Education
What Is Mental
Illness? Is recovery possible?
Here are some
important facts about mental illness and recovery
(by NAMI National):
· 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.
The
National Institute on Mental Health's (NIMH) research has found that as
many as one in five U.S. families are affected by severe mental illness.
For
more assistance, please call our local number to find out when we will
be offering classes and support groups to help understand and cope with
these disorders:
NAMI Knoxville (865) 602-7807
