Common questions about mental illness include:

Are mental illnesses a form of intellectual disability or brain damage?
No. They are illnesses just like any other: heart disease, diabetes, asthma. Yet the traditions of flowers, sympathy and support provided to people with a physical illness are often denied to those with a mental illness.

Are mental illnesses incurable and lifelong?
No. When treated appropriately and early, many people recover fully. A mental illness is like many physical illnesses which require on-going treatment (such as diabetes and heart disease), but which can be managed so that the individual can participate in everyday life.

A mental illness can come and go in people's lives. Some people have only one episode and recover completely. For others, it recurs throughout their lives and requires on-going treatment.

Though some people become disabled as a result of a chronic mental illness, many who experience even major mental illnesses manage to live full and productive lives.

Are people born with a mental illness?
The causes of mental illnesses are unclear. A predisposition to some mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, can run in families. Many other factors can contribute to the onset of a mental illness in people with a predisposition such as stress, bereavement, relationship breakdown, child abuse, unemployment, social isolation and times of accidents and life-threatening illness.

Can anyone develop a mental illness?
Yes. In fact, as many as one in five Australians may develop a mental illness at some stage in their lives. Everyone is vulnerable to mental health concerns.

Many people feel more comfortable with the notion of having 'a breakdown' than the notion of having a mental illness. Reluctance to talk openly about mental illness is a barrier to seeking early treatment.

To many, explaining away a mental illness as a nervous breakdown is preferable to being branded 'mentally ill'.

Are people with a mental illness usually dangerous?
No. In fact, this false perception underlies some of the most damaging stereotypes. People with a mental illness are seldom dangerous when receiving appropriate treatment.

Should people with a mental illness be isolated from the community?
No. Most people with a mental illness recover quickly and do not need hospital care, or have only brief admissions. Treatment discoveries of recent decades have removed the need for isolation and confinement as was common in the past. A small number of people with a mental illness - one in a thousand - need hospital care, sometimes against their will. It is important to recognise that this is not the situation for the vast majority of those who might have an episode of illness.

The attitudes of family, friends and the community towards people with a mental illness play a critical part in determining their quality of life.

One of the biggest hurdles for people trying to get well is confronting the attitudes that their family, friends, employers and neighbours hold towards them because of their illness.

Sadly, this often means that people with a mental illness face isolation and discrimination just for having an illness.

What can be done about the stigma?

• Bring mental illness into the open and think about it like other illnesses or conditions.
• Educate the community to overcome attitudes based on misconceptions.
• Promote mental health by nourishing healthy attitudes through early childhood and adult life.

The information here is available in the 'Mental Illness - The Facts' leaflet published by the Mental Health Strategy. See our links for further details. The Mental Heath Research Institute has material that you can request.
If you would like to receive information on any of the Mental Illnesses or the Institute, please contact us on (03) 9388 1633.