Learn More About Mental Illness
Statistics
Mental Illness effects 1 in 4 families – 10 million Americans
- 25% of individuals, develop one or more mental disorders at some stage in life
- 450 million people globally suffer from mental illness
- 154 million suffer from depression
- 25 million from schizophrenia
- 91 million from alcohol use disorder
- 15 million drug use disorder
- Treatment works. Yet, two-thirds of all people with a diagnosable mental disorder do not seek treatment, whether fear of being stigmatized, fear that the treatment may be worse than the illness itself, or lack of awareness, access and affordability of care.
- Mental illnesses do not discriminate, they can affect anyone, men, woman, and children regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status
- Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD is characterized by persistent, excessive, and unrealistic worry about everyday things. People with the disorder, which is also referred to as GAD, experience exaggerated worry and tension, often expecting the worst, even when there is no apparent reason for concern. They anticipate disaster and are overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues.
GAD is diagnosed when a person worries excessively about a variety of everyday problems for at least 6 months.
BiPolar - Manic Depressive
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.
Bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years. At least half of all cases start before age 25. Some people have their first symptoms during childhood, while others may develop symptoms late in life.
Bipolar disorder is not easy to spot when it starts. The symptoms may seem like separate problems, not recognized as parts of a larger problem. Some people suffer for years before they are properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.
Depression
Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.
True clinical depression is an illness. It is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with daily life for weeks or longer.
A-Typical Depression
As with any type of depression, atypical depression can make you feel blue and keep you from enjoying life. When you have atypical depression, a particular pattern of signs and symptoms tends to occur. You may feel hungry and gain weight. You may sleep a lot, and your arms and legs may feel heavy. Many people who have atypical depression have a hard time maintaining relationships and are especially afraid of rejection by others.
Atypical depression often starts in the teenage years and is more common in women than in men. Despite the name, atypical depression isn't uncommon or unusual. As with other forms of depression, treatment for atypical depression includes medications, psychological counseling (psychotherapy) and lifestyle changes.
Chronic Depression
Dysthymia, sometimes referred to as mild, chronic depression, is less severe than major depression. With dysthymia, the depression symptoms can linger for a long period of time, often two years or longer. Those who suffer from dysthymia can also experience periods of major depression.
Psychotic Depression
Psychotic depression occurs when a severe depressive illness has a co-existing form of psychosis. The psychosis could be hallucinations, delusions, or some other break with reality. Psychotic depression affects roughly one out of every four people who is admitted to the hospital for depression.
How Is Psychotic Depression Different From Major or Clinical Depression?
In addition to the symptoms of clinical depression, such as feeling hopeless, worthless, and helpless, psychotic depression also has features of psychosis. For instance, a person with psychotic depression may have hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't really there) or delusions (irrational thoughts and fears).
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a person who is psychotic is out of touch with reality. People with psychosis may hear "voices." Or they may have strange and illogical ideas. For example, they may think that others can hear their thoughts or are trying to harm them. Or they might think they are the President of the United States or some other famous person.
People with psychotic depression may get angry for no apparent reason. Or they may spend a lot of time by themselves or in bed, sleeping during the day and staying awake at night. A person with psychotic depression may neglect appearance by not bathing or changing clothes. Or that person may be hard to talk to. Perhaps he or she barely talks or else says things that make no sense.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, seasonal affective disorder causes depression in the spring or early summer.
Treatment for seasonal affective disorder includes light therapy (phototherapy), psychotherapy and medications. Don't brush off that yearly
feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders -- such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder – include extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for females and males.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Everyone double checks things sometimes. For example, you might double check to make sure the stove or iron is turned off before leaving the house. But people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) feel the need to check things repeatedly, or have certain thoughts or perform routines and rituals over and over. The thoughts and rituals associated with OCD cause distress and get in the way of daily life.
The frequent upsetting thoughts are called obsessions. To try to control them, a person will feel an overwhelming urge to repeat certain rituals or behaviors called compulsions. People with OCD can't control these obsessions and compulsions. Most of the time, the rituals end up controlling them.
Postpartum
Postpartum depression is a serious illness that can occur in the first few months after childbirth. It also can happen after miscarriage and stillbirth.
Postpartum depression can make you feel very sad, hopeless, and worthless. You may have trouble caring for and bonding with your baby.
Postpartum depression is not the "baby blues," which many women have in the first couple of weeks after childbirth. With the blues, you may have trouble sleeping and feel moody, teary, and overwhelmed. You may have these feelings along with being happy about your baby. But the "baby blues" usually go away within a couple of weeks. The symptoms of postpartum depression can last for months.
In rare cases, a woman may have a severe form of depression called postpartum psychosis. She may act strangely, see or hear things that aren't there, and be a danger to herself and her baby. This is an emergency, because it can quickly get worse and put her or others in danger.
It’s very important to get treatment for depression. The sooner you get treated, the sooner you'll feel better and enjoy your baby.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is among only a few mental disorders that are triggered by a disturbing outside event, unlike other psychiatric disorders such as depression.
Many Americans experience individual traumatic events ranging from car and airplane accidents to sexual assault and domestic violence. Other experiences, including those associated with natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes, affect multiple people simultaneously. Dramatic and tragic events, like the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and wars occur, and with media exposure such as we have today, even people not directly involved might be affected. Simply put, PTSD is a state in which you "can't stop remembering."
Schizoaffective Disorder
Schizoaffective disorder is a condition in which a person experiences a combination of schizophrenia symptoms — such as hallucinations or delusions — and mood disorder symptoms, such as mania or depression.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.
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