Mental Illness: What is Behind It?

You’ve been feeling empty for months and you don’t know if that’s normal? Here you can find out when you are mental illness and how to find out.

Mental Illness: What does that even mean?

Terms such as depression, stress and burnout are widely used today as mental illness. However, the handling and reporting of mental illness is still very one-sided. Mental disorders are still strongly tabooed in society and nobody wants to be labelled “mentally ill”.

But what does it mean to be a mental illness anyway? According to the “International Classification of Diseases” (ICD), these are deviations from the norm of experiencing, feeling and behaviour that fulfil three criteria:

• Frequently
• Intensive
• Long lasting

The ICD classifies mental illnesses as mental disorders and behavioural disorders. The following illnesses, for example, fall under this category:

• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Manic-depressive illnesses

Am I affected?

There are not just two or three indicators that you can use to quickly test whether you are suffering from a mental illness. The boundaries are often blurred, and in the end only professional help can tell you that anyway.

But before we call on help, we ask ourselves questions like:

• Am I just lazy or completely lacking in drive?
• Have I been mourning a deceased person or a terminated relationship for far too long?
• Do I drink just to temporarily distract myself or am I already completely dependent?

Talking to different people in your family about your problems is basically a good idea. However, you should not be talked out of your illness because of their reaction. Many friends either overreact or play down the potential illness as a “bad phase“.

Ask yourself these questions for an initial assessment

• Does my suffering prevent me from doing what I would like to do?
• Can’t I feel happy anymore?
• Can I still pursue my areas of life (e.g. job or family/friends) or are they already suffering from my potential illness?
• Have I changed a lot compared to before and is there a reason for this?
• Do I even have suicidal thoughts?
• Am I often on sick leave?
• Do others (family/friends) notice the change?
• Has this phase been going on for a long time? Longer than three months?
• Can I still sleep through the night or do I have problems?
• Do I care about everything that happens?
• Do I suffer from physical diseases?

What are the causes?

• People always want an explanation for everything. But there isn’t always one, even though there are of course factors that may have contributed to mental disorders. First, of course, the family comes into consideration. Were your parents already mentally ill? But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean you’ll get them.
• Often it is personal strokes of fate in life: the loss of your partner, frustration at work or financial problems. Everyone deals with stress and strain in different ways and in the end you probably know best which points in your situation could have been the reason why you can no longer live happily.
• Never blame yourself for the situation. Whether or not you have a predisposition for the illness – illnesses are human and mental illnesses can be treated just as well as physical ones.

Getting help

• Many people do not turn to a doctor or therapist, fearing that they will then be branded and maybe even go to a clinic. But no fear! No one will decide against your will to hold you somewhere or prescribe you a therapy that you do not want to do. A hospital admission against your will is only possible if you are a danger to yourself or your surroundings.
• There are many psychiatrists and therapists, but it usually takes a long time before you can get an appointment. If you have decided to contact them, get information from various contact points about when you can get an appointment and write it down. Then you can also contact your health insurance company and describe the situation to them. There is the possibility that your health insurance company will cover the costs at a private institution if there are no other options in the near future.