Fact Sheet: Psychiatric illness - Mental Health Research Institute

FACT SHEET
Psychiatric Illness
What is a Psychiatric Illness?
Psychiatric illnesses are medical illnesses
affecting one or more functions of the mind.
They interfere with emotion, thought
processes, behaviour and perception. A
psychiatric illness causes variable amounts
of stress and suffering to the person, their
family, and friends.
People should seek help to overcome a
psychiatric illness just as they do for any
other illness of the body.
One in five Australians will experience some
form of psychiatric illness in their lifetime.
The frequency and severity of psychiatric
illnesses vary from person to person.
What is Psychosis?
Psychosis refers to a state where people lose
contact with reality and/or create a reality of
their own. People with psychiatric illnesses,
including schizophrenia, and bipolar (manic
depression) can have episodes of psychosis.
What is a Non-psychotic illness?
Non-psychotic illnesses are characterised by
dysfunctional thinking and behaviour with
associated suffering but with a sense of
reality, for the most part, being maintained.
Such illnesses include:
Anxiety,
Depression,
Obsessions, and
Personality disorders.
Symptoms
A psychiatric illness usually develops
gradually and early signs sometimes
include: anxiety, depression, sleeplessness,
tension, sweating and difficulty in
concentration. We may all experience these
symptoms occasionally. However, they can
be a problem if persistent and interfere with
ability to carry out everyday activities.
2012
Symptoms of psychosis include:
Hallucinations - seeing, hearing and
feeling something that is not real.
Delusions - false beliefs not consistent
with reality. They may be intense
suspiciousness or visions of grandeur.
People with schizophrenia typically have the
above symptoms and thought disruptions.
Bipolar disorder is distinguished by massive
mood swings and an occasional incidence of
psychosis. Individuals can have delusions of
grandeur, feel they are on top of the world,
or become agitated and irritable.
Symptoms may severely affect lifestyle and
relationships and can include longer periods
of depression.
Common non-psychotic illnesses and their
symptoms include:
Major depression - enduring feelings of
unhappiness and despair with
disturbance in sleep, appetite and
affecting one’s ability to work, and daily
activities.
Generalised anxiety disorder - Excessive
worry and anxiety about everyday things
like school or work, muscle tension,
tiredness, sleep difficulties that affect
one’s functioning.
Phobias and panic attacks -
Unreasonable fear about specific objects
or situations as well as irrational attacks
of fear and anxiety.
“Psychiatric illnesses
interfere with
emotion, thought
processes, behaviour
and perception”
Agoraphobia - one of the most

debilitating of anxiety disorders marked
by a fear of being in a public place, the
individual often ends up house bound.
Obsessive compulsive disorder -
Repeated pointless thoughts or mental
images or repeated behaviours like hand
washing.
In addition, emphasis is being placed on the
required support and education needs of
those who experience mental illness as well
as society as a whole.
Psychiatric illness is becoming better
understood. Whilst the causes may be
complex, ongoing research is attempting to
provide answers to how and why particular
mental illnesses develop. In addition,
emphasis is being placed on the required
support and education needs of those who
experience mental illness.
Related Research
The Institute has a number of research
projects in its laboratories underway.
The Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory
research aims to understand the cause of
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major
depression and the mechanism of action of
drugs used to treat these illnesses. The
ultimate goal is to provide a foundation for
rationale-based drug design. It is expected
that drugs aimed at targets involved in
causing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and
major depression would dramatically
improve the wellbeing of people who
experience such illnesses whilst producing a
minimum number of side-effects, a
significant problem with current
medications.
The Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory
study brain neurotransmitter mechanisms
involved in schizophrenia, bipolar and
depression.
Molecular Psychopharmacology research
aims to understand the molecular pathology
of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia
and bipolar disorder. The aim is to develop
better diagnosis techniques and
interventions. They also investigate how
psychotropic medications interact with
receptors and intracellular signalling
mechanisms in neurons with the aim of
developing better treatments.
To find out more about what’s happening in
research visit the Mental Health Research
Institute at www.mhri.edu.au or request the
latest annual report.
Support and Information
Services
Lifeline
13 11 14
www.lifeline.org.au
Nurse On Call (Victoria)
1300 60 60 24
Health Advice Line (except Victoria)
1800 022 222
Beyond Blue
1300 224 636
www.beyondblue.org.au
Mental Health Fellowship
Self-help, support and advocacy
1800 985 944
www.mifa.org.au
Sane Australia
1800 18 7263
www.sane.org
Victorian Government Mental Health
Services
www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth
The Victorian Mental Health Library
Royal Melbourne Hospital
Tel: (03) 9342 8617 Fax: (03) 9342 8615
http://library.mh.org.au/