You or a loved one could be suffering from a mental disorder.
What was your initial response to that statement? Was it fear, shame, denial, agreement, or relief? Scientific advances prove that mental disorders are as much a health concern as heart failure or cancer. A mental disorder is an illness of the mind - and as such is similar to other treatable, survivable, even curable ailments.
Yet, despite unprecedented knowledge gained in just the past three decades about the brain and human behavior, illnesses of the mind remain shrouded in fear and misunderstanding.
"Tragic and devastating disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease, the mental and behavioral disorders suffered by children, and a range of other mental disorders affect nearly one in five Americans in any year, yet continue too frequently to be spoken of in whispers and shame," said David Satcher, MD, PhD, and former U.S. Surgeon General.
Mental disorders are common in the United States. The National Institutes of Health estimate that a little more than 22 percent of Americans ages 18 and older – about one in five adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
Mental disorders range from mild depression to severe, debilitating – even life threatening – illness. More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.
What's a Mental Illness?
A Report of the Surgeon General on Mental Health provides this definition for mental disorders:
- Mental illness: the term that refers collectively to all mental disorders. Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.
Mental health and mental illness are dynamic, ever-changing phenomena. People continue to develop and change throughout life. Different stages of life are associated with vulnerability to distinct forms of mental and behavioral disorders but also with distinctive capacities for mental health. Certain common events in life – including divorce, a job loss, or death of a loved one – create mental health problems. These are not necessarily disorders.
Mild mental health problems, as well as potentially debilitating ones, can be addressed through a range of interventions. Often, you can choose from a broad variety of helping sources, treatment approaches, and service settings once you have made the decision to seek help for a mental health problem.
Common Types
Listed below are summaries of common types of mental disorders, excerpted from the National Institute of Mental Health. Get help for you or a loved one if you recognize any of these symptoms.
Anxiety disorders affect approximately 19 million American adults. The major anxiety disorders are: panic disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; social phobia; specific phobias; and generalized anxiety disorder. Though they all differ, they all share the same overwhelming, irrational fear and dread. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects children and adults. It is one of the most common mental disorders among children, affecting three to five percent of all children, perhaps as many as two million American children. To their family, classmates, or coworkers, people with ADHD seem to exist in a whirlwind of disorganized or frenzied activity. Unexpectedly - on some days and in some situations - they seem fine. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Autism affects about one or two people in every thousand and is three to four times more common in boys than girls. Isolated in worlds of their own, people with autism appear indifferent and remote and are unable to form emotional bonds with others. Although people with this baffling brain disorder can display a wide range of symptoms and disability, many are incapable of understanding other people's thoughts, feelings, and needs. Often, language and intelligence fail to develop fully, making communication and social relationships difficult. Many people with autism engage in repetitive activities, like rocking or banging their heads, or rigidly following familiar patterns in their everyday routines. Some are painfully sensitive to sound, touch, sight, or smell. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Bipolar disorder also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. More than 5 million American adults age 18 and older in any given year, have bipolar disorder. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. In other words, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotional regulation. It affects two percent of adults, mostly young women. There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Depressive disorders come in different forms, just as is the case with other illnesses such as heart disease. In any given year, 9.5 percent of the population, or nearly 19 million American adults, suffer from a depressive illness. A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Eating disorders involve serious disturbances in eating behavior, such as extreme and unhealthy reduction of food intake or severe overeating, as well as feelings of distress or extreme concern about body shape or weight. Females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders are not due to a failure of will or behavior; rather, they are real, treatable medical illnesses in which certain maladaptive patterns of eating take on a life of their own. The main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately one percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime - more than two million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties, than in women, who are generally affected in the twenties to early thirties. 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 that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others. More at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Summary
If you suspect you have a mental health problem, talk with your doctor or a counselor, therapist, teacher, or minister. Mental disorders are true health conditions, just like high blood pressure or kidney failure. Help is available. It works. |
