[3] "Patient Zero" was written following a meeting Mann and her husband, Michael Penn, had with actor Andrew Garfield, who had recently arrived in Hollywood.

[4][5] Jonathan Coulton co-wrote "Patient Zero", "Good For Me" and "Rollercoasters", while John Roderick of the Long Winters cowrote "Poor Judge".

[17] Ryan Bray from Consequence of Sound defined it as the musical "equivalent of washing your mouth out with soap" and stated that it "smacks of cold reality".

Club pointed out that Mental Illness is a continuation of Aimee Mann's historic tradition of chronicling life's disappointments, both simple and profound.

[20] Steve Horowitz of PopMatters wrote that "Mann is our modern day Dory Previn, whose whip-smart sensibility suggests intelligence and mania at the same time.

[26] Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated that on Mental Illness Mann is "Tunefully Tracing Elegant Despair".

[16] Allan Raible of ABC News articulated that this record is "firmly planted in mature soundscapes", that "you may find yourself getting lost in this album's sonic textures" and that with Mental Illness "Aimee Mann continues to be one of the most gripping storytellers writing music today".

[31] Along with Mann herself, the tour featured Jonathan Coulton on acoustic guitar, Jay Bellerose on drums, a string quartet, Jamie Edwards on piano, and Paul Bryan on bass while singing backup vocals.

Amy Wickman, Gina Kronstadt, Terry Glenny, Radu Piepta and Susan Chatman Aaron Oltman and Rodney Wirtz John Krovoza and Peggy Baldwin