According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four adults – approximately 57.7 million Americans – experience a mental health disorder in a given year. One in 17 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder; and about one in 10 children have a serious mental or emotional disorder. It is estimated that mental illness affects 1 in 5 families in America.
Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in symptoms that can make it difficult to hold a job, go to school, relate to others, or cope with the ordinary demands of life. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.
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. In addition to medication treatment, treatment such as therapy, peer support groups, and other community services can also be parts of a treatment plan that assist with recovery.
Mental health recovery is a journey of healing and transformation to live a meaningful life in communities while striving to achieve full human potential. With appropriate treatment, most people can recover from mental illness and return to normal life. Without treatment the consequences of mental illness are staggering: unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives.
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES