Mental illness is defined as a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. Some of the conditions that are defined as a mental illness include: Clinical Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Dementia, Attention-deficit Disorder, Attention- deficit hyper Disorder, Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Autism, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Eating disorders are also considered a mental illness. Having one of these conditions that were listed, or any of the ones that weren’t can affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function each day.

Mental illness is not something that is caused by one specific event. Researchers have found that it is caused by multiple, linking events. (Nami.org) A person’s genetics, environment,  and lifestyle condition can all play a role in someone developing a mental illness. Stressful jobs, or home life situations make people more susceptible to developing one of these disorders.  Traumatic events can also play a role in this. Circuits, and the chemicals in the brain can also cause a person to develop a disorder.

Approximately every one in five (21.4%)  youth aged children (13-18) experience a mental illness at some point in their lives. Children 8-15 is a round 13%. 70% of the youth in juvenile detention have at least one mental condition. 20% of those children have lived with a serious mental illness. Half of mental conditions begin by the age 14. 75% of conditions develop by the time a person turns 24. (Nami.org) The normal personality and changes that people go through during puberty may mask the symptoms of a mental health condition.

Many mental illnesses can be lessened or treated with certain types of medications and different types of therapy. Many of them include antidepressants and talk therapy. More serious cases can require physiotherapy and hospitalization. Medication alone cannot cure a person and neither can therapy. Combined efforts of both are used to lessen the symptoms of the condition.

Many people of all ages suffer from at least one mental illness. While there is no cure for mental illnesses, there are ways that the symptoms can be lessened. Many people today believe that mental illness doesn’t really exist. However, they are real, and they are scary. Many people suffer from them every single day.