What characteristics do you associate with a "mentally ill" person?

Answer 1

The term "mental illness" insinuates that mental disorders are somehow like diseases. Unfortunately, mental disorders do not have the clearly delineated etiologies that characterize medical disorders.

I wouldn't associate any characteristics to a mentally disordered person because there are so many different kinds of neuroses out there that whatever label I tried to apply probably wouldn't fit.

Human is one word that would come to mind.