Is it just me?

Is it just me, or are we living in an epidemic of mental illness? I happen to know a lot of people who have been to a mental institution, whether to get medical treatment or to stay overnight there. At first, I thought that I was special. I thought that I had stumbled upon and know a lot of men and women with mental issues. In a sense, I was worried. Birds of the same feather flock together. Or at least, that’s what they say. I hope that’s not true. Based on the idea of this proverb, I have started to think that I may be mentally insane, too.   However, I don’t think that is the case. I’ve happened to meet other people who also know a lot of people who have mental issues. At one point, I came across a news article. In that article, we could read about the growing number of individuals with mental issues in our society. If I were to look on YouTube at footage from the USA, I may say that the epidemic may be even global—for real now, what’s up with that large number of homeless drug addicts in the main cities?   Probably, most people don’t even realize the seriousness of the situation. Probably, most of the ill ones don’t even realize that they have an issue. To make my point clearer, alcoholism and depression are two issues that require attention from a psychiatric specialist. Unfortunately, many don’t seem to understand that these are two psychiatric conditions.   Just to give alcoholism as a relevant example, many alcoholics don’t realize that they drink too much. We all have an uncle who has seven to eight beers in the evening. He doesn’t seem to be bothered. For him, that quantity of beer is something normal. Why? Because he has been drinking like that for many years. His friends drink the same way. Maybe, even some of his relatives, i.e., your relatives. His normal is a form of mental illness, but in his mind, nothing is out of the ordinary.   What can you do to protect yourself from mental illness? Simple. Educate yourself and avoid substance abuse. Being aware that there are issues puts you way ahead in this game. Understanding that more people than ever are suffering from one form or another of mental illness will help you understand those around you who act strangely. (The old lady screaming on the street may have a mental issue. And now you know that this possibility exists.)  To end this piece, I want to highlight some mental issues that are prevalent today.  -> alcoholism   -> drug addiction   -> porn addiction  -> depression  -> anxiety   -> various forms of personality disorders.