Diagnoses
Different mental illnesses explained
Anxiety disorders
Chronic anxiety, worry, fear and panic which is so severe it dominates and interferes with ordinary life. Someone with an anxiety disorder may feel excessively anxious in particular situations, such as in social situations, or they may be constantly anxious regardless of the situation.Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is the most common childhood-onset behavioural disorder. It greatly reduces the children’s ability to maintain attention without being distracted, leads to impulsive speech and behaviour, as well as making them fidgety and restless.Bipolar Disorder (also referred to as manic depression)
A condition where people have extreme swings in mood, from being very high (manic) to very low (depressed), in a cyclical pattern. People go from profound depression to being elated and hyperactive, becoming reckless and having an unrealistic sense of their own importance or abilities.Dementia
Mental confusion, impaired memory, reduced mental and physical functioning and altered behaviour are characteristic of dementia. Prevalence increases with age, although younger people can experience dementia.Depression
Everyone feels sad, fed up or miserable sometimes. But for some depression goes on for longer and becomes so severe that they find it hard to carry on with their normal lives. The symptoms of ‘clinical’ depression include loss of interest and motivation, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, reduced energy levels and an inability to carry out everyday tasks. People feel bleak, helpless and sometimes suicidal. There can also be physical symptoms like insomnia and reduced or increased appetite. There is a range of self-help techniques and support networks available, as well as professional help and medication, to successfully manage depression.Dual Diagnosis
A term generally used to describe people with mental health problems who also misuse drugs and/or alcohol.Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa (starving oneself) and bulimia nervosa (compulsive eating followed by purging) are both eating disorders. They are not ‘slimmers’ diseases’ but reflect psychological or emotional problems. They affect both males and females.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
People with OCD feel that they have no control over particular repetitive, irresistible urges. Repeated and ritualistic behaviours such as hand washing, door closing or counting or repeatedly carrying out a series of actions in a set order disrupt individuals’ everyday lives.Personality Disorders
A group of disorders involving long-standing attitudes, behaviours and ways of viewing the world which are outside socially accepted limits. Personality disorders, often caused by traumatic childhood experiences, cause distress and disruption to individuals and those around them, making daily life difficult.Post-natal Depression
This condition is one of the most common complications of childbirth. The most frequent symptoms are depression, intense feelings of tiredness or irritation and loss of appetite, as well as a feeling of not being able to cope or to meet the new baby’s needs.Psychosis
This is a term used by mental health professionals to describe a state when an individual’s thought processes become distorted to such an extent that they lose touch with reality. It is a symptom commonly associated with severe mental illness. A person may experience a single episode of psychosis or may experience repeated episodes. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder are the most common psychotic illnesses. Someone experiencing psychosis should not be referred to as a ‘psycho’.Schizophrenia
A condition that affects emotions, thinking and perceptions, and can result in people losing touch with reality, experiencing delusions, hallucinations, paranoia and disordered thinking. Symptoms include hearing, seeing or smelling things which are not there and believing that someone or something else is controlling one’s behaviour. People with schizophrenia sometimes describe it as a ‘living nightmare’.Schizoaffective Disorder
A condition in which someone experiences symptoms of both mood disorders, like depression or bipolar disorder, and of schizophrenia.Self-harm
Deliberate harm done to one’s own body, usually done secretively, often by younger people. Ways of inflicting self-harm include cutting, burning and scalding, and self-poisoning. Often it is considered to be a way of coping with and distracting from emotional and life problems. However, people who self-harm are a high-risk group for later going on to take their own lives.
