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| What is Mental Illness? |
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| There is no precise definition of "mental illness,"
and in many ways, the term is misleading. There is much overlap
between physical and mental disorders, and it is common for
a condition to have elements of both. In general, it may be
said that a mental illness is a condition that adversely impacts
an individual's thought processes, emotions, behaviors and/or
interactions with other people, or interferes with one's abilities
to effectively manage one's life. |
| According to NAMI (National Alliance for
Mental Illness), mental illnesses: |
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are biologically based brain disorders |
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most often first occur in adolescence or young adulthood
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are not related to character, intelligence, or willpower |
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fall on a continuum of severity |
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at their most extreme, affect up to about 5% of adults and
as many as 9% of children and teens in the United States |
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are the leading cause of disability (lost years of productive
life) |
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when untreated, result in unemployment, substance abuse,
homelessness, incarceration and suicide, and cost more than
100 billion dollars a year in the US |
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with modern interventions, are highly treatable. |
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