Learning about Your Illness

What causes mental illness?

What causes psychiatric symptoms?

What are the biological factors in mental illness?

What are the stress factors in mental illness?

What are the goals of treatment?

What kinds of treatment options are there to choose from?

Knowledge can translate into more power in your life. The more you understand the basic facts about your mental illness, the more you are able to make informed choices on how to live with the illness. This includes taking an active role in your treatment and recovery, and speaking up for yourself.

Let your mental health worker know if you would like to make learning more about mental illness part of your mental health recovery plan.

Where to find information about mental illnesses

• Learn more about Depression, Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder.
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has information about other types of mental illness.
  

Learn more about mental illness for children and youth. See also King County's webpages on children's mental health.

What causes mental illness?

Mental illness is likely caused by a combination of biological and environmental factors.

Researchers have developed a model for understanding the nature of psychiatric disorders, including factors which can influence the course of these disorders. According to this model, the stress-vulnerability model, psychiatric illnesses have a biological basis. This biological basis or vulnerability can be made worse by stress and substance use, but can be improved by medication and by leading a healthy lifestyle.

The stress-vulnerability model can help you understand what influences your disorder and how you can minimize the effects of the disorder on your life.

What causes psychiatric symptoms?

Scientists do not yet understand why some people have symptoms of mental illness and others do not. They also cannot predict who will have several episodes of symptoms and who will have one or only a few.

What are the biological factors in mental illness?

The term "biological vulnerability" refers to people who are born with, or who acquire very early in life, a tendency to develop a problem in a specific medical area. For example, some people have a biological vulnerability to developing asthma, and other people have a biological vulnerability to developing high blood pressure or diabetes. Similarly, it is thought that people can have biological vulnerabilities to develop schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression.

In mental illness, the part of the body that is affected is the brain, which is made up of billions of nerve cells (neurons) containing different chemicals (neurotransmitters). Scientists believe that mental illnesses are caused by imbalances in these neurotransmitters in the brain.

As with other disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, genetic factors play a role in the vulnerability to mental illness. The chances of a person developing depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia are higher if a close relative also has the disorder.

Genetic factors, however, do not explain everything about why some people develop mental illness. For example, for many people with mental illness, there is no history of anyone else in their family who experienced psychiatric symptoms. It is widely believed that non-genetic factors may also contribute to people developing mental illnesses. For example, early biological factors, such as exposure to a virus when the baby is in the womb, may be important.

There is little scientific evidence that alcohol use or drug use causes people to develop a biological vulnerability to mental illness in the first place. However, when someone already has a biological vulnerability, alcohol and drug use may trigger symptoms or make them worse.

What are the stress factors in mental illness?

Scientists believe that stress also plays an important part in psychiatric symptoms. Stress can trigger the onset of symptoms or make them worse. Stress may play a particularly strong role in increasing the biological vulnerability to depression. For example, if someone has lost a loved one, been the victim of a sexual or physical assault, witnessed a tragic event or experienced other examples of extraordinary stressors, he or she may be more likely to become depressed.

There is no such thing as a stress-free life, so you can't avoid all stress. In fact, to pursue important goals in your life, it is essential to be willing to take on new challenges, which can be stressful. But it is helpful to be aware of times when you're under stress and to learn strategies for coping with it effectively.

Click here for more information about stress and mental illness.

What are the goals of treatment?

Because both biological vulnerability and stress contribute to symptoms, treatment for psychiatric symptoms needs to address both of these factors. The main goals of treatment are:

• Reducing biological vulnerability
• Reducing stress
• Coping with stress more effectively

Reducing biological vulnerability

Medications help correct the chemical imbalances which lead to symptoms. There are different medicines to treat different types of symptoms.

It is your decision whether to take medication. Medications are not perfect: they don't cure mental illness and they have side effects. Medications also help some people more than others. However, medications are one of the most powerful tools we have for reducing or eliminating symptoms and preventing relapses and rehospitalizations.

Another way to reduce biological vulnerability is to avoid alcohol and drug abuse. Alcohol and drug use affect neurotransmitters in the brain, which can lead to worse symptoms and relapses. Alcohol and drug use can also lead to legal, financial, and health problems, resulting in stress that can trigger symptoms. In addition, using alcohol and drugs can interfere with the beneficial effects of medication.

Reducing stress

Each person experiences stress in his or her own individual way. What is stressful to one person may not be stressful to another. For example, some people feel stressed by going to a large family gathering, whereas others enjoy it.

In general, the following guidelines are helpful in reducing common sources of stress:

• Identify situations that caused stress for you in the past. Think of ways to handle the situations so they won't be as stressful.

• Set reasonable expectations for yourself--try not to do too much or too little.

• Find activities that are meaningful to you--whether working or volunteering or pursuing hobbies.

• Maintain good health habits by eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly.

• Seek out supportive relationships where you feel comfortable telling people what you are feeling and thinking.

• Avoid situations where people argue with you or criticize you.

Give yourself credit for your talents and strengths; don't be hard on yourself.

Coping with Stress

Stress is a natural part of life, and everyone experiences it. When stress occurs, however, it is helpful to have some strategies for dealing with it, so it will have a less harmful effect on you. Consider using some of the following strategies for dealing with stress:

• Talk to someone about your feelings.

• Use relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, picturing a pleasant scene, progressive muscle relaxation.

• Use "positive self-talk," by saying things to yourself such as "This is a challenge, but I can handle it."

• Keep your sense of humor and try to look at the lighter side. Seek out a funny movie or a book or cartoons.

• Use religion or another form of spiritual inspiration.

• Take a walk or do some other kind of physical exercise.

• Write your thoughts and feelings down in a journal.

• Draw or create other kinds of artwork.

• Think of the situation as a problem to solve, then work on solving the problem.

• Engage in a hobby such as cooking, gardening, reading, or listening to music.

Try to keep an open mind, and experiment with new ways of coping with stress. The more strategies you have, the better you can cope.

What kinds of treatment options are there to choose from?

There are many reasons for you to be as active as possible in your treatment:

• You are the expert about your own symptoms and what makes you feel better or worse.
• You need to be able to make informed choices about treatment.
• You have a lot to gain by receiving effective treatment.

Depending on your own individual situation and what is available in your community, you can choose among several different treatment options to best serve your needs. Some people choose one or two options; others choose several. A lot depends on your recovery goals.

Treatment Options

This article is adapted from the Illness Management and Recovery Workbook, an Evidence-Based Practice, available on the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website, a branch of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.