What is Mental Illness?

Mental illness is a collection of disorders characterized by symptoms such as extreme mood swings, disturbances in thought or perception, overwhelming obsessions or fears, or high levels of debilitating anxiety. There is no objective medical test that determines whether or not you or a loved one has a mental illness. Diagnosis is based on self-report (what you say you are experiencing), observations by family and friends, disturbances in your behaviour and the judgment and experience of a medical practitioner (your family doctor but, for more serious mental illness, a psychiatrist).

Often people wait a long time before they ask for help. They and their family feel that something is wrong – but they don’t know what. In addition, diagnosing a mental illness can take time – with many people reporting that it took months, and sometimes years to get a diagnosis that fit with what they were experiencing.

There are a number of reasons people struggle with a mental illness without reaching out for help: They simply don’t know what’s wrong and feel they are just “different;” they feel they can beat it on their own; they are ashamed and try to hide their symptoms; exasperated family and friends tell them to “get over it;” or they reach out for help but their first experience leaves them feeling disregarded and misunderstood.

read more at http://www.afbmh.org/public/articles/WhatIsMentalIllness.htm

What is happening in the world with mental illness?

I've put a few YouTube videos up on the website to show a quick snap shot of what is happening worldwide with mental illness. It is apparent that a lot more needs to be done, especially in developing nations. One video that particularly touched me is the one on Bali, Indonesia.

I live in Perth, Western Australia, and Bali is a very popular desitnation for Australians, particularly West Australians, as on the west coast we are only a three hour flight from Bali, a beautiful tropical island.

To get to Bali costs about the same as going inter state in Australia and everything is so cheap in Bali. Getting tailored made clothes, jewelery, accommodation - it really is a tourist mecca.

I have not been there for a number of years, but the social worker in me came out last time I was there and I participated in a cultural walk, which takes you off the tourist track.

While I was in Bali what did strike me was the way a lot of tourists seemed to have a cultural bubble around them. It was as if the loacals did not exist other than to serve. The local culture did not seem to exist other than to be 'cute'.

Underneath the tourist trap lies another layer of Bali that is third world.

When you watch the video on Bali notice how mental illness is largely not recognised by the locals. Mental illness does not exist as they have not been educated in it. Therefore friends and relatives with mental illness are to be largely ridiculed, humoured and in some cases chained up to keep them out of the way.

It is a video that touched me heart.

If you have a story, please let me know by emailing support@afbmh.org

The link for the videos is http://www.afbmh.org/public/articles/TheWorld.htm