What is Mental Illness: Mental Illness Facts 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 a
diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of
life. Serious mental illnesses include major depression,
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder
(OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
borderline personality disorder. 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.
Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can
experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating
in an individual treatment plan. In addition to medication tre