Mental Health and

Mental Illness
By: Stephanie Swain
What is mental health?
Mental health includes
our emotional,
psychological, and social
well-being. It affects how
we think, feel, and act. It
determines how we
handle stress, relate to
others, and make choices.
Mental illnesses
Mental illness refers to a wide
range of mental health conditions
also known as disorders that affect
your mood, thinking and behavior.
There are more than 200 classified
forms of mental illness. You can not
prevent mental illness just like you
can not prevent breaking your arm
or getting cancer. It is an illness
that you have to seek treatment for
or might even need others to help
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a manic
depressive illness. It is a brain
disorder that causes unusual shifts
in moods, energy, and activity
levels. Someone with bipolar
disorder can go from being very up
also known as manic to very down
known as depressive episodes. The
person may not feel that anything
is wrong, but family and friends
may recognize the mood swings.
Without proper treatment, people
with hypomania may develop
severe mania or depression.
Depression
Depression is a common but
serious mood disorder. It has
severe symptoms that affect how
you feel, think, and handle regular
activities. To be diagnosed with
depression the symptoms must be
present for 2 weeks. The most
common forms of depression is
persistent depressive disorder,
perinatal depression, psychotic
depression, seasonal affective
disorder, and bipolar disorder. 50%
of suicides are because of major
depression.
Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is not automatically
a mental health disorder. Anxiety
can play into your everyday life
along with stress. But anxiety
can also be chronic and start to
mess with your life thats when
it becomes unhealthy and a
mental illness. Symptoms of
anxiety disorder can make a
person feel helpless and out of
control. There are a series of
different types of anxiety a
person might have.
Stigma
There is a strong social
stigma attached to mental ill
health. People with mental
health problems have
trouble finding a job, be in a
steady long term
relationship, live in decent
housing, and be included in
society. Mental illness is very
stereotyped by society and
that will worsen a persons
condition if theyre being
discriminated.
Sources
- Logan, Linda. "The Problem With How We Treat Bipolar Disorder." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27

Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

- Kassenbrock, Rachel, Brittney Collado, and Karen Zainal. "26 Truths People Living With Depression Wish Others

Understood." The Mighty. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

- Aspa. "What Is Mental Health?" What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.gov. Department of Health and Human

Services, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.