Thursday, October 17, 2013

Degrees Of Mental Illness: Is There a Sliding Scale?

Big roller coaster vs. smaller one; "major mental" illness vs. "more moderate"
one; is one really less serious/dangerous than the other?

Minor mental illnessis there actually such a thing? Personally, I would say no. To hear such a thing as more minor mental illness (as compared to more severe mental illnesses), but I would never say any mental illnesses are "minor." It's never a good idea to judge somebody else's illnesses as minor.
  
Still, American Psychological Association, too many mental health workers, and people in general consider certain mental illnesses [to be] worse than others. Schizophrenia  and Schizoaffective disorder for example are considered among the worst, and anything with the word "schizo" is just consider horrifying, even if the person's symptoms aren't. Personality disorders such as Antisocial personality disorder are truly at the bottom; and many people wonder if they even belong in the psychological dichotomy, or if they are just character issues. Depression seems to have become more mainstream overall, especially after the Prozac craze. Not to say that it is becoming easier for people with Depression symptom wise, but the disorder is more well known and more accepted, even if not fully understood by mainstream culture. 
Bipolar disorder is sometimes co-opted by celebrities and used as an excuse for drug use, and is sometimes thought of as a "fun, creative diagnosis" by those that don't know [all the facts]. Even with this gross misunderstanding, enough famous people have actually [helping these] disorders become mainstream in local, national and social media outlets. Most people with Depression and Bipolar disorder are not viewed as having a great potential for violence. This definitely doesn't hold true for diseases like Schizophrenia even though only one percent of schizophrenics show violent symptoms (personality disorders on the other hand often have a legitimate link with violence unfortunately). There are also many degrees of different types of mental illness which can become more or less severe overtime, especially if there's a genetic component. 
In high school, I developed Cyclothymia, which considered a more minor version of Bipolar disorder . The mood swings of Cyclothymia go between Dysthymia and [Hypomania] instead of severe Depression and Mania. I later found out that both my father and my grandfather suffered from this as well. As 50 percent of people with Cyclothymia go on to develop full blown Bipolar, I've developed full blown Bipolar II with Cyclothymic features (it's possible to have both). People with Bipolar disorder are also much more likely to have at least one relative with Cyclothymia.
Cyclothymia (which may be renamed Bipolar IIIa move I wholly support), as well as other more "minor" mental illnesses, (Dysthymia, lighter versions of Schizophrenia, etc.) are not well known, sometimes not even by those in the mental health industry. Consequently, because people with these are often more high functioning than their counterparts with more severe mental illness, and are better at hiding it (I know I did for years but it wasn't easy), these illnesses are too often dismissed as "easy to deal with." From my own personal experience, I know that while they may be "easier" to deal with, they are definitely not easy. This [mindset] encourages a culture of silence, and also sets a dangerous precedent. 
People with [a] more minor mental illness often do not get help, raising their chances of developing a [serious outcome to] mental [health] down the road. I know that turned out to be the case with me and friends who have been in similar situations. I didn't feel that I have very many people to turn to. I was able to do some research, and I suspected that what I had was a more minor version of Bipolar, but I couldn't find a name for it, or any information indicating that it was a good idea to get help. Most people I talked to also did not know this, and I was encouraged by both well meaning and not well meaning people to "just deal with it". If at least one of us had known better and I reached out for some kind of treatment back then, perhaps I I may not have gone on to develop any other mental illnesses.
Many of those with [varying degrees] of mental health issues wind up going into the mental health profession because they want to help others like themselves and those that have more severe illnesses; they also tend to be more sympathetic of mental illness in general. I know my experiences definitely made me more sympathetic and willing to listen.


It is the responsibility of everybody in the mental health field to educate ourselves as well as mainstream culture about all mental illnesses and their various degrees. There is no such thing as a "minor mental illness," and knowing that can mean the difference between developing something more severe later, and getting necessary help in the present. We owe each other that.

Note: All opinions expressed on Delirium Today are the feelings/ideas of our columnist, mental health professionals or experts. Our goal is to see different points-of-views in the lives of people that are living with mental health issues—we are here to tell their stories. 





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