What is mental illness?

Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Major Depressive disorder and Anorexia Nervosa. These conditions represent a small number of the diagnosable mental illnesses that are recognized in the modern world. But this abstract list of names doesn't really help if you are wondering whether you or someone you love has a mental illness. To start with, we really need to answer the question "What is a mental illness?"

The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) defined mental illness as "a clinically diagnosable disorder that significantly interferes with an individuals cognitive, emotional or social abilities." In plain English, it means that the way a person thinks or mentally processes information, manages their emotions or manages social interactions is negatively impacting their life and is far enough outside the norm that they fit into a diagnostic criteria as assessed by a doctor or psychiatrist.

The great difficulty with mental illness is that a diagnosis needs someone to present to a doctor in the first place - a huge challenge when you aren't thinking straight. Diagnosis also relies on the doctor getting all the relevant information from someone who is mentally struggling and unaware of what's relevant and what's not. (Not to mention the fact that some of the thoughts experienced by those with mental illness are scary enough to the sufferer that they don't really want to share). The doctor then has to find the clinical diagnosis. There is no blood test or brain scan that can confirm these conditions. In this amazingly challenging situation, we are left with room for misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis, unnecessary diagnosis and totally wrong diagnosis. I'm not suggesting this is malicious, it is more to do with the nature of the beast.

So mental illness is technically all about that diagnosis. For family members and sufferers alike, a diagnosis can give a sense of closure - there is something wrong. When I was diagnosed with Major Depression and Anxiety and Panic Disorders in my youth, I found myself thinking a strange paradoxical little thought - "I'm not losing my mind, I actually am losing my mind"- a small cryptic nod to the fact that something was biochemically wrong instead of me just thinking wrong.

But the journey from mental health to mental illness is not a single step, its a slope - for some more slippery than others. While the idea of a specific diagnosis does have its merits, waiting to fit into some pre defined criteria so that you can start receiving help is not at all necessary. Nutritional and lifestyle interventions can help prevent the slide to disorder and may bring a return to happiness and health. Not only that, nutritional and lifestyle interventions can help at all stages and can be used in conjunction with medications.

If you or someone you love is struggling, whether it's with something diagnosable like depression or simply with a bit of brain fog, don't wait for someone outside to give you the go ahead to choose health. There are any number of qualified therapists who can help you get to where you want to be - no matter where you find yourself.

Mental illness is, in the end, all about a diagnosis given by someone outside of yourself when you finally reach a threshold. Do you really need to wait for that? If you or someone you love is struggling with clear thinking, emotional stability or the ability to handle social life to the point that it is negatively impacting on their life, don't wait for a magic label. Seek help from caring professionals in a field that feels right for you - whether it's nutritional medicine, herbalism, psychology or counselling. Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher, once said that "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". If you feel you may be starting to struggle, why not take that first step before mental health really feels a thousand miles away?

Finally, what if you already have a diagnosis? What then? Then the first step has been taken for you - the problem has a name. Time to take the next step for yourself.