Mental illness can strike any family.
The net result is often a life of misery for the patient, mental anguish and devastated finances for the family, and a great public sacrifice in terms of human potential lost and national health care costs. The past few decades have seen a major advance in the understanding of mental illness. It is now clearly understood that schizophrenia, bipolar depression, and other mental disorders are primarily caused by imbalances in brain neurotransmitters. Stressful events and flawed life experiences are now viewed as aggravating factors that may trigger a breakdown in mental functioning, but not a primary cause. This improved understanding has led to a revolution in the treatment of mental illness.