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This page provides a brief overview of the different types of mental health problems and illnesses:
Anxiety
Depression
Schizophrenia
Bipolar Disorder
Schizoaffective Disorder
Personality Disorders
Eating Disorders
Substance Use Disorder
Suicide and Self-harm
There are numerous websites that provide in-depth information on all of these topics.
The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing has a number of useful publications that you can view online or download at: http://health.gov.au/mentalhealth.
Anxiety is a normal feeling when faced with a threat or danger or when stressed. People with an anxiety disorder experience levels of anxiety and panic so extreme that they interfere with daily life and when not treated can cause considerable suffering and distress. There are a number of different types of anxiety disorders.
Generalised anxiety disorder – people worry constantly about things affecting themselves such as financial disaster, health, work, personal relationships. The irrational fear is accompanied by a constant apprehension
Agorophobia – a fear of being in places or situations from which it may be difficult or embarrassing to get away, or the fear that help might not be available if needed. This is the most common of the anxiety disorders.
Panic disorder – people experience extreme panic attacks in situations where most people would not be afraid. Attacks are accompanied by unpleasant physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, sweating, fear of death
Specific phobia – irrational fears about particular situations or objects e.g. fear of heights, spiders, closed spaces causing the person to become extremely anxious or experience a panic attack.
Social phobia – a person believes that others will judge everything they do. This leads to them limiting what they do with other people leading to social isolation.
NOTE: People affected by phobias will go to great lengths to avoid situations which are likely to cause the anxiety.
Obsessive compulsive disorder – constant unwanted thoughts which often results in the performance of elaborate rituals to attempt to control or banish the persistent thoughts. These rituals usually seriously interfere with everyday life. People with this disorder usually keep it a secret, even from their families.
Post-traumatic stress disorder – many people who have experienced major trauma such as war, torture, accidents, fires, personal violence etc continue to feel terror even after the event is over. There are a variety of ways to treat anxiety ranging from medications to psychotherapy.
Most people will feel some sort of sadness or depression at some time in their life. When those feeling have persisted for a long time or are affecting their lives to a great extent, treatment should be sought. Symptoms include low spirits and lack of enjoyment with life, lack of concentration and energy, change in appetite and sleep patterns.
Often feelings of guilt, hopelessness and despair can lead to thoughts of suicide. Often depression seems to have no apparent cause.
Depressive disorders can be effectively treated with medications and psychotherapies.
Schizophrenia interferes with the mental functioning of a person and, in the long term, may cause changes to a person’s personality. Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, thought disorder, loss of ability to engage in everyday activities, reduced ability to express emotions, social withdrawal, lack of insight or awareness of other conditions, thinking difficulties.
Medications may be used to reduce the severity of symptoms and illicit drugs and alcohol may cause relapses. Medication and psychological counselling may help people to manage everyday life and this is often needed indefinitely to keep symptoms under control.
Often referred to as bipolar mood disorder, this condition used to be called manic depressive illness. People with bi-polar mood disorder experience extreme mood swings – from depression and sadness to excitement/elation/overactivity which can be mild to severe. Some people with bipolar disorder may not experience depressive episodes.
When experiencing mania, people may experience symptoms such as elevated mood, increased energy, reduced need or ability to sleep, irritability, rapid thinking and speech, lack of inhibitions, grandiose thinking, plans and beliefs, lack of insight. When experiencing depression, people may experience loss of interest and pleasure in normal activities, withdrawal from friends, overwhelming sadness, loss of appetite, loss of weight, suicidal thoughts and delusions.
Medications may be used to reduce the severity of symptoms and illicit drugs and alcohol may cause relapses.
Medication and psychological counselling may help people to manage everyday life and this is often needed indefinitely to keep symptoms under control. With access to appropriate treatment and support, most people with bi-polar disorder can lead full and productive lives.
Schizoaffective disorder is characterised by recurring episodes of elevated or depressed mood, or of simultaneously elevated and depressed mood, that alternate with, or occur together with, distortions in perception. The symptoms of schizoaffective disorder can include:
Psychotic symptoms - losing touch with reality, hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thoughts, chaotic speech and behaviour, anxiety, apathy, blank facial expression, inability to move.
Manic symptoms - increased social, sexual and work activity, rapid thoughts and speech, exaggerated self-esteem, reduced need for sleep, risky behaviours, impulsive behaviours such as spending sprees, quick changes between mood states such as happiness to anger.
Depressive symptoms - loss of motivation and interest, fatigue, concentration difficulties, physical complaints such as headache or stomach ache, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, loss of appetite, insomnia.
Most mental health experts believe that schizoaffective disorder is a variation of schizophrenia, but the exact cause remains unclear. Current theory suggests that schizoaffective disorder is triggered by a range of factors working in combination including:
- Genetic susceptibility
- Environmental factors such as stress
- Imbalances of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters).
Medications may be used to reduce the severity of symptoms and illicit drugs and alcohol may cause relapses.
Medication and psychological counseling may help people to manage everyday life.
Personality Disorders are characterised by thinking and behavior that is extreme, inflexible and maladaptive. They may cause major disruption to a persons life and are usually associated with significant distress to self and others. Personality disorders include:
Paranoid personality disorder – a pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others, such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent
Schizoid personality disorder – detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotions in interpersonal settings
Schizotypal personality disorder – characterised by acute discomfort with close relationships and distortions of thinking and perception and eccentric behavior
Histrionic personality disorder – a pervasive pattern of excessive emotion and attention seeking
Narcissistic personality disorder – a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration and lack of empathy
Avoidant personality disorder – pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation
Dependent personality disorder – pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of which leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder – a pervasive pattern of pre-occupation with orderliness, perfectionism and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness and efficiency
Borderline personality disorder – a pervasive pattern of instability of inter-personal relationships, self-image, moods and control over impulses.
Often personality disorders coincide with other mental illnesses. Treatment will depend on the clinical diagnosis of the persons problems. If related to other mental illness, medications may be used but psychotherapy is the main treatment approach.
Eating Disorders involve a pre-occupation with control of body weight, eating and food. The two main eating disorders are:
Anorexia – people are determined to control the amount of food they eat leading to extreme weight loss
Bulimia – usually people tend to feel out of control where food is concerned which results in eating binges. To avoid weight gain, people will use laxatives, fluid tablets or self-induced vomiting to compensate for overeating.
The effects of both these eating disorders can be life threatening or cause major damage to the person physically. Treatments include hospitalisation, medication and psychotherapy to change behaviours.
This relates to substance abuse and substance dependence where alcohol and/or drugs use (either illicit or prescribed) are detrimental to the individual's physical and mental health, or the welfare of others.
Treatments usually involve detoxification and rehabilitation plans designed to eliminate the substance from the persons day-to-day life.
Thoughts of suicide or self-harm are common among people with mental health problems. However, any indications of self-harm or suicide need to be taken seriously and help should be sought from family, friends or community or health care professionals as quickly as possible.
Seek assistance – contact a health professional or the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT) 1800 629 354 or 6205 1065 if necessary.
Take care how you react – try not to panic, don’t condone self-harm or suicide, don’t give an ultimatum, listen to the person so they feel heard.
Provide support – help the person find other coping strategies and seek help, suggest support options, don’t pressure the person.
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