Brandon Waters

February 27th, 2017

Mental Illness. Are you Aware?

Growing up you may know or have met someone who struggles with mental illness.

Sometimes we underestimate how large the problem it really is. Just how many people in our

country alone suffer from mental illness? How many kinds of mental diseases are there? These

are only some of the questions people should know about. Being aware of mental illness may be

able to help a close friend or yourself someday. Proper education on mental illness will help

millions of people in America alone. Try imagining going day to day feeling lost and not

knowing where to go for help. Through mental illness awareness help those who suffer overcome

their disease.
Statistics.
Many of us may know that mental illness effects a fair amount of people, but do you

really know just how many? According to National Alliance of Mental Illnesss (NAMI)

statistics approximately 1 in 5 adults, 43.5 million or 18.5% Americans suffer from mental

illness within a given year. Nearly 1 in 25 adults, 10 million or 4.2% also have a severe mental

illness that prohibits or interferes with major life activities. That could be any mental illness from

depression to schizophrenia. Many people are unaware of the severe amounts of adults suffering

from mental illnesses. NAMIs statistics show that 70% of youth in juvenile courts are suffering

from mental illness. About 26% of homeless in shelters suffer from mental illness and 46% live

severe mental illness or severe substance abuse. Many with mental illnesses cannot cope with

regular life and end up homeless on the streets or in our prison systems. Click this link for more

information about mental illness.

Signs and Symptoms.
Do you know what to look for when you think someone or yourself might have a mental

illness? Many of us to not. Mental Health America reviews several warning signs to look out for
and they many very depending on the age or stage of life of that person. The symptoms we will

list below should not be caused by any recent medical issue or substance use. People may also be

experiencing one or many of these symptoms at once. Remember if you or someone you know is

in a crisis you may call help lines or 911 in case of an emergency.

In Adults, Young Adults and Adolescents:

Confused thinking
Prolonged depression (sadness or irritability)
Feelings of extreme highs and lows
Excessive fears, worries and anxieties
Social withdrawal
Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
Strong feelings of anger
Strange thoughts (delusions)
Seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations)
Growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
Suicidal thoughts
Numerous unexplained physical ailments
Substance use

In Older Children and Pre-Adolescents:

Substance use
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
Changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
Excessive complaints of physical ailments
Changes in ability to manage responsibilities - at home and/or at school
Defiance of authority, truancy, theft, and/or vandalism
Intense fear
Prolonged negative mood, often accompanied by poor appetite or thoughts of death
Frequent outbursts of anger

In Younger Children:
Changes in school performance
Poor grades despite strong efforts
 Changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
Excessive worry or anxiety (i.e. refusing to go to bed or school)
Hyperactivity
Persistent nightmares
Persistent disobedience or aggression
Frequent temper tantrums
For more information click here to access the MHA website.

These symptoms were taken directly from the MHA website and should be looked for

when you feel that someone may be suffering from mental illness of any kind. If you feel like

you are experiencing these symptoms it is best to contact and set up an appointment with your

primary physician to get the help you need. Just advocating for someone with a mental illness

could start them on the path to living a better life. Because most mental illness are not something

that will go away with time people must learn to live with them and overcome the trials of life

while dealing with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or any other disorder they may suffer from.

Be an advocate, save a life and reach out to someone you know that may be effected.

For more information about mental illness there are several other websites not listed in this

article to better help someone understand and become more aware of mental illness and its

severity.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
National Institution of Mental Health
Both are other great resources on mental health.
References
Mental Health by the Numbers. NAMI, 2017, http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-

Health-By-the-Numbers
Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope. MHA, 2017,
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
Dear Lisa Packer,
Sorry I didnt even see that we had a letter to write to you after the assignment! Hopefully

I answer your questions right. Hope you are having a great week!
I feel that my report orients the readers through an effective introduction. That asked

questions and gets the reader thinking. The research questions I thought about were how much

do people really know and understand about mental illness overall. It was to give a brief

explanation on mental health status and awareness. To help others understand that it is a real

problem. This report was presented in an order that would help someone that knew nothing gain

a realization and then an education on mental health. It was constructed with titles, subheadings

and lists to help the reader know what they will be reading. I am not sure if my report will make

a reader care, I have a really hard time adding emotion and rhetoric to my writing. It is

something I am working on, coming from a science major I am used to writing scientific

background. I am still working on adding rhetoric, ethos and pathos. I want to be able to have my

readers feel emotions while reading my writing. Through writing this paper I learned better

organization skills for my papers. I got really good feedback from class mates. Hopefully this

will carry over to help me with future papers.

Overall I have learned a lot from this English class. I am grateful I decided to take this

class this semester! Thanks for all the help.

Sincerely,
Brandon W.