Mental Disorders

                                                                 Mental Illness

Research:        

           We all strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat well, get enough rest and exercise regularly. What some don't realize mental health is just as important as physical health. Over 9 million people ages over 18 have been affected with severe mental illness, in the past year. One in 24 adults in the U.S have a serious mental disorder. Mental illness affects an individual's mood, way of thinking and behaving. Some of the most common Mental illnesses include depression, schizophrenia, eating disorder, bipolar, Autism, anxiety disorders and addictive behaviors. There's more than one cause for mental illness, the causes could be genes, life experiences (stress or history of abuse),traumatic brain injuries, use of illegal drugs  or serious medical condition.
            Anxiety Disorders is the most common mental disorder there is today in the U.S. People that suffer from anxiety disorders live with fears about everyday situations, it could be something as small as talking to another person, like a neighbor or a cashier at a grocery store. Anxiety symptoms include trouble sleeping, having feelings of fear/panic/uneasiness, shortness of breath, not being able to stay still/calm, sweaty palms and feet, numbness and even dry mouth. There is treatments and therapy for anxiety disorders. Medications for anxiety can only be prescribed by a medical doctor such as a psychiatrist or primary care doctor. Anxiety medications do not cure anxiety, but they do help out with the symptoms. The medications that are prescribed for anxiety are anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and beta-blockers. Most medications are only effective when they are taken regularly, if medications are stopped symptoms are more than likely to reoccur again. More than likely if medications are being prescribed than therapy is also given.
            Many people don't consider addictive behavior as a mental illness, but it's just as bad all other mental health related illnesses. A lot of people do not understand why drugs or alcohol becomes so addictive, the reason why it does is because drugs change the brain and cause repeated drug abuse. Drug use leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although people do decide to take drugs voluntary, taking the drug so often it can affect the person's self control and ability to make sound decisions. Although, drug abuse is a mental illness, it is one of the few of mental illness that are treatable. Some of the treatments are medical and behavioral therapy, alone or used together. Severe drug abuse usually requires residential treatment also know as rehabilitation.

Personal: 
       Mental illness is a very sensitive topic for me, since I have friends and family that struggle with mental disorders. One of my closest friend, struggles with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Also one of my family member has been diagnosed with severe  anxiety. These people play a very important role in my life and I watch how they live day by day with this mental disorder, trying to live life completely normal.
       I chose this issue because I know there is so many people around the world that live with some kind of mental disorder weather it's depression, anxiety, addictive behaviors or eating disorder. I believe there is a lot of people who are not aware on how important and how big of a deal mental illness is. There is young teenagers who make fun or tease other teenagers that are affected with mental disorders. I strongly believe the importance of mental disorders should be taught in schools to inform people how big of a deal the importance of mental health is.

Interviews:

"I don't think people realize how bad mental illness is, I have family that have mental disorders, my little cousin has autism, and my step-sister has really bad anxiety. I try to be there for them as much as I can, I wish I could just take disorder away from them, but I can't. My cousin takes medications everyday and also see's a psychiatrist twice a month. I do think the medications and the talk therapies have helped him a lot in communicating with others, before it was really hard for him to have a conversation or even talk to anyone he really didn't know. In the other hand, my step-sister does not take anxiety medications or goes to therapies she just sort of deals with it herself. I believe people with mental disorders should  have access to talk-therapies or medications that help out with symptoms that come with the disorders, no matter their financial situations."  -Alex Ruiz, 23

"Mental disorders have been a issue for centuries, I remember during my fist year of college in Psychology class, having a two hour long topic on Mental illness and how it was dealt with back in the 16th or 17th century. I find it so shocking that people actually seen individuals that struggle with mental disorders as "dangerous" so they would lock them up and keep them away from society. For me that was really hard to believe that people that suffer from mental disorders were actually treated so badly as if they were some kind of criminals. I'm so glad we are so much more civilized today, I think we're doing a better job as a society on how we look at this issue." - Bryan Ramirez, 22

References:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/why-more-americans-suffer-from-mental-disorders-than-anyone-else/246035/
Facts." Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.