Mental illness is a thought disorder, mood disorder, or combination of both.
It can damage relationships, disrupt employment, and impair a person to the point where he or she needs emergency treatment. It you or someone you love has a mental illness, you may wonder exactly what it is. Typically, a mental disorder is defined as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome associated with either distress or impairment in one or more important areas of function. An estimated 1.3 million people in California have a serious mental illness. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a thought disorder.