Are You?

The following article is an excerpt from Rethink. While there are many reasons for mental illness, there is no clear reason for homelessness due to the fact. When we support our community and include everyone as an equal, we begin to understand human needs are basic, a warm, safe home, clothes, food and work.
New FoundMinds proposes to create the kind of communities that are designed with basic needs in mind, and the support that provides for those needs. As you read What Causes Mental Illness, let your mind take you to a place where everyone is equal, helpful and needed. Are You?

WHAT CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS?

Most health professionals and researchers believe that psychiatric disorders are usually the result of multiple interacting and contributing factors.
Studies of the significant causes and processes involved in the development of mental illness have found that there are physical, social, environmental and psychological causes for mental illness.
Physical causes
are those, which are biological in nature. They can include our individual genetic make-up and the way that this might put us at more or less risk than others. It has also been found that those who have suffered (usually more severe) head injuries can also experience changes to their personality, and in some cases may begin to experience schizophrenia and psychotic type symptoms.
The misuse of substances or illness of mothers during pregnancy, (such as through picking up viruses like the flu) can also lead to changes in their baby’s development which may ultimately affect their mental health. Recent reports have also suggested that vitamin and mineral deficiencies such as Vitamin D, zinc and certain fatty acids may also be related to our mental health and the development of neurological symptoms.
Social and environmental causes
are those factors around us such as where we live, whether we have strong support networks, (close family and friends who make us feel safe and who we can rely on) our place of work and how and where we can relax. Physical environments such as the neighborhood where you live can be very stressful, particularly when there are problems with neighbors, or where there are high crime rates and other such issues. Whether you enjoy your work, or feel you are under too much pressure, are unable to find employment or hold down a job, can all put pressure on your mental well-being.
These kinds of problems will increase the amount of stress people are under, and can cause depression and anxiety, especially in situations where individuals are unable to make changes to alleviate the stressors. When we face difficult times our support networks become very important – those who do not have close friends or families, or those who do not live near the people who support them may find it increasingly difficult to cope alone.
Psychological factors
your psychological state and influence your mental and emotional state, particularly if you are are coping with traumatic and abusive past or current experiences, significant life events like bereavement or divorce, or if you have self-destructive thought patterns and perceptions – our psychological state can and will influence and our mental health.
For example, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and in more extreme cases Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID – in the past referred to a multiple personality disorder) are all mental health conditions that are commonly found in people who have been abused.
The bigger picture
For many people with mental health problems, it is not a single factor or type of factor that has led to the development of their problems. It is often the case that a series of events have occurred, that have eventually triggered mental illness. http://www.rethink.org
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