The inability for a person to cope adequately and appropriately with life.
All forms of illness in which psychological, intellectual, emotional or behavioral disturbances are the dominating feature. The term is relative and variable in different cultures, schools of thought and definitions. It includes a wide range of types (such as psychic and physical, neurotic and psychotic), and severities. It would be useful to distinguish mental diseases (those with an identifiable physical cause) and mental illnesses (those with no known cause and those with emotional, familial, social or other causes) but this is not regularly done.
Any disorder which affects the mind.
Any of a number of disorders that disturb a person’s thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Some mental illnesses cause relatively mild distress, while others result in severe impairment and may require hospitalization. Treatment depends on the nature of the illness and the severity of the symptoms.
A disorder of one or more of the functions of the mind (such as emotion, perception, memory, or thought), which causes suffering to the patient or others. If the sole problem is that the individual’s behavior as a whole is out of line with society’s expectations, then the term illness is not appropriate.
Defined simply, this is a disorder of the brain’s processes that makes the sufferer feel or seem ill, and may prevent that person from coping with daily life. Psychiatrists doctors specializing in diagnosing and treating mental illness have, however, come up with a range of much more complicated definitions over the years.
A broad term referring to conditions that impact mental functions like thinking, feeling, perception, or memory. These disorders are different from learning disabilities.
Mental illnesses encompass conditions like psychosis, where an individual becomes disconnected from reality, as well as disorders like anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In these cases, the person’s mental functions are altered, but they remain fully conscious of their situation.