Mental Illness

Let’s talk about mental illness. It’s often challenging for mental health doctors (Psychologists [1]  and Psychiatrists [2]) to know where to draw the line between normal and disease. Firstly, we should understand that acting badly and having moods, are not psychiatric diseases. People are people. Another challenge for doctors is that unhealthy and ill often occur in the same person at the same time. If it’s hard for the most elite mental health professionals to understand the human mind and mental illness, it’s obviously hard for the average person. 

With the right treatment, people can and do recover from mental illness. Friends and family members can be important influences to help someone get the treatment and services they need. Primary care physicians can refer individuals to psychiatrists and other professionals who specialize in mental health treatment. Treating a physical illness usually requires some combination of medications and psychotherapy. For many people, the first step is to recognize there is a problem and be willing to accept help. Especially during COVID-19, we all need to understand the basics.

^[1] https://www.apa.org/topics/about-psychologists

^[2] https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-psychiatry-menu