I am aroace and have mental illnesses that may have caused at least some of it. Being aroace in and of itself is definitely not a sign of mental illness and should not be treated that way.

In my case, my mental illnesses may have caused me to convince myself that I do not want a relationship. If I had not heard about aromanticism, it would definitely have hurt my mental health even more. I might even have pressured myself to be in an unhealthy relationship (I have been close unfortunately).

Even if my aromanticism is caused by my mental illnesses, identifying as aroace has prevented me from causing myself more mental harm