What is a mental illness?
Q: What is a mental illness?
A: A mental illness is an illness that affects a person's mind and includes psychiatric and psychological disorders, mental diseases, and mental health conditions.
Q: What are some symptoms of mental illnesses?
A: People with mental illnesses may exhibit strange behaviors or have unusual thoughts, and these conditions can affect their ability to function in their daily lives.
Q: What causes mental illnesses to develop?
A: Mental illnesses develop through a combination of genetic and experiential factors throughout a person's life.
Q: How has the understanding of mental illnesses changed over time?
A: Our understanding of what qualifies as a mental illness has changed over time, and what is considered a mental illness in one culture may not be considered so in a different culture.
Q: What is the DSM?
A: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a resource developed by the American Psychiatric Association that is used around the world to diagnose mental illnesses.
Q: How do people with mental illnesses cope with daily functioning?
A: People with mental illnesses may have trouble relating to or interacting with other people or struggle with daily functioning, but treatment and medication can help them cope.
Q: What distinguishes mental illnesses from other brain conditions?
A: While conditions like epilepsy and Parkinson's disease affect the brain, they are not mental illnesses as they do not change the way people think.
