can someone explain to me

how can someone be gravely disabled by mental illness?

reading the amanda bynes today they say she is gravely disabled. with schizophrenia.

so what IS gravely disabled?

I would think it would have to do with not being able to care for him or herself and not being able to function in a work or social environment.

I'm so happy (in a sick way I guess) that this is being brought up. Almost everyone thinks a person is hospitalized because they are a "danger to themselves or others" but I was hospitalized for 2 1/2 months because I was "gravely disabled"...I was totally manic/psychotic to the point to where I didn't know my own name. I also didn't think anything was wrong with me-I was walking into people's houses because I thought I lived there etc. but I was NEVER violent. But since no one's ever talked to me about what happened I was told (after she died) that my mom was afraid to go home after work because she was scared I would be there to hurt her. OUCH! Shoot, I lived 6hours away from her.
When you can't take care of yourself in the extreme...gravely disabled

I actually think being a danger to oneself or others really does cover a broad spectrum of behaviors. In your example, dylanzmama, you were never violent, but you did engage in behavior that put yourself in danger. You walking into a strangers house may not have put the stranger in danger, but it did put you in danger. A dog could have bitten you, the homeowner could have shot you, etc. I thinkthat could fit under the "danger to yourself" umbrella, and so can a lot of behaviors. Its not just talking about violence against someone, or literally injuring yourself.

interesting. i felt like i knew but sometimes i wonder.

dylanzmamas comment reminds me of something similar i did earlier this year.
i walked through the woods. then i scaled a neighbors fence at 11pm. i didnt know them. i was around their house walking. near their windows. then knocked on their door. i said something. i dont really remember what i said but they took me back home.

im surprised now when i think about it that - yea - i didnt get shot. or at least get the cops colled on me. i was almost shot once already by a neighbor right next door.

I believe my cousin who has schizophrenia is considered gravely disabled. He was diagnosed sometime in his 20s and he's now in his 60s. When he was diagnosed he was violent, actually. I don't know the full story, but from what I understand is that he became very violent at work and possibly hurt some one. Because of it, he has never worked a full time job since then. Instead, him and my uncle used to do odd jobs together as a team, like passing out flyers. They always had some little jobs they did together.

Now that my uncle is passed on and my aunt is rapidly declining, everyone is always worried what will happen to him. He is on disability, but we also know he's got a reverse mortgage on his dad's house. (He told us that, so... that's not good.) I personally don't believ he could have worked or something. In my lifetime he's always been an even keeled, smart, nice guy. They used to babysit me as a kid and he's always been really a kind person to me. He is quiet and definately has a flat affect, but otherwise I think he could have done something.