Mental health problems and mental illness

On this site we talk about both “mental illness” and “mental health problems”. There’s a difference between the two. When we say mental illness, we mean a diagnosable condition that usually requires medical treatment. “Mental health problems” refers to the more common struggles and adjustment difficulties that affect everybody from time to time. Teens experiencing these types of problems may not require medical treatment, but, especially if these problems become serious enough to affect their learning, can still benefit from some of the help and support available within the school system that we discuss on this site.

We chose to take this broad-based approach to both mental illness and mental health problems because often young people can struggle for quite a while before they are given a formal diagnosis, if any.

Mental illness
Mental illness is a term that describes a variety of psychiatric and emotional problems that vary in intensity and duration, and may recur from time to time. Major mental illnesses include Mood, Psychotic and Anxiety Disorders. For more information on specific disorders, please see the resources section.

Although mental illness can occur at any age, it often strikes youth from late adolescence to early adulthood. Serious mental illness can significantly interfere with the performance of major life activities, such as learning, thinking, communicating, and sleeping. Medication, counselling and psychosocial rehabilitation are treatment options that can help people recover from mental illness.

Mental illness is still feared and misunderstood by many people. Accurate information about mental illnesses and their treatment can help correct the fears, myths and misconceptions many people have. (For more information on the myths surrounding mental illness. (link here to myths of mental Illness and the impact of stigma)

Mental health problems
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if the difficulty a student is facing is a temporary adjustment problem, or if it could be a sign that a serious mental illness is a possibility. Either way, the student is probably having a hard time dealing with all of the challenges of high school, and could use some extra support and understanding. Many of the academic accommodations and other ideas for school staff discussed on this site can apply both to students who are experiencing mental health problems and those diagnosed with particular mental illnesses.

If you want more information about the differences between the normal ups and downs of adolescence and some of the most common mental illnesses that affect youth, please have a look at these resources that were produced by and for young people.

Download in pdf format:

Moodswings

Brain Illnessses