What makes someone crazy

Mental illness is a leading cause of disability. Untreated mental illness can cause severe emotional, behavioral and physical health problems. Complications sometimes linked to mental illness include:.

There's no sure way to prevent mental illness. However, if you have a mental illness, taking steps to control stress, to increase your resilience and to boost low self-esteem may help keep your symptoms under control. Follow these steps:. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.

Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.

Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Arlington, Va. Accessed April 8, Dual diagnosis. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Practice Guidelines for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults. Accessed April 1, Understanding psychotherapy and how it works. American Psychological Association. Asher GN, et al. Complementary therapies for mental health disorders. Medical Clinics of North America.

Complementary health approaches. Accessed April 4, Warning signs of mental illness. American Psychiatric Association. Helping a loved one cope with mental illness. What is mental illness? For friends and family members. For people with mental health problems.

Brain stimulation therapies. National Institute of Mental Health. Mental health medications. Muesham D, et al. The embodied mind: A review on functional genomic and neurological correlates of mind-body therapies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. Here we find three different possible definitions of insanity:. Because the third definition seems to be more conversational and less a way to define a mental state, we'll focus on the first two, which leaves us with both a medical and a legal definition of insanity.

Insanity is a legal term, not a psychological one. The legal definition supports our understanding of insanity as a defense in a U. To meet the legal definition of insanity, a defendant must prove that they were unable to tell the difference between right and wrong at the time a crime was committed due to the severity of their psychosis. In one form or another, the insanity defense has existed since at least Over the years, governing bodies have constantly had to revise the ways insanity could be used as a defense for heinous crimes.

In the U. Even today, most people are skeptical of this defense, and it is rarely used in courtrooms. When it is, most states hold to the original definition — that the defendant was unable to tell the difference between right and wrong.

While history helps us understand insanity in legal terms, we must also understand the medical definition, which states that insanity is a state of mind resulting from a specific disorder. This definition is more applicable to our relationships.

When we discuss mental disorders, the most definitive source of information is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM , which is published and revised every year by the American Psychological Association. You will be hard-pressed, though, to find a definition of "insanity" within it. In fact, the word "insanity" is not used at all in the mental health community. Today's therapists and psychiatrists will not describe anyone as "insane.

Although plenty of stigma still exists around mental illness, our culture is moving away from words like "mad," "crazy," or "insanity," at least in a professional context because they have such negative connotations. If you worry that you or someone you love might have a mental disorder, here are some of the warning signs:. If you or your loved one shows any combination of these symptoms, it can be confusing and frustrating.

In addition to the distress caused by the illness itself, there is the additional social stigma attached to mental illness, which can still make people feel embarrassed and ashamed. The good news is that most people with mental disorders can find relief. In most cases, they will be able to function normally again, usually with the help of a good therapist, the right medication, or a combination of both. Meeting with an in-person or online counselor can give you the understanding and emotional support you need to move past your symptoms.

Encouraging people to seek help is an important expression of love and care, and it doesn't mean that someone is crazy or experiencing insanity. And, because the counseling takes place online, the person can receive care in the comfort of their own home. BetterHelp has helped countless people with acute mental health challenges. Read the reviews below to learn more about our counselors.

I started seeking help for my anxiety and she helped me get a grip on how to best work through it and her recommendations and advice have gotten me through tough moments. She likes to identity the key root of where certain issues may be coming from and break things down.

She is very logical and gives many examples of how to best shift your perception to better assist you in life situations. She is also very helpful with relationship advice and always has the best interest of her patient. I felt really safe and comfortable talking to her about what is going on with me. Her style of counseling really helped me realign myself with who I am and what I am capable of! It's human nature to put people in a nice little box with a label of "insanity", especially when we don't understand their behavior or what is happening to them.

But history has shown that carelessly using words like "insanity" does more harm than good.