist is for your own betterment and should not be described by the use of undermining remarks.
