Are mental disorders actually disease?

They are diseases like every other in the world. The fact that it has different symptoms and effects don't make them less important or harmful to the patient or his environment. Mental diseases have also the same specification of symptoms, causes, and possible treatments, just like every other illness. Also, the OMS has an ample catalog of all mental illnesses, just marked as..... illnesses. One NEVER makes a choice for being ill or not being ill. It's something that happens without one noticing or knowing the initial factor, mental or physical. Also it's important to be fully aware that mental or not, a disease is just as harmful that has to be treated in some way or another, and some people judging if it's not even a disease just makes the life even harder for the patient.

This is going to be a hard one. In my opinion its not a disease. Behavior is something that people acquire due to the pressures of the environment around an individual. Its true that some people might pass on a genetic trait that will make a person have more inclination of having the disorder but its still the behavior of the person that will dictate their mental health. It will be hard for regular people like us to identify if a person has symptoms of mental disorder because simple things that might look odd for Us are already major factors that a learn doctor might consider as something contributing to a persons mental health. just my two cents

I have Schizoid Affective Disorder and it is something that I have not chosen, nor would I choose it. I hate the prejudice people give when you tell them. My children are what makes my life so special. I also love my husband who has been there for me through thick and thin. It's not a behaviour like someone said. That hurts actually. I have to take strong medication every day and if I do not take it then I cannot be a good mum to my kids. My kids need me to be well and with my medication I only have a few problems. My husband and my mum knows when I am not feeling well because I start to experience mood swings and am more stressed. I get more sensitive and moody. I see things that are not there and hear voices. I had a troubled past and was abused as a young child. I was bullied and very sensitive to others. I have faced a lot of prejudice over my illness. I do not work and my husband cares for me so we have faced prejudice over that. People think we should work, but I cannot cope well with stress and we have 2 kids. I know people will judge me for having kids, but I give them all the love I can and more.

I believe most people see mental illness in a lesser light that they do a serious medical illness like cancer. Aids and cancer and the worst sort of illnesses. No person can get rid of HIV which causes Aids. However treatment can be given to some cancer patients and make them much better. A mentally ill person didn't choose to have that disability. I feel sorry for diabetic people and that illness must be quite scary. It is a shame when a mentally ill person is treated with prejudice. Many forms of mental illness are genetic because certain disorders run down the family line. I have seen the highs and the lows from a person that has bipolar disorder. That was the person's pattern of behavior.

Yes they are a Disease and be Treated by a Psychiatrist. Who has to go to Medical School to become an M.D. It is in the Brain and Depression maybe caused by Chemical Imbalance. You can have many other Disorders that can be Controlled by Medication. You just Notice a Change in Mood and Behavior. You may not Share Normal Views on Life Compared to other Normal People. You may not have a Steady Job or Social Life. You can feel Physically Sick to from many Mental Illnesses to.

For me, Mental illness is not a disease because it doesn't meet the established scientific criterion for disease, namely, a derangement n the structure or function of cells, tissue, and organs. MEntal illness can neither be detected nor diagnosed by examining cells, tissues or organs. Instead, they are identified by certain behaviors, and what concerns others is not the theoretical question of what countsas a disease, but the practical problems posed by these behaviors.

Only the person who may have a mental illness and a psychiatrist will know for sure. Lay people can only be kind, understanding and patient, or get out of the way.