Introduction:
Mental illness and intellectual disability are frequently confused. But they are not at all alike. The only way to treat both groups fairly is to be aware of their differences. Intellectual disability is a permanent state, but mental illness is an illness that can be healed. The purpose of this pamphlet is to highlight the key distinctions between mental illness and intellectual disability. Psychotherapies, medications, and mental health services are necessary for people with mental illness. When their mental health issue is under control, individuals can live freely and often have no intellectual disabilities.
What Is Mental Illness?
A disorder that affects emotions and behavior is a mental illness. Most mental diseases are effectively manageable and treatable; very few are preventable. At some point in their lives, 25 percent of individuals experience behavioral or mental health issues. Many different factors might contribute to mental illness, including genetics, stressful life events, challenging family history, physical ailments, and other factors. Individuals suffering from mental health issues frequently find it difficult to handle the demands of everyday life and may even lose their jobs, benefits, parental rights, and fundamental human rights.
The following are the most prevalent mental illnesses:
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Depression: This condition is marked by melancholy, low energy, interest loss, disturbed sleep and appetite, feelings of guilt, and hopelessness. Suicide is still a common outcome.
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Schizophrenia: Severe disturbances in thought that impact language, perception, and even psychotic episodes are hallmarks of schizophrenia. It may result in panic, confusion, and hallucinations.
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Anxiety Disorders: They can result in severe suffering and impairment and include phobic, panic, and general anxiety (such as worry, tension, and over-breathing).
Owing to the intricate etiology, a multifaceted and integrated approach to treatment, including medicine, psychotherapy, family therapy, etc., is frequently suggested. There are various locations where treatment is provided, including community mental health programs, private psychiatrists or psychotherapists, psychiatric hospitals, and psychiatric wards in regular hospitals. Hospital therapy must be administered for the least amount of time feasible. Self-help groups, where members share experiences and emotions, can be very beneficial.
What Is Intellectual Disability?
A person with an intellectual handicap struggles with learning, comprehending, analyzing, and solving issues. Additionally, there might be issues with social skills, communication, and everyday life abilities. Intellectual disability typically manifests before adulthood and is present from birth. It is not a sickness or illness but a lifelong condition.
Medication is not a cure or treatment for intellectual disability. People with intellectual disabilities can acquire sufficient life skills to function and participate in their community, provided they receive the appropriate assistance. Problems with general mental capacities associated with intellectual disability impact two aspects of functioning:
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Cognitive processes (learning, solving problems, making decisions).
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Adaptive functioning refers to day-to-day activities like independent living and communication.
Furthermore, the loss of intelligence and adaptability starts early in the embryonic stage.
Approximately one percent of people are affected by intellectual disability, and of those, 85 percent have mild intellectual disability. The likelihood of an intellectual impairment diagnosis is higher in men than in women.
Why Are the Differences Between Mental Illness and Intellectual Disability Important?
Mental health services, medication, and psychotherapies are necessary for those suffering from mental illness. When their mental health issue is under control, individuals can live freely and often have no intellectual disabilities. Unless they suffer from a common sickness, people with intellectual disabilities are not sick. Living as part of society requires easily understood knowledge, education, or training.
When the two distinct groups are treated as one, it can result in incorrect presumptions, poor service design, and, frequently, discrimination against one group by the other. It is obvious that to provide appropriate interventions, medical practitioners, therapists, and educators must be able to differentiate between the two groups.
The main difference between mental illness and Intellectual disability is
Mental Illness:
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A patient is someone who has mental health issues. Treatment options for mental illness include medication, psychotherapy, and other forms of support.
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Although mental illness can have hereditary roots, it typically begins as a result of coping mechanisms that result in emotions of perplexity, worry, and sadness.
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Social or psychological factors (such as job loss, bereavement, etc.) may contribute to mental illness. They may be sporadic, periodic, or cyclical.
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Many various processes, including the senses, thinking, feeling, reasoning, volition, and others, can be interfered with by mental illness. They may suffer from delusions and hallucinations.
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There are many distinct clinical presentations of mental health issues that require various types of care. Mental illness is frequently cyclical.
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Individuals suffering from mental disorders primarily require brief medical interventions, but they also require ongoing assistance.
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It is possible to administer medication to manage the symptoms. The diagnosis can be confirmed by a psychiatrist.
Intellectual Disability:
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The developmental needs of an individual with an intellectual disability are ongoing. Medication has little effect on intellectual impairment, a disease characterized by sluggish intellectual growth.
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Genetics, environmental variables, including infections, or inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain during pregnancy or at birth can all contribute to intellectual disability.
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Psychological or social factors are typically not the cause of intellectual disability.
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Learning and comprehension challenges result in issues in the classroom, the workplace, and integrating into society at large. Different types of therapy or forms of support are necessary due to the wide range of manifestations and intensities of intellectual disability.
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A person with an intellectual disability cannot recover. The condition is permanent and will not go away.
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Thoughts are constrained by comprehension and cognitive capacity.
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It mostly onsets before the age of 18.
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Cognitive ability cannot be restored by medication.
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Diagnosis is consistently confirmed by a psychologist's assessment.
Conclusion:
The co-occurrence of mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, psychotic illnesses, impulse control disorders, and others, is highly likely in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). These people are frequently provided with services within the context of the mental health treatment system due to the symptoms connected to both the illnesses and the disability itself. Nevertheless, care for them in these environments has generally not been quick, informed, or skillful enough. The majority of mental health providers are not well-trained to address the requirements of this population, and system structures tend to divide care into two categories even though disorders might be complicated and overlap.
