HOW DO YOU REACT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

Mental illness is a general term for a group of illnesses that may include symptoms that can
affect a person’s thinking, perceptions, mood or behavior. Mental illness can make it difficult for
someone to cope with work, relationships and other demands. The relationship between stress
and mental illness is complex, but it is known that stress can worsen an episode of mental illness.
Most people can manage their mental illness with medication; counseling or both.

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders is a group of mental health disorders that includes generalised anxiety
disorders, social phobias, specific phobias (for example, agoraphobia and claustrophobia), panic
disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder. Untreated,
anxiety disorders can lead to significant impairment on people’s daily lives.

For more information see: Anxiety disorders.

Behavioural and emotional disorders in children

Common behavior disorders in children include oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct
disorder (CD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Treatment for these mental
health disorders can include therapy, education and medication.

For more information see: Behavioural disorders in children.

Bipolar affective disorder

Bipolar affective disorder is a type of mood disorder, previously referred to as ‘manic

depression’. A person with bipolar disorder experiences episodes of mania (elation) and
depression. The person may or may not experience psychotic symptoms. The exact cause is
unknown, but a genetic predisposition has been clearly established. Environmental stressors can
also trigger episodes of this mental illness.

For more information see: Bipolar disorder.

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by lowering of mood, loss of interest and

enjoyment, and reduced energy. It is not just feeling sad. There are different types and symptoms
of depression. There are varying levels of severity and symptoms related to depression.
Symptoms of depression can lead to increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

For more information see: Depression.

Dissociation and dissociative disorders

Dissociation is a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings,
memories or sense of identity. Dissociative disorders include dissociative amnesia, dissociative
fugue, depersonalisation disorder and dissociative identity disorder.

For more information see: Dissociation and dissociative disorders.

Eating disorders

Eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia nervosa and other binge eating disorders. Eating
disorders affect females and males and can have serious psychological and physical
consequences.

For more information see: Eating disorders.

Obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. Obsessions are recurrent thoughts,
images or impulses that are intrusive and unwanted. Compulsions are time-consuming and
distressing repetitive rituals. Treatments include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and
medications.

For more information see: Obsessive compulsive disorder.

Paranoia

Paranoia is the irrational and persistent feeling that people are ‘out to get you’. Paranoia may be
a symptom of conditions including paranoid personality disorder, delusional (paranoid) disorder
and schizophrenia. Treatment for paranoia include medications and psychological support.

For more information see: Paranoia.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop as a response
to people who have experienced any traumatic event. This can be a car or other serious accident,
physical or sexual assault, war-related events or torture, or natural disasters such as bushfires or
floods.

For more information see: Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Psychosis

People affected by psychosis can experience delusions, hallucinations and confused thinking..
Psychosis can occur in a number of mental illnesses, including drug-induced psychosis,
schizophrenia and mood disorders. Medication and psychological support can relieve, or even
eliminate, psychotic symptoms.
For more information see: Psychosis.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex psychotic disorder characterized by disruptions to thinking and

emotions, and a distorted perception of reality. Symptoms of schizophrenia vary widely but may
include hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, social withdrawal, lack of motivation and
impaired thinking and memory. People with schizophrenia have a high risk of suicide.
Schizophrenia is not a split personality.
Mental health problems are very common. In a single week, at least one
in six of us has problems with our mental health, according to the
government’s major study of adults in England.

What are mental health problems?

Mental Health problems are difficult experiences that make it harder for
us to get on with our lives. They include the painful feelings and
thoughts that we all have at times – including periods of sadness,
hopelessness and fear.

Mental health problems are not a weakness – they are just responses to
what is happening, and what has happened, to us and around us.

For example, we might feel tense, worried and afraid – a common

experience often described as ‘anxiety’. This might affect our sleep,
eating, work, studies and dealings with people in our lives, as well as
alcohol and drug use. Other people might not know how we’re feeling,
unless we tell them.

Getting support from other people, and looking after our mental
health, can help us get past problems like this and prevent them
becoming more serious or long-term. Changing our lives to tackle the
causes of our distress will also help – if this is possible. Most people
who have problems with their mental health can get over them or learn
to live with them, especially if they get help early on.

Some mental health problems cause us more serious distress and

problems with our lives, and may continue for years. For instance,
hearing and seeing things that others can’t see, or believing that other
people are out to get us, can cause conflicts with other people. As a
result, we may lose jobs, friends, children, housing and even our liberty
and lives.

Diagnosing mental health problems: pros and

cons
Mental health problems are not like cancer or heart disease, where
scientific tests can reveal what is wrong. With mental health problems,
it’s our painful feelings and thoughts, and their effects on our lives, that
are the difficulty. There’s no ‘hidden’ part that only experts understand.

This may seem confusing, because people who work in mental health
often use medical terms such as ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, ‘bipolar’ and
‘bulimia’ to diagnose people’s problems with their mental health.
According to this view, getting the diagnosis right helps to get the
treatment right.

Some people find it helps them to have a mental health diagnosis. It can
come as a relief and help them understand and accept themselves –
and also help others to do so. In addition, a diagnosis can help with
getting benefits, support at work or with studies and treatment from
health professionals.

Other people feel harmed by diagnosis. They feel worse about

themselves as a result of the label they’ve been given, or fear it will
make others wary of them – potential employers, friends, partners and
mental health professionals, for instance.

More than a diagnosis

There is much concern that people with a mental health diagnosis are
too often seen as no more their diagnosis, rather than as a whole, living
person who changes as their live unfolds. This can have a profoundly
harmful effect on their quality of life.

It’s worth remembering that a mental health diagnosis is no more than a

health professional’s opinion about the experiences another person is
having. Another professional might have a different opinion.

Diagnoses also change with society. Until the early 1970s, for instance,
psychiatrists ruled that being gay was a ‘mental illness’. Eventually,
campaigners (including some psychiatrists) persuaded the influential
American Psychiatric Association to change its view. Overnight, millions
of people were ’cured’.

Despite the controversy around mental health diagnoses, medical terms

remain the most common way to describe problems mental health.