Mental health refers to a person's psychological and emotional state and how these factors affect their ability to function in their society. Mental health can affect many aspects of a person's life like their ability to perform at work or school or maintain healthy relationships with friends or loved ones. Severe mental health issues may affect a person's ability to carry out basic tasks like paying bills, taking care of children or maintaining household chores. In some cases, it can even lead a person to commit many instances of self harm, or even commit suicide.
The Most Common Mental Health Issues
- Anxiety and Panic Disorders: People with anxiety disorders feel extreme and debilitating fear in situations that do not warrant such a strong response. This goes beyond someone simply being nervous about public speaking or a big test. People with anxiety and panic disorders often feel a sense of dread about ordinary life situations, so much so that they are not able to function normally. They can feel not only mental anxiety but also exhibit physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, tremors or sweating. Some of the conditions in this group are generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder and specific phobia.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorders: Related to anxiety disorders, people with obsessive compulsive disorders feel a great deal of anxiety about everyday things. The anxiety grows until thoughts of the triggers become obsessions that intrude on daily life. In order to deal with their anxiety they develop certain rituals, or compulsions, that they must complete in order to temporarily relieve the anxiety associated with their obsession. These symptoms go beyond simply being an overly tidy person; people with OCD carry out repetitive rituals, even if they dislike them, to a point that it interferes with their daily life.
- PTSD: Short for post-traumatic stress disorder, people with PTSD display symptoms like anger, irritability, severe anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks. These symptoms occur after a traumatic event such as fighting in a war, surviving physical or sexual abuse, a natural disaster, an accident or the sudden death of friend or loved one. Symptoms can often be debilitating and interfere with school, work and/or home life.
- Eating Disorders: People with eating disorders often become overly preoccupied with their weight and personal appearance and base all of their self-worth on their body shape and mass. Obsessed with their weight, sufferers begin to take extreme and unhealthy measures in order to lose weight. Anorexia Nervosa patients starve themselves and/or compulsively exercise to reduce their weight. Bulimia Nervosa patients binge eat large amounts of food and then attempt to neutralize the intake by inducing vomiting, excessively exercising or abusing laxatives.
- Mood Disorders: People with mood disorders often feel overwhelming emotions that get in the way of their everyday life. These feelings can be depressive, marked by extreme sadness or a sense of utter hopelessness, such as in major depressive disorder. Those with bipolar disorder can also range to overly elevated moods that cause them to act irrationally, speak and move very quickly and not consider the long-term consequences of their actions.
- Personality Disorders: People with these disorders exhibit strong and rigid personality traits that cause internal distress or cause them to come into conflict with other people. These traits often are out of sync with acceptable norms of society and can lead to conflicts not only with friends or loved ones but also sometimes employers or law enforcement.
- Substance Abuse Disorder: People with substance abuse disorders use alcohol or drugs to a point that it interferes with their daily lives. This can include using illegal street drugs or using prescription drugs that either are not prescribed or in a manner other than prescribed.
Mental Health FAQ
Q: Can't a person with mental health just "get over it?"
A: It is a myth that people with mental illnesses are weak willed or just need someone to point out that their beliefs are illogical and they will then be fine. Mental illness is a disease just like any other and it is extremely unlikely that someone can get better without specialized help. Indeed, some mental illnesses are chronic and will need to be managed for the rest of the person's life.
Q: Can mental illness get better?
A: Yes, mental illnesses can be improved through things like medications, talk therapy and/or behavioral feedback therapy. Even chronic mental illness can be managed with specialized care.
Q: If a person seems to be different from most other people, how does one know the difference between just being quirky and having a mental illness?
A: The defining characteristic of mental illness is that it keeps a person from functioning normally. A person who is able to maintain healthy relationships, carry out tasks for work or school and is not coming into conflict with authorities would likely not be considered mentally ill. However, if a person was having a hard time coping with school or work, frequently at odds with law enforcement or unable to carry out basic functions like shopping, cooking or caring for their household, these may be signs of mental illness.
Q: What are common signs that a person is suicidal?
A: Warning signs of suicide may include:
- Withdrawal from friends and loved ones
- Voicing suicidal thoughts
- Voicing intense anger or thoughts of vengence
- Dramatic and/or erratic mood swings
- Reckless disregard for one's life
- Feelings of hopelessness or being a burden to loved ones
- Loss of a sense of purpose
- Increases in substance abuse
Q: If a person says that they are suicidal, is that just a cry for attention?
A: It is not true that suicidal people do not tell others of their intentions. If a friend or loved one says that they are having suicidal thoughts this should be taken very seriously. If someone confides that they are contemplating suicide, they need help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or through their online chat. If it is believed that a friend or loved one is an imminent danger to themselves or others, emergency services should be contacted immediately. It is better for a person to be resentful than for them to commit suicide or carry out some other drastic action.
