Definition

Noun: A condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling, behavior, or mood. These conditions are clinically significant disturbances that cause distress or impair a person's ability to function in daily life and typically require professional psychiatric or psychological assessment and intervention.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Seeking help for a mental illness is a sign of strength.
  • The law prohibits discrimination based on mental illness.
  • Research into the causes of mental illness is ongoing.

Advanced Usage

• "serious mental illness (SMI)": A clinical term for a subset of mental illnesses that result in significant functional impairment, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
  • The program provides support for people living with a serious mental illness.
• "to have a history of mental illness": A phrase used in medical or legal contexts to indicate past diagnoses or treatment.
  • The patient has a documented history of mental illness.

Variants and Related Words

• Mental health (n): A state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their community. (This is the positive counterpart to the concept of illness).
• Psychiatric disorder (n): A term often used interchangeably with "mental illness," emphasizing the medical and clinical nature of the condition.
• Mental disorder (n): A broad term synonymous with mental illness, commonly used in diagnostic manuals like the DSM-5.

Synonyms

• Psychiatric illness
• Psychological disorder
• Mental health condition (often preferred for its less stigmatizing connotation)

Related Phrases

• To suffer from mental illness: To experience the symptoms and challenges of a mental illness.
  • Millions of people suffer from mental illness each year.
• To treat/manage a mental illness: To undergo therapy, take medication, or use other strategies to alleviate symptoms.
  • Mental illness can often be effectively treated with a combination of therapy and medication.

Important Notes

• The term "mental illness" is a broad, non-specific category encompassing many specific diagnoses (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia).
• It is distinct from everyday stress or sadness, as it involves clinically significant impairment.
• Using person-first language (e.g., "a person with a mental illness" rather than "a mentally ill person") is generally considered more respectful and accurate, as it emphasizes the individual is not defined by their condition.

Noun

1. any disease of the mind; the psychological state of someone who has emotional or behavioral problems serious enough to require psychiatric intervention