Mental illnesses are physical brain disorders that profoundly
disrupt a person's ability to think, feel, and relate to others
and their environment. Mental illnesses are more common than cancer,
diabetes, or heart disease.
Schizophrenia
A chronic and severe brain disease. Schizophrenia
does not mean "split" or multiple personalities. People
with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing
internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people
are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting
to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn.
Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized, and they may
be incomprehensible or frightening to others. Available treatments
can relieve many symptoms, but most people with schizophrenia continue
to suffer some symptoms throughout their lives Other symptoms of
schizophrenia include: anxious, irritable, agitation, anxiety,
panic, angry outbursts, inappropriate emotional responses, depression,
moodiness, slowed movements, odd posturing, bizarre actions, follows
rituals, mimicing, swearing and shouting, delusional false beliefs,
suspicious, paranoia, hallucinations (visual and/or auditory) catatonic
excitement (pacing, rocking, grimacing), catatonic rigidity (bizarre
body postures, mutism, negativism), no attention to hygiene.
Bipolar disorder (also called manic-depression)
A brain disorder
that, in some forms, causes extreme shifts in mood, energy and
functioning. A person may have mania, an overly "high" mood,
or episodes of mania and depression. Some of the symptoms of Bipolar
disorder include: abnormally elevated, expansive, high moods, irritable,
critical, argumentative, stubborn, inflated self concepts of power,
greatness, grandiosity, rapid shifts of attention, poor concentration,
memory distortion, disorganized, incoherent speech, racing thoughts,
pressured speech, disorganized, easily distracted, recklessness,
spending money, bad business investments, hyper sexuality, sexual
misadventures, decreased need for sleep, impulsive, intrusive,
uninhibited, catatonic.
Major (clinical) depressive disorder
A mood disorder characterized
by a number of symptoms that occur nearly every day, all day
or for at least 2 weeks. These include at least one of the
following: sad, anxious or “empty” mod, sleeping too little or
too much, changes in weight or appetite, loss of pleasure or interest
in activities once enjoyed, feeling irritable or restless, trouble
concentrating, or making decisions and remembering, fatigue or
loss of energy, feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless, physical
symptoms that don’t respond to treatment, thoughts of death
or suicide. It is one of the most treatable of all medical illnesses!
Mania
A condition characterized by an abnormally and persistently
elevated mood or irritability accompanied by symptoms such
as inflated self-esteem; decreased need for sleep; increased
talkativeness; racing thoughts; distractibility; increased
goal-directed activity such as shopping; physical agitation;
and excessive involvement in risky activities.
Generalized anxiety disorder
A condition of chronic and heightened
worry and tension. A person may worry excessively about health,
money, family or work. Physical symptoms such as trembling,
twitching, muscle tension, headaches or sweating may occur.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
An enduring pattern
of poor control of impulses, disappointing and unstable relationships,
fears of abandonment, intense and often rapidly changing moods,
extreme anger, and feelings of emptiness. Personality disorders
are diagnosed in adults when emotional and behavioral traits
are inflexible and maladaptive and cause significant distress
and difficulty in living.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
A disorder characterized
by anxious thoughts or rituals that a person believes are beyond
his or her control. For example, someone may be obsessed with
germs leading him to wash his hands repeatedly. Disturbing
thoughts or images are obsessions, and the rituals that are
done to prevent or dispel them are compulsions.
Panic disorder
A disorder characterized by feelings of terror
that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. A person
may develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying about
the next attack. Episodes may be accompanied by physical symptoms
such as chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath,
dizziness or abdominal distress.
Phobia
A specific phobia is a fear of a particular object
or situation. Social phobia is fear in a social setting or
anticipation of painful embarrassment in a social setting.
What causes mental
illness?
Chemical imbalances are thought to
contribute to mental illnesses. As with cancer, mental illnesses
may also be triggered by environmental stresses, particularly
in people who are at risk due to family or genetic factors.
Can people recover from mental illness?
With treatment, many people can recover, while those with more
chronic disorders can learn to manage their symptoms, much
like a person learns to live with arthritis or diabetes.
When should a person seek help for mental illness?
The American Psychiatric Association lists the following signs
for adults: a marked change in personality, inability to cope
with problems and daily activities, strange ideas or delusions,
excessive anxiety, prolonged feelings of sadness, a marked
change in eating or sleeping patterns, thinking or talking
about suicide, extreme highs and lows, abuse of alcohol or
drugs, excessive anger, hostility, violent behavior, and irrational
fears.
Effect of alcohol and drugs on mental illness
Alcohol and other drugs are a barrier to accurate identification
and effective treatment of those who suffer from psychiatric
disorders. Their use may conceal a psychiatric disorder, or
accelerate its development and magnify its effects. AOD use
can cause symptoms that resemble psychiatric syndromes and
may inflate co-morbidity rates-the presence of any two or more
illnesses in the same person. Thus, an individual might be
alcohol dependent and schizophrenic. Having either an alcohol
or psychiatric disorder increases a person's risk of having
the other diagnosis. Alcoholics, for example, are 21 times
more likely to have an antisocial personality disorder, 6 times
more likely to have manic depressive disorder and 4 times more
likely to have schizophrenia.
Hope
However, “there is widespread agreement that when housing
is permanent and flexible, and individualized support
services are available as needed, people with serious mental
illnesses can achieve and maintain residential stability in the
community”.
Also, many can work and contribute to society.