Understanding Mental Illness: A Comprehensive Guide to Mental Health Disorders for Family and Friends

“Skillfully crafted, thoughtful, and expertly written.” —Sheryl Denise Jones, MD

“Comprehensive and educational . . . from a practical and relatable point of view." —Napoleon Higgins, MD

“A well needed resource! . . . It allows us to better understand and support the people we care about, but who struggle with mental illness.” —Thomas Kerrihard, MD

Get the straight facts about mental illness from two Harvard trained psychiatrists. More than 40 million people in the US suffer from mental health problems—yet less than half receive adequate care and treatment.

Even in the 21st century with the most advanced medical care in the world, social stigma still surrounds psychiatric problems, and this, combined with a lack of understanding, perpetuates a national mental health crisis affecting those in need and their families.

Ignoring and/or being unaware of a problem can have devastating effects in our families and for society at large—many people living with mental illness go untreated, and as a result, people with untreated mental illnesses make up one third of the nation’s homeless population and can be imprisoned.

To meet these challenges, Dr. Carlin Barnes and Dr. Marketa Wills have written this necessary and comprehensive, practical guide to educate and help everyone better understand mental health. Each chapter offers insights and wisdom concerning a variety of psychiatric conditions, including:

• Mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Personality disorders
• Substance abuse issues
• Eating disorders
• Women’s mental health issues
• Suicide in America
• Geriatric mental health
• Professional athletes and mental health
• And more

“Skillfully crafted, thoughtful, and expertly written, this book allows the reader to easily comprehend the complex concepts associated with mental health disorders. Through practical examples and detailed descriptions, each of us will see ourselves or someone we know compassionately described within the pages of this book.”
—Sheryl Denise Jones, MD, corporate medical director; board certified adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist

“With approximately one third of all people worldwide suffering from a psychiatric illness in their lifetime, essentially everyone is a friend or family member. This book is a wonderful reference for every compassionate loved one who wishes to have a framework or foundation of information to be of help. Dr.'s Barnes and Wills are exceptional experts in psychiatry who draw on their profound knowledge base to connect with each reader in the community, by using language and concepts that are readily understandable and by sharing their own compelling personal life stories.” 
—Scott L. Rauch, MD, President, Psychiatrist-in-Chief and Chair of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital

"This is a very comprehensive and educational book about mental health that can help caregivers, families, and loved ones better understand mental health from a practical and relateable point of view."
—Napoleon Higgins, MD, practicing psychiatrist, President of Bay Pointe Behavioral Health Service, Inc.

“Dr. Carlin Barnes and Dr. Marketa Wills have delivered a well needed resource! This book will help family and friends who struggle with loved ones suffering from mental illness. They have managed to take extremely complicated psychological concepts and deliver them in ways anyone can understand. This book is a real step forward in explaining how many people we care about can suffer from life-altering mental illnesses. It allows us to better understand and support the people we care about, but who struggle with mental illness.”
—Thomas Kerrihard, MD, practicing psychiatrist

Carlin Barnes, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist and behavioral health medical director at a Fortune 500 managed care company. For the past eighteen years, she has practiced child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry—she has a thriving, diverse, boutique private practice with patient clientele ranging from working adults to urban children and adolescents. She trained in the specialty of psychiatry at programs affiliated with both Harvard University and Emory University Schools of Medicine and attended Texas A&M University College of Medicine, where she received a Doctor of Medicine degree. Dr. Barnes is a member of several professional organizations including the National Medical Association, the Black Psychiatrists of America, and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. She is originally from Hillside, New Jersey, and currently resides in Houston, Texas, where she lives with her son.

Marketa Wills, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist with a master’s in business administration from the Wharton School of Business and serves as a physician executive at a Fortune 500 health insurance company. She has cared for severely mentally ill patients in inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room clinical settings. As treatment team leader and medical director, she effectively collaborated with other mental health professionals to ensure that patients with a variety of ailments—ranging from schizophrenia to postpartum depression to substance abuse—were able to live as productively as possible. Dr. Wills earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and completed a residency in adult psychiatry at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital program. In her last year of the program, she served as chief resident. She has received numerous accolades and awards highlighting her clinical and community achievements. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, she currently resides in sunny Tampa, Florida. Her passions include travel, community service and the arts.

Many of our families have someone—a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin—who seems to behave a little differently from everyone else. Maybe they always seem to be saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, embarrassing you in front of other family members or friends. Maybe they all too often seem despondent, sad, and withdrawn, unable to cope with everyday life. If a child, their constant hyperactivity makes them a real handful to deal with and interferes with everyday activities at school and home.

What may someone suffering from a mental illness look like? They may have thoughts or behaviors that appear out of touch with reality. They may be engaging in very impulsive, risky, or dangerous acts. There may be an addiction to drugs or alcohol. These are just a few examples. The list of possible behaviors and symptoms is unfortunately long.

There are myriad ways in which individuals with mental illnesses, diagnosed or not, can affect those who love and care for them. And there are just as many ways in which we can react to their behaviors. We can call them quirky or odd and leave it at that. We can place blame or be judgmental. We can run ourselves ragged trying to find a “cure” for what ails them or making excuses for their behaviors.

Oftentimes we take the path of least resistance—we simply ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. This is a route frequently taken due to the stigma of mental illness in our society. Many would rather let their loved ones go untreated than admit they might have a mental illness. But where does this get them in the end? People with untreated mental illnesses make up one third of the nation’s homeless population and 16 percent of inmates in our jails and prisons. They are more likely to be victimized—robbed, raped, even murdered—and the crimes against them largely go unreported, because who would believe them anyway?

On the other hand, a Department of Justice study found that 4.3 percent of homicides were committed by people with histories of untreated mental illness, and a MacArthur Foundation study found that individuals with mental illness committed twice as many violent acts just prior to being admitted to hospitals and during periods when they were unmedicated. Posthospitalization, the study showed that rate dropped by 50 percent. Still, up to 54 percent of individuals with serious mental illnesses receive no treatment; of those who do receive treatment, 46 percent are off their medications only nine months later.

What does this mean in the big picture? The longer a person with a mental illness goes untreated, the less able they may be to achieve any sort of long-term recovery. Study after study has shown that the longer one waits to begin treatment, the greater the severity of the mental illness becomes, and the more difficult it becomes to combat. Conversely, early treatment consistently leads to much more positive outcomes.

These statistics and facts paint a bleak picture—but this is where you come in. Knowledge is power. Being aware and informed is the first step in helping a loved one or family member get the proper treatment they need to begin the road to recovery and emotional wellness. Armed with the knowledge of clear and factual information, you will be able to begin the process of helping your loved one. Change will not happen overnight; recovery is a process that is a different journey for each person. The most important thing is that you all hang in there—that you let your loved one know that you are with them for the long haul, through the good and the bad, no matter what the outcome. Our goal is that this book will give you the reassurance and information you need to do just that.