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Mental Illness Facts
Strategic Plan
Giving Campaign
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What is mental illness
Educate Yourself
Treatment
Facing The Facts
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One out of five American families has
a relative who has a mental illness.
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Mental illness typically strikes
young people in their most productive years, 16-25.
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Families from all walks of life are
affected regardless of age, race, income, religion or education.
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Mental Illness devastates families
and ill persons. Family life is disrupted.
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Get that latest up-to-date facts and
information on mental illness from the National
Institute of Mental Illness, National
Alliance on Mental Illness and the National
Mental Health Association.
Understanding
Major Depression and Recovery - NAMI's fact sheet on Understanding
Major Depression and Recovery.
Ask
the Doctor: Treatment Resistant Depression NAMI's Medical Director, Dr.
Ken Duckworth, talks about treatment resistant depression and several
treatment options.
 What
Is Mental Illness?
Mental illnesses include such disorders as schizophrenia,
schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders,
autism and pervasive developmental disorders, attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder, and
other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain.
These disorders can profoundly disrupt a person's
thinking, feeling, moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for
coping with the demands of life.
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 with
serious mental illness need medication to help control symptoms, but
also rely on supportive counseling, self-help groups, assistance with
housing, vocational rehabilitation, income assistance and other
community services in order to achieve their highest level of recovery.
Here are some important facts about mental illness and
recovery:
| Mental illnesses are biologically based brain
disorders. They cannot be overcome through "will
power" and are not related to a person's "character"
or intelligence.
| Mental disorders fall along a continuum of
severity. The most serious and disabling conditions affect five to
ten million adults (2.6 – 5.4%) and three to five million children
ages five to seventeen (5 – 9%) in the United States.
| Mental disorders are the leading cause of
disability (lost years of productive life) in the North America,
Europe and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, Major Depressive
illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for
women and children.
| Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of
their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages
are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially
vulnerable.
| Without treatment the consequences of mental
illness for the individual and society are staggering: unnecessary
disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness,
inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic
cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars
each year in the United States.
| The best treatments for serious mental illnesses
today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals
have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life
with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments
and supports;
| Early identification and treatment is of vital
importance; By getting people the treatment they need early,
recovery is accelerated and the brain is protected from further harm
related to the course of illness.
| Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are
real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now
unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural
and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is
time to take these barriers down. |
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Educate
Yourself
Talk with family members, attend
educational programs, view quality videos, read books, contact
organizations involved with mental health.
As a member of NAMI Illinois, you can
utilize our free lending library which is filled with educational books
and videos. Dealing with the unknown can be more difficult than
dealing with the disease. Call the state office at 800-346-4572 to
obtain a list of available resources within our library.
Treatment
Treatment works! Success rates for treating mental
illnesses are high:
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Treatment success rate for:
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bipolar
disorder: 80% |
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major
depression: 65% |
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Schizophrenia:
45% |
National Advisory
Mental Health Council, NIMH, 1993
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Recovery
is a Process:
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medications |
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family
education and support |
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illness
management |
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supported
employment |
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therapeutic
services |
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Illinois'
Voice on Mental Illness - NAMI Illinois