What is Mental Illness?

You may have heard or been told that someone in your family has a mental illness or a mental health problem. This can sound very scary, especially if you don’t know much about mental health, but in the same way that sometimes we get physically sick with a cold, flu or poorly tummy, sometimes we get mentally ill too.

In fact, one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in a year so it is really quite common and about 10 per cent of children have a mental health problem at any one time. In the same way that you can get help from the doctor when you have the flu, you can get help from the doctor when you have a mental health problem.

There are lots of different mental illnesses. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problem in the UK. But there are lots of different mental health problems including bipolar disorder, personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia. The person in your family may have an eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia) or self-harm. We have pages on different mental health problems so you can read more about them here. You may feel better about things if you read more about it as it may answer some of the questions you might have or point you in the right direction to find out more information.

People with a mental health problem may seem upset or down, they may be confused sometimes and struggle to do every day things.

We don’t know why we get mentally ill. Sometimes it can be a chemical imbalance in the brain or sometimes something stressful can start off a mental health problem. Sometimes people with a mental health problem are ill for a short period of time, maybe a matter of weeks whereas for other people they may have a long-term mental health problem that needs ongoing medication or treatment.

If you have a parent or carer with a mental health problem, it can be difficult. They may act in a way that worries you or frightens you. They may say things that upset you that they don’t mean. Some days they may not be able to get out of bed and you may need to help out and do jobs around the house like washing up or you may need to help to look after younger brothers or sisters. You may be separated from them if they need treatment in hospital or see them being unwell if you are living with them and they are being treated at home. If you are a bit older, you may end up becoming a carer and actually looking after the person in your family with the mental health problem by cooking meals for them and making sure they take medication and looking after younger siblings.

If it is a brother or sister who has a mental health problem, they might not behave like your friends’ brothers and sisters because they are not well. They may need some time on their own and they may have hospital or doctor’s appointments. This can often mean that your parents have to spend more time with your brother or sister than you. These things can be very difficult to deal with and you might be embarrassed and not want to bring friends home. But you need to remember that it is not your fault, and it is not their fault either. Your parent or sibling who has the mental health problem probably doesn’t want to have it, in the same way that they wouldn’t want to have flu, and they will need your support and understanding to help them through it.

Depending on how poorly your family member is, it could have more of an effect on you. If your parent is poorly they may forget to make sure you are getting enough to eat or have clean clothes to wear to school or college. You may witness a lot of arguments and in some extreme cases, a parent may lash out and hit you.

There are ways for you to help out and ways for you to be supported too which is in the next section.