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Emotional (Sensitive Feelings) and Behavioral Problems

There are many good reasons for hope for people who suffer from emotional disorders and mental illness. For example, there are new, clearer ways of diagnosing them. Even for severe mental illness there are new treatments and combinations of treatments that bring better results.

The stigma against "sensitive feelings" disorders and mental illness is lessening. Studies show that an estimated 15 percent of Americans suffer from sensitive feelings disorder or mental illness. A recent public opinion survey of Americans showed that 14 percent of us recognize either that we or someone we know has a mental illness. Celebrities talk openly about their experience of mental illness, including alcoholism.

Another factor that helps diminish stigma against persons with mental illness is the growing evidence of an organic, or physical, basis for these disorders. They are not just “all in your mind.” Schizophrenia, the depressive disorders, and the anxiety disorders run in families, like hypertension and diabetes, and treatment requires both medication and life-style changes.

In general, if you are able to cope with your life during periods of "sensitive feelings" stress, you can call yourself mentally healthy. If you lose that ability you are ill, at least to some extent.

Learn to recognize some warning signs of the common mental disorders, not only in yourself but also in others. Current ideas about the causes of "sensitive feelings" problems include environmental factors, chemical imbalances in the brain, or both.

Some people are overwhelmed by minor crises such as marital arguments. Others retain their balance in much more difficult circumstances. Such mental health is not necessarily inborn. You can cultivate it in yourself and thus stand a better chance of coping well.

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