May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Today's message is courtesy of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Louisiana.
A mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.
Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.
Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.
NAMI Facts:
- Mental Illness can affect persons of any age, race, religion or socioeconomic status.
- One in four American adults experiences an episode of mental illness per year.
- Individuals, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, with mental illness are those around us – our neighbors, our friends, family and co-workers.
- Four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school and with peers.
- Mental health disorders account for more disability that any other illness, including cancer and heart disease reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NAMI's fact sheets offer clear, concise information on mental health topics. A few ways to use them include sharing them with a loved one, bringing them to an appointment or handing them out at health fairs.
Click NAMI Fact Sheets to learn more.