45% of Australians will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives.[1] About 5% of us will suffer from a major depressive episode in any given calendar year. [2] 14% will suffer from anxiety in some way shape or form.[3] Schizophrenia, Bipolar, attachment issues, substance abuse – the list goes on. And then there’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which affects 1 in every 50 Australian at a clinically significant level,[4] but is in fact suspected to be harboured by most people to at least some small degree – ever felt compelled to touch that table before you walk past it, or flip the light switch off and on more than one for no particular reason, arrange things in a particular order for no real reason or set your alarm for the morning 3 or 4 times just to be sure it’s right?
There are numerous conditions and disorders that affect everyday people. However, the prevalence of those conditions and disorders may indicate a flaw in the way in which those conditions are measured. Having an attachment ‘disorder’, for example – or a mild obsessive compulsive ‘disorder’ – presupposes that a person is not in order, or is outside of the normal or acceptable baseline limits for mental ‘wellness’ (as opposed to mental ‘illness’). But if mental illness is so prevalent that almost 1 in every 2 people has or has had something, the ‘acceptable; baseline cannot reasonably apply, and instead must refer to a fictitious ideal state of mental normalcy that almost nobody experiences.
Where people sit on the scale of depression vs elation, or obsessive compulsion vs a lack thereof, may be a more socially appropriate and statistically relevant indicator of the manner in which people’s mental make-ups influence the ways they act. Telling people they’ve got a mental ‘illness’ or disorder - or that they're mad - when half of everybody else is in exactly the same boat seems, frankly, a little judgey. That’s all.
[1] Department of Health and Ageing. “Response Ability: Mental illness facts and statistics.” http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?display=134882 (Accessed 04/12/2011).
[2] Mindframe Media. “Reporting Suicide and Mental Illness.” http://www.mindframe-media.info/site/index.cfm?display=83683. (Accessed 04/12/2011).
[3] Ibid.
[4] eCentreClinic. “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.” http://www.ecentreclinic.org/OCD_Factsheet.pdf (Accessed 04/12/2011).
[5] Picture above obtained from: Dave Munger. "Redefining 'Mental Illess.'" Seed Magazine, December 3, 2011. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/redefining_mental_illness/ (Accessed 04/12/2011).
