Mental disorders

Mental disorder: an illness of the mind that can affect the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of a person, preventing them from leading a happy, healthy life.

Stigma: a mark of shame or disapproval that results in an individual being shunned or rejected by others.

Types

  • Anxiety disorders: (most common) real or imagined fears that are difficult to control

    • Phobias: strong irrational fear of something specific

    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): persistent fears/urges (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions)

    • Panic disorder: attacks of sudden unexplained terrors, accompanied by physical symptoms

    • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): after trauma, causes flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness.

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): excessive worries and tenseness for no reason; startle easily.

  • People with anxiety disorders often try to avoid stressful situations.

  • Impulse control disorders: can't control the urge to engage in harmful behaviors

    • Kleptomania: uncontrollable urge to steal

    • Self-harm: deliberately injuring themselves, such as cutting/burning/pulling out hair

    • Pyromania: setting fires to feel pleasure/release tension

    • Excessive (or compulsive) gambling: continue gambling despite heavy losses, even if they want to stop

    • Compulsive shopping: uncontrollably spending money on items they can’t afford/don't need

  • Eating disorders: people see perfect bodies and feel pressured to change how they look through unhealthy eating habits. Causes severe weight gain/loss or even death.

    • Anorexia nervosa: starve themselves

    • Bulimia nervosa

    • Binge eating

  • Mood disorders: extremes of emotional movement; more severe than normal.

    • Depression

    • Bipolar disorder: extreme changes in mood, energy level, and behavior

  • Conduct disorder: engaging in destructive behavior (stealing/lying/violence)

    • Treatment: learning to adapt to the demands of everyday life

  • Personality disorders: unable to regulate emotions, feel distressed in social situations, or behave in ways that distress others.

  • Schizophrenia: losing touch with reality; symptoms include delusions/hallucinations/thought disorders; behavior can be unpredictable.