Benzodiazepines may be useful, in low doses, for patients with schizophrenia who are beginning to show signs of relapse and may help to avoid the necessity of major increases in neuroleptic medication. They may also be useful in treating mania.

Mental illness is a health problem that can change the way a person thinks, feels, makes decisions, deals with others, or copes with everyday life. Someone with a mental illness may experience a number of problems that may make it difficult for them to lead a normal life.

Yes. Mental illness can strike anyone, no matter what age, race, or economic status. That is why it is important for people to know that mental illness is common and help is easily available. People with mental illnesses are not alone.

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There are many different reasons someone may have a mental illness. Mental illness could be caused by something physical, such as an injury to your head or an infection that attacks your brain. It could also by caused by your surroundings, for example if you have experienced abuse or another extremely upsetting event. For many other people, mental illness is caused by their genes.

Millions of people suffer various types of mental dis-ease. The National Institutes of Mental Health classifies mood disorders; panic disorders; agoraphobia; anxiety disorders; asperger's (ASD's) eating disorders; ADHD; suicide; schizophrenia; social phobias; alsheimers' and autism all under the umbrella of mental disorders.

My big brother, Tom, has challenges beyond my understanding. He struggles with schizoaffective disorder. Although I've never looked up his "diagnosis" in the official record of mental illnesses, the DSM, I know he has problems. I know this by his fixations on seemingly benign things that happened 20 years ago. Or the threats he might make from time to time to family members who love him.

Your family member has a right to treatment while in jail. Telling the sheriff, the jail nurse, the jail doctor, the lawyer and/or the judge that your family member needs medicine and what types of medicine are being taken may get results more quickly. For basic information about finding help when you are in trouble with the law, The Texas Appleseed project has produced a Handbook for Persons with Mental Illness and their Families which can be found on their website at: http://www.

When undergoing treatment, people with severe mental illnesses are no more dangerous than the general population. When untreated, this is no longer the case. There are approximately 1,000 homicides - among the estimated 20,000 total homicides in the U.S. - committed each year by people with untreated schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness. According to a 1994 Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, "Murder in Families," 4.

The benzodiazepines used most often are: Alprazolam (Xanax); Chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Librax, Libritabs); Clonazepam (Klonopin); Diazepam (Valium, Valrelease); Estazolam (Prosom); Flurazepam (Dalmane); Lorazepam (Ativan); Oxazepam (Serax); Quazepam (Doral); Temazepam (Restoril); Triazolam (Halcion).

Dependence on benzodiazepines has been reported when they have been used continuously for many months or years. This does not mean that patients are "addicted" to their medication. Addiction is a pattern of drug abuse characterized by an overwhelming preoccupation with the use of a drug, including build up of a physical tolerance to the drug's effects and intense drug-seeking behaviour.

Yes. If a person continues to be unable to make basic decisions because of an impairment, guardianship should be considered. This legal process places the personal decision-making in the hands of another person who is legally able to authorize needed services. This law has provisions for limited guardianship that allows the guardian to only have decision-making powers under certain conditions.

Yes -- almost every mental illness has some form of treatment. For some it's medication, for others it's therapy; often, it's a combination of both. Different people may have different reactions to the same treatment, so sometimes people must try several different things before finding something that works. Not all kinds of mental illness can be permanently 'cured'; but almost all can be treated so that the person can live a happier and more productive life.

Mental retardation is not mental illness. Mental retardation refers to a person’s capability to think and reason. Mental illness is an emotional disturbance. There may be one occurrence or several which can develop at any time in a person’s life. Like anyone else, a person with mental retardation may become emotionally disturbed or mentally ill, but they are separate conditions.

Yes. A person can be admitted to a hospital on an "informal" voluntary basis or a "formal" voluntary basis. An "informal" voluntary process requires the person over the age of 18 to request treatment. The process can normally be done without the formal execution of any admission papers. A "formal" voluntary patient will execute an application for hospitalization and may be admitted if the director of the hospital determines that he/she is suitable for hospitalization.