Dr Katzenstein continues:
Welcome to Emotional Wellness Daily, a project of SIMHA, the Sephardic Initiative for Mental Health Awareness. We previously spoke about the problems of self-diagnosis with regard to mental illness. So let's answer the question, what exactly is a mental illness? The truth is that it is not that clear. We actually do not have a universal consensus as to what constitutes an emotional or mental illness.
But let's try to put some of the pieces together and understand how professionals do, in fact, diagnose and assess for a mental health issue.
-The first thing we look at is what we call statistical infrequency. If 100% of the population meets criteria for depression, then it wouldn't be a disorder. It would just be the baseline mood for humanity.
-Another factor we study is what we call violation of social norms.
If what we're doing, what we're feeling, or our behaviors are outside what is considered to be socially acceptable, then we might be inclined to say that something is a little off.
So, for example, if you're at the supermarket and you don't like the way the employee is treating you and you start screaming and yelling at the top of your lungs that he's terrible at his job and he should find another job, that would be a violation of social norms. But imagine if you're at a Yankee game and the pitcher gives up a home run. You start screaming and yelling as loud as you can that he's terrible at his job and should find another one, this is essentially the same exact behavior, but it is not a violation of social norms.
There are two main factors that we look at when diagnosing mental illness:
-One is psychological pain and distress. How much emotional pain and suffering is the person experiencing? This is actually something invisible. It can't be tested. It has to be told to us through recognition and awareness of one's self, and one's mind, with regard to how much psychological distress the person is experiencing.
-The second factor, which can be potentially observed by others, is what's called functional impairment. If your day-to-day routine, whether it's a job or school that is being impaired, (it's difficult for you to show up; difficult for you to perform) or social relationships, because of whatever it is you're experiencing, whether it's anxiety or depression or something else, if it is difficult for you to engage meaningfully in relationships, that’s a potential signs.
Again, we don't diagnose through WhatsApp chat, but these are potential signs that there might be something that's affecting me that doesn't feel okay, I'm not functioning according to my capacity. I may need to seek help.
*And for the purposes of a public service announcement, this is what we do at SIMHA. We help people figure out if there is, indeed, something that needs to be addressed mentally or emotionally, and then we help you find the appropriate care and treatment that you may need to help you in your journey towards wellness.
Thank you.