Significance of Illness in Mental Health: A Literature Review

<p>Objective: This literature review aimed to clarify the meaning of illness within the context of mental health. Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, CiNii, and Japan Medical Abstracts Society were used as the primary databases. Keywords included “patients with mental illness,” “mental illness,” “patient or patients,” “illness or disease,” “meaning or meaning-making,” and “meaning of illness.” The search contained original articles, clinical studies, and case reports, both in English and Japanese, including qualitative studies. The copyright has been considered in the case of citations, and the parts containing the meaning of mental illness chronologically were integrated. Results: Finally, five articles were retained and categorized into six themes: “The meaning of illness as an opportunity to recognize mental illness,” “The meaning of illness to investigate the cause of illness,” “The meaning of illness as an experience not to accept mental illness,” “The meaning of illness as a source of suffering,” “The meaning of illness for coexistence with people with the same illness,” and “Meaning of illness to accept mental illness and rebuild from there.” Conclusions: Medical staff tend to perceive illness as changes in biological structure or function. However, illness is a lived experience for patients with mental illness, and medical staff must realize it.</p>