The Canadian Mental Health Association

Many terms and concepts are commonly associated with mental illness. the topic of mental illness has many overlapping and subset definitions. Mental illness, a term that encompasses a wide range of mental disorders, contains subcategories of mental disorders distinguishable by effects on a person's behavior, thinking, and mood. Disorders are the most commonly referred to an aspect of mental illness; types of disorders are schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. Syndromes, even more, specific than disorders, pertain to particular systems within subcategories of disorders and are identifiable by distinct symptoms, mental or physical markers expressed by a disease; examples of syndromes are an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder

Mental illness becomes a bigger issue with a long lasting cultural stereotyped due to the manner in which it has long been labelled (Miles, 1988). Although mental illness is very much connected to instabilities in one’s mental health state, as previously mentioned, a person can be mentally healthy but still suffer from a mental illness. What is understood by mental illness is that it

Conversely, resources can be accessed through the Provincial Health Services Authority, PHSA. PHSA believes that untreated mental illness can hugely impact employee health and works to support health care professionals, like nurses, to overcome emotional challenges (Provincial Health Services Authority [PHSA], 2017). Through their website, nurses suffering from a psychological injury can access resources such as the free and confidential Employee and Family Assistance Program, EFAP. Not only does EFAP provide Monday to Friday counselling services for employees, but the program also offers Critical Incident Stress Management Services, CISM. This provides 24 hour, 7 days a week triage, consultation and coaching for health care workers experiencing a traumatic event (Employee and Family Assistance Program, 2012). This program is a great tool for nurses and should be utilized whenever necessary.

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

Mental illness is an increasing problem in America. Currently about 26.2% of Americans suffer from a mental disorder. A mental illness/disorder is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functions. Mental illness can affect humans of any age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. However the care that is needed to effectively cure and help the people affected by the illness is not equal for everyone here in American, especially for African Americans.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness a mental illness can be defined as “a condition that impacts a person 's thinking, feeling or mood and may affect his or her ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis.” Mental illness can be the result of multiple factors such as lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and genetics. There are a few mental illness that we primarily associate with people that commit these malicious acts such as; Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Dissociative Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Schizophrenia.

Every day, schizophrenia not only disrupts the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians, but it also places a significant strain on our society. This disorder affects approximately 300,000 Canadians, and places a burden on not only the patient, but their families, the clinicians and other health care professionals. Deinstitutionalization, importance on legal rights, ineffective policy, and community based treatment all contribute to the way services for schizophrenia are delivered in Canada. Symptoms of Schizophrenia can affect daily functions of which people rely on. These symptoms can vary in severity which creates obstacles such as being able to maintain employment, relationships, and engage in social network; which results in a lower standard of living among these individuals.

Mental health has been a recurring topic in present society and it is a very large section of health care in general. Health can be termed as an absence of disease, but it really is much more than that and should encompass every facet of the human, mind and body. The WHO defines mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual can function properly and productively, cope with life stressors, and contribute to community. Mental health is dependent on many factors, mainly social, biological, and psychological (WHO). A mental disorder is a condition of alterations

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

A mental illness is an issue that affects one’s behaviour, emotions, thoughts and ability to interact with others (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing 2007). Common mental illnesses in Australia include anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders and personality disorders, with the most prevalent being anxiety disorders and depression. Anyone can develop a mental illness, although suffering from a chronic medical illness, experiencing a highly stressful or traumatic event, having a blood relation with a mental disorder or drug and alcohol use can increase one’s risk (Mayo Clinic 2015).

The negative stigma of mental health has lightened slightly over the years, however, it has not rescinded entirely. People still have an unmanageable time admitting that they may have a mental disorder and that they require assistance. Human beings struggle with these hindrances openly and also hidden on a daily basis. Therefore, our civilization needs to remove the shame associated with the treatment of mental disorders and work on devising a progressive suitable mental healthcare plan in order to ensure that many live a healthy, happy, and prosperous

Mental health is defined as an individual’s optimal care in managing the stress of everyday life, through their own unique approach and can efficiently and successfully make vital contribution within the community they live in (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, 2013). Since a break in a person’s optimal mental state affects not only the individual but society, it is important to understand what it means to have a break in one’s state of mental health and the different categories that is associated with mental illness. Focus will also be paid to why there is a need for the reformation of the mental health act in Canada; the social determinants that is associated with mental health and their contribution to society’s health’s. Finally, focus also need to be placed on how mental health is being promoted to society the stigma generally associated with it.

Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a

The treatment and prevention of mental illness can be difficult, and as with physical illness, no case or result is the same for everyone. Treatment varies for each illness, as well as for individual client needs and level of severity. With the numerous choices of treatment available today, people around the world have a greater chance at not only preventing or decreasing mental illness, but also the opportunity to enhance their mental health through the public health model of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.

It has been reported that the number of people with mental disorder is increasing in our communities at an alarming rate. Environmental and social changes are among the most mentioned causes of the accelerating rate of mental illness in society (Häfner, 1985). Despite the prevalence, about one fifth of the adult population will battle with mental illness every year ("Facts and figures about mental illness," 2014) and the acknowledgement of authorities mental illness is still given less attention then is needed to treat the problem successfully. Health bodies need to be putting more resources into this area as