What is mental illness?

• Mental illness is a disturbance of brain functions that change a individual thoughts, emotions, behaviours and impaired his abilities to carry out daily activities effectively.
• Malaysian Morbidity survey showed up to 11.1% (Malaysian Morbidity Survey 1996) of adult population suffered from mental illness.
• WHO showed mental illness as one of 5 leading diseases that cause disability around the world and expect it to be second in year 2020.

Is all mental illness same?

Mental illness is not a single entity. It comprises of many different form. Generally it can be divided into 3 groups :

1. Neuroses:
   • This group of people experienced some changes in thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
   • Usually they are aware of their condition. Their daily function may be affected. Example of neuroses are:
     • Depression
       • Depression is a deep or prolonged emotional feeling of sadness. Sadness is a normal emotion but if it is severe, last more than 2 weeks and it affect normal daily functions then it is an illness.
     • Anxiety
       • The main features of this condition is anxious feeling. A person feels tense, sweating, palpitation and fear of unknown danger.
2. Psychoses:
   • This group of people suffered marked changes in thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
   • During a psychotic episode, a person is confused about reality and experiences hearing voices talking to him (hallucination) and believe people are trying to charm him (delusion).
   • They may have incoherent speech; strange behaviours; they may have inappropriate laughter or anger. This is a group of people we usually referred as mad. Example of psychoses:
     • Schizophrenia :
       • People with this condition suffered from marked disturbance of thought and perception. They heard voices talking to them (hallucination) and thought people around them want to harm them (delusion) Their work functions decline because of this.
     • Bipolar disorder:
       • People with this condition suffered from marked disturbance of emotion. They are either very sad (depressive phase) or very happy (manic phase).
3. Personality Disorders:
   • This basically a flawed in a person character which cause a lot of difficulty in his interaction with others around him.

What cause mental illness?

The exact cause is still unknown.There are multiple factors contributed toward development of mental illness.

1. Genetic:
   • Family members with mental illness have higher risk of developing mental illness
2. Biochemical:
   • A variety of biochemical called neurotransmitter exists in brain. They are important to ensure the brain function properly. Disturbance of certain biochemicals in the brain have been associated with mental illness. For example:
   • Schizophrenia:
     • High concentration of dopamine.
   • Depression:
     • Lower concentration of serotonin
3. Viral infection:
   • Viral infection was implicated in mental illness.
4. Traumatic life event:
   • For example birth trauma, loss of parent during childhood and grief.
5. Poor socio-economic condition:
   • For example, poverty, homelessness, and community violence.

Is mental illness treatable?

• Yes
• Modern medical technology has enable development of drugs with better efficacy and least troublesome side effects
• Almost all drugs use for treatment of mental illness take some time before it full effect take place, so we must be patience and continue taking the medication.
• We cannot depend solely on drugs to achieve full recovery. Other supportive measures like counselling, psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, psycho education, family therapy, occupational therapy, psychosocial rehabilitation are equally important.

Is mental illness treatable?

• Yes
• Modern medical technology has enable development of drugs with better efficacy and least troublesome side effects
• Almost all drugs use for treatment of mental illness take some time before it full effect take place, so we must be patience and continue taking the medication.
• We cannot depend solely on drugs to achieve full recovery. Other supportive measures like counselling, psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, psycho education, family therapy, occupational therapy, psychosocial rehabilitation are equally important.

Where help is available?

All health centers around the country have staffs that are trained to help people with mental health problems. They will refer you to nearest hospital with psychiatric services if they think you need it. Psychiatrist is a medical doctor with special training to help people with mental health problems.

Is there any test to find out mental illness?

• Yes.
• We recommend you take a simple test called General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). (You require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the following document)
• GHQ is a screening method for mental health status . It does not replace an assessment done by a
• Thank you for your effort to take GHQ.
• If your score is 4 or below, You do not have a significant mental health problems. However you can maintain or further enhance your mental health by following the recommended tips and guidelines.
• If your score is 5 or more; you do have a significant mental health problems now.

We recommend that you see a trained mental health professional for further evaluation.

References

• www.medscape.com/medscape/Psychiatry/clinicalupdate
• American Psychiatric Association

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