Understanding Mental Illness

Throughout my medical career I have studied mental illness—as a researcher and as a clinician. Schizophrenia alone is a disease that affects 1% of the population of our world, making it a common illness. Unfortunately, violence has become the tragic touchstone that draws the public’s attention to serious mental illness, although the majority of individuals with serious mental illness are not violent. Our elected officials and we as citizens of the United States and of the world, owe it for the betterment of our society and to the individuals and families who suffer from these illnesses to better understand them. Only then can we offer, if not a cure, at least the humanistic support that every individual deserves.

— David Pickar, MD