What is mental illness​? Mental illness refers to a disease characterized by clinical manifestations of cognitive, emotional, volitional, and behavioral impairments resulting from brain dysfunction caused by various biological, psychological, and social environmental factors.

Mental illness is caused by disturbances in the functioning of the human thalamus and brain, leading to abnormalities in perception, thinking, emotions, and behavior in patients. There are various types of common mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, affective disorders, and organic brain disorders. Different types of mental illnesses have different clinical manifestations and treatment methods.

Mental illness often occurs during the young and middle-aged period, with some intermittent attacks and others continuing to progress, gradually becoming chronic with high recurrence and disability rates. If not actively treated, mental decline and personality changes may occur, making it difficult to adapt to social life and fulfill responsibilities to family and society. However, if detected early and treated promptly, patients can also fully recover from the disease and live, study, and work normally.

Most patients with mental illnesses have a prolonged course of illness, fluctuating conditions, and are prone to recurrence, requiring continuous and regular medication treatment to control symptoms and prevent recurrence. Numerous studies have shown that improving the compliance of psychiatric patients with treatment is the key to controlling psychiatric symptoms and improving the prognosis of psychiatric disorders.

Although the new generation of antipsychotic drugs and novel antidepressants have proven to be effective and have fewer side effects, and have been widely welcomed, the awareness and compliance of psychiatric patients with these drug treatments remain important issues for clinical treatment and nursing in psychiatry.