I am not an expert on any of this, and only recently (in the last year) began seeking treatment for my issues. I don't even know what my issues are so there's a lot that I don't know. But I actually think I suffer from the latter (poor coping) more than I do from mental illness. I am aware of what's going on with my thoughts and feelings and can almost always tell when my thoughts are irrational and unhealthy. But for various reasons I feel ill-equipped to deal with challenging situations and I let these things affect my job and school performance and personal life. I even see "poor coping" as a serious problem that I need to overcome through therapy and other methods that I have yet to determine, even if I don't have a diagnosable mental illness. It has interfered with my ability to find contentment in my life and to achieve goals, and has led to me feeling downright miserable and depressed. So to me, whatever my issues are, the impact on my life that they've had has been tremendous and the need to work through my issues is great. I guess my point is that things like poor coping, or low self-esteem and shyness in my case, maybe anger management for others, may not be mental illnesses, but can cause enough problems in life that it's worth getting help for them. (My apologies if anything I have mentioned is actually a mental illness.)

Again, I don't know nearly as much about mental illness as I'd like to know, and I don't know what would define mental illness. I have wondered if I do have a "condition" or just bad habits in my thought patterns, but have never undergone any testing.