A mental or physical incapacity, such as mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy, that arises before adulthood and usually lasts through life. Mental illness Any mental or emotional disorder that substantially impairs normal life activity.
Examples are schizophrenia, acute depression, and manic-depressive illness.
The proposition that limitations or restrictions on mental health benefits should be no greater than on insurance coverage for other medical services. Utilization Patient use of a service. The public responsibility for caring for people with mental illness and other mental disabilities was set out in Michigan more than 100 years ago, in the 1850 Michigan Constitution. The state's first mental health institution, the Kalamazoo Asylum for the Insane, received its first patients in 1859, and by 1983 there were others at Pontiac, Traverse City, and Newberry. When they were established, these institutions were viewed as examples of enlightened public policy.