Mental Illness: Myth or Fact

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of a few commonly held beliefs about mental illness.  Choose M if you believe the statement is a MYTH, and choose F if you believe the statement is a FACT.  The answers with explanations are below.

1. M  or  F           People with a severe mental illness are usually dangerous and unpredictable.
   .
2. M  or  F           Most people with mental illness can tolerate the stress of holding down a job.
   
   
3. M  or  F           Mental illness is to be blamed on the individual or his/her parents.
   
   
4. M  or  F           Psychiatric disorders are medical illnesses, like heart disease and diabetes.
   
   
5. M  or  F           Most persons with mental illness are below average intelligence.
   
   
6. M  or  F           People who are mentally ill will not get better.
   
   
7. M  or  F           Teenagers don't suffer from "real" mental illnesses — they are just moody.
   
   
8. M  or  F           Most people with mental illness live on the streets or are in mental hospitals.
   
   
9. M  or  F           Addiction is a not just a “will power” problem.
   
   
10. M  or  F           Stress alone causes mental illness.
    
    

Answers:

1. Myth: The incidence of violence in people who have a brain disorder is not much higher than in the general population. Those suffering from a psychosis, such as schizophrenia, are more often frightened, confused and despairing than violent. In fact, they are more often the victims of assault rather than the perpetrators.
   
   

2. Fact:  All jobs are stressful to some extent. Anybody is more productive when there’s a good match between employee’s needs and the working conditions, whether or not the worker has a mental health challenge.
   
   

3. Myth: The main risk factors for mental illness are not bad parenting or personal weakness but rather genetics, severe and prolonged stress (such as physical or sexual abuse), or other environmental influences (such as birth trauma or head injury). It is important to remember that mental illness is a disease like any other physical disease and is not a result of personal weakness.
   
   

4. Fact: Brain disorders, like heart disease and diabetes, are legitimate medical illnesses.  Research shows there are genetic and biological causes for psychiatric disorders, and they can be treated effectively.
   
   

5. Myth:  Developmental disability refers to below-average intellectual functioning, but mental illness has nothing to do with intelligence. People with mental illness can have below-average, average or above-average intelligence.
   
   

6. Myth: Once diagnosed, mental illness is treatable and can be effectively managed. Most people with mental disorders live productive and positive lives while receiving treatments for their mental illness. As is the case with any illness, individuals with severe or persistent mental disorders who respond poorly to available treatments may require more support and may not function as highly as others.
   
   

7. Myth: One in five teens has some type of mental health problem in a given year.
   — National Institute of Mental Health/Harvard University Study June 2005
   
   

8. Myth: Over two-thirds of Americans who have mental illness live in the community and lead productive lives. Most people who need hospitalization are there for brief periods to get treatment and are then able to return home, just like people hospitalized for other conditions. Some people with mental illness do become homeless and could benefit from treatment and services.
   
   

9. Fact: Although most treatments for alcoholism and addiction are behavioral (talk) therapies, which are perceived to build self-control, addiction occurs in a subconscious area of the brain (mesolimbic dopamine system) that is not under conscious control. It is, therefore, believed that addictions are neurologically-based diseases.
   
   

10. Myth:  This is only partially true. Stress may occasionally trigger an episode or cause symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, but persistent symptoms appear to be biological in nature.There are probably many things that can contribute to mental illness - the cause is not yet fully understood.