Definition of menatal illness

What is your definition of mental illness? Is it a lack of answers or support for problems? Is it health matters that go untreated? Is it being in a state of incompetence? Detailing the definitions may lead people to the right sources for assistance

Wow, that's a good question AND a good point. I would have to really think about what it means to me.

Hi there. For me it means feeling that everybody else is ''normal'' and living life, while I'm ''abnormal'' and wasting my life at a standstill. HUGS. xxxxxxxxxx

I would say it is when thoughts and feelings get in the way of living to the extent it becomes detrimental or dangerous.

That being said, as I have gone down this road in the past year, I was pretty shocked to see the various behaviors and actions that count as symptoms or whatever according to " the experts". Pretty much anything you do can be held against you as a sign you are mentally ill, IMHO, if you read books such as the DSM IV. When they told me I was bipolar, I found it kind of laughable, the various staff would keep saying " you're entitled to your feelings" and then tell me my feelings were wrong, messed up, illegitimate is maybe a good word. Then, I hear discussion of what should be called a mental illness, in the new DSM V for example, and some of it is a joke - seems to me they want to diagnose, label, treat, and stigmatize half of the population. $$$ couldn't have anything to do with it, could it? Nah.

I am still angry that they tried to tell me in essence " it's all in your head" or "you are manic" or whatever. I would like to see how some of these psychiatrists would react if they were threatened with being shot to death. I didn't handle it well, but that certainly don't mean I broke with reality at any point. They totally invalidated my feelings and reactions in a way that was very detrimental.

Mental illness is a psychological illness.

Physical illnesses can always be determined through some type/s of test/s: like x-rays, blood test, mri's, eeg's or CT scans...and so forth.

Instead, psychological illnesses aren't crisp and clear cut cases. There needs to be patterns in behavior and/or outlook on ___, certain answers to a variety of tests, noticeable differences in tone of voice, eye contact, posture, dressing style, cleanliness, and so on.

Sometimes, untreated medical conditions can bring out mental illnesses. A wide variety of treated medical conditions often do cause depression and anxiety to otherwise "healthy" people. Brain physical illnesses typically cause mental health illness symptoms as well. That is why proper testing needs to be done. To rule out possible physical illnesses in the brain.

That's my answer to your Q's.... IMO, it doesn't get more simple than that. But, then again, maybe I'm looking too deeply. {I have a tendency to do that every now & then.}

A disorderdered way of thinking that
causes distress to a persons life.

I don't remember the exact definition I was originally taught, but I always kinda ran with something like "abnormality to an extent that it causes dysfunction in everyday life". Abnormality of course, defined according to ones own present sociocultural environment and and dysfunction given presumed inherent level of functioning.

I actually feel that the second half seems to be ignored more and more frequently, but that is what I have often been taught as an essential part of defining an actual state as being a disorder... versus just quirks, to be perfectly honest.

My opinion, which is not always shared and which I'm sure some people will take offense at- but please be assured I am not actually talking about anyone specifically on PsychCentral[ I have no right to, as this is the internet. I don't know what goes on in people's lives]... is that there is a huge increase of diagnosis for diagnosis sake.

I'm not entirely sure why?
With the release of the DSM 5, a lot of people- including some who actually worked on previous publications of the DSM- have voiced specific and very public concerns regarding the expansion of the number of people who may be included in this notion of "mental illness".

I have simlar concerns as well, but then i'm starting to go off topic so I'll leave it at that. :P

Great question. I think a "mental illness" is exactly like a physical illness. I hope that modern medicine continues to improve so that we can "see" and treat mental illness just like we can any other illness like diabetes or cancer. I was discussing with a group the other day how difficult it is to encounter those types of people who disregard the seriousness of bipolar, depression, BPD, etc. It is disheartening to say the least. One person said that they would rather actually have one of the above mentioned physical illnesses instead of anxiety. She meant no offense by this, it was just out of frustration and hopelessness. There are diagnostic criteria that define exactly what a mental illness is, but the fact that we are even having this discussion shows that those criteria don't give us the complete understanding we want and need.

In czech we call it "sould disorder/illness" and I think it's pretty fitting.

Something effecting your soul. My brain is pretty sharp and smart, not broken. My soul, hower has quite a few scars.

And I would not trust the "physical proof, any decade now". They been saying it for decades. Time to admit we don't know some things, that psyche works in strange ways... and maybe it's problem elsewhere, where the brainscans and bloodtests don't reach. So maybe we shouldn't waste time scanning brains of troubled folks, but try to see how to help them right now, within this imperfect society which humans are not really fit for.