'Mental Illness' Means Different Things to Different People

[MineralMan]

That gets us in a lot of trouble, as laymen, when we talk about it. A lot of the people who commit violent crimes have personality disorders. Such people are not psychotic, but they have a mental disorder. Not everyone classes personality disorders as mental illnesses, but as psychological disorders, instead.

Major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia are recognized as mental illnesses by just about everyone, and they are what we normally think of when someone mentions mental illness. People with those illnesses are very unlikely to cause harm to others, although they can be a danger to themselves at times.

Personality disorders, on the other hand, definitely can lead to violent actions. Sometimes we call these people sociopaths or psychopaths or something else, and a lot of lay people lump them in with other mental illnesses. People with personality disorders are rarely admitted to psychiatric hospitals. Personality disorders are very hard to treat, and psychiatric medications don't do much for these disorders. Are people with personality disorders mentally ill? It depends on how you define mental illness.

Personality disorders are mental disorders, but we must be very careful not to confuse them with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or neurological diseases. Personality disorders are very different from these.

We probably should stop using the term "mental illness" in talking about criminal acts. It's too broad a term and has too many different definitions, depending on who's using the term.

Here's a good run-down on personality disorders. It's a long read, but informative.

http://www.sevencounties.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=479&cn=8

[get the red out]

1. Thank you for this post

As someone who has battled depression since age 12, I can tell you that there is definitely a difference between a "personality disorder" and an issue like mine, or some people close to me who are bipolar. We can be greatly helped with medications for one thing, and as you said, personality disorders are very difficult to treat. When I go into a depression I am potentially a danger to myself, though I have usually gone for help. From what I have read people with personality disorders generally don't want help.

Suffering from mental illness doesn't make a person dangerous.

[MineralMan]

3. Right. Personality disorders are very different from

the organic illnesses. As you say, people with personality disorders resist treatment and think they're just fine. It's all the other people who are messed up, as far as they are concerned. People who treat personality disorders are often frustrated by the difficulty. On the other hand depression, bipolar and schizophrenia respond to at least some degree to medications, although the process of finding the right medication or combination of medications can be difficult.

[jwirr]

2. Thank you. I tried to say this the other day but you say it so much better. This is what the world

needs to learn and if we did it would help us stop the stigma that is associated with the term mental illness.

[MineralMan]

4. If everyone on this planet took the time to learn things,

it would be far better place to live. Sadly, most people aren't really interested in learning about things like this, and won't bother to go read something. A reminder now and then can't hurt, I think.

This whole mental illness thing is very difficult for people to grasp and understand, and how it is discussed seems to change over time, so what people who specialize in psychological disorders often don't agree. It's difficult for lay people to figure it all out.

It would be better if we didn't use the catch-all term, "mental illness," at all. Instead, it would be better to name the actual disorder, if it is known, especially with personality disorders. There are ten of them, at the current count, grouped into three categories. It's complicated.