What Constitutes a Severe Mental Illness? What's the Point? |
Posted: April 7, 2023 |
I frequently discuss serious mental disease, but I haven't addressed the precise subject of what constitutes a major mental illness. I'm going to do that today. I'll also discuss why it's critical to distinguish between individuals who have a significant mental disease and others who simply have a mental illness. I have bipolar disorder, a severe mental disease, thus I do have strong feelings on this. A Mental Illness Is What? Who Is Affect by Mental Illness?The statement that "One in five Americans live with a mental disease" irritates me greatly. When people say it, there is frequently no further explanation. Some appear to believe that simply stating that 20% of the population experiences mental illness, this will reduce stigma or in some way benefit those individuals. I have seen that figure so many times without any kind of explanation. But context is important. It's not incorrect per se to suggest that one in five Americans suffer from a mental ailment, but this statistic encompasses all types of mental illnesses. Anything from mild anxiety to bipolar disorder is included. It covers all known mental disorders, moderate to severe. It ranges from persons who lead normal, fulfilling lives with only a little, bothersome mental disease affecting 5% of their consciousness to those who are entirely incapacitated and unable to live on their own as a result of a mental illness that has taken over their brain. I don't believe it's wise or responsible to group all those folks together. Furthermore, I sincerely doubt that anyone is being served by mental health or sickness organisations repeatedly repeating that statistic out of context. What Constitutes a Severe Mental Illness?Serious mental illness is described by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). a mental, behavioural, or emotional condition that significantly limits one or more important life activities or causes serious functional impairment. Those who experience incapacity as a result of SMI [severe mental illness] bear a disproportionate amount of the burden of mental diseases. Since they represent the National Institute of Mental Health, their definition is sterile, toothless, and almost devoid of significance. Yet I assure you that the significance is profound. What it really means is that those who have a severe mental condition are the ones who are in pain. The only ones who are disabled are those who suffer from severe mental diseases. The ones who are unable to work are those with severe mental illnesses. The ones on the streets are those with severe mental illnesses. Individuals with severe mental illnesses are the ones who repeatedly go from jail to psych unit and return. The suffering of many persons with severe mental illnesses lasts forever. This differs significantly from someone who, despite having a mild mental disease, needs therapy but generally functions normally in life—working, living, learning, and falling in love. Who Is Affected by a Severe Mental Illness?Which mental diseases the National Institute of Mental Health deems to be "severe" mental illnesses is not entirely clear. According to me (and Mental Illness Policy Org), the following are significant mental illnesses:
The following figures apply to the three aforementioned categories:
Without taking into consideration overlap, there are 5.3 percent of adults with "serious" mental illness overall (note that some people can have schizophrenia and substantial depression; this is actually rather common). The overall rate is 4 percent, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). So, only roughly 4-5 percent of people have a major mental disease according to my definition, where severity denotes how serious a mental illness is. Why is severe mental illness important?So, a very small percentage of those who have mental illness actually have a serious mental illness. The problem is that the minority that is severely handicapped must be acknowledged and assisted with additional assistance. Those with significant mental illnesses received therapy in the past year in about 65 percent of cases. That percentage should be 100% given how impaired and disabled these folks are. Not on "awareness campaigns" or "anti-stigma campaigns" that benefit those without significant mental illness, but rather on outreach and spravato treatment resistant depression for individuals who do have major mental illness is where we should be concentrating our efforts and resources. People will always feel at ease around others who are similar to them and who occasionally experience anxiety or sadness, but they will never feel at ease around the screaming, barefoot lady on the corner, even if she is the one who needs assistance.
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