| More information about types of Mental
Illnesses
Anxiety Disorders
Clinical Depression
Bipolar Disorders
Schizophrenia
Anxiety Disorders
Generalised Anxiety Disorder - causes people
to spend time (sometimes months) constantly worrying about
harmful things that may happen to them. People may also worry
about their friends and family (who are in no danger) or have
fears of financial disasters. Irrational worries like these
can be accompanied by feelings of being uptight and nervous
at all times. People may find it hard to concentrate, make
decisions or get sleep. Headaches and nausea can also be a
experienced. Constant anxiety can, over time, lead to depression.
Phobia - most people have a fear of something,
such as spiders, heights, or public speaking. But a person
with a phobia about snakes might never be able to go on a
bush-walk or even walk down a wooded path in the middle of
a city for fear of coming across one. Although this may seem
irrational to other people, the fear is very real for the
person with the phobia. Various treatments are available for
phobias, included graded exposure to the thing the person
fears.
Social Phobia - people with this phobia
are fearful that they will be judged in a negative way by
others. Social situations can lead to extreme anxiety and
panic attacks. People with this disorder may try to
cope by avoiding doing things in front of others, particularly
eating, drinking or speaking. Another way of dealing with
this phobia is by gradually withdrawing from any contact with
other people.
Agoraphobia – This where a person
has a fear of being away from familiar surroundings, relatives
and friends in case they might have a panic attack with no
easy way of getting back to a ‘safe’ place.
Panic Attack - an extreme form of the symptoms
of what we all know by panic, including shakiness, dry throat,
racing heart, perspiring and dizziness. Up to 40% of the population
have a spontaneous panic attack at some stage in their lives,
but do not go on to develop a panic disorder or agoraphobia.
In panic attacks, feelings of dread are so severe that the
person can think that he or she is going mad, having a heart
attack or dying. Anticipation of a panic attack can lead to
the beginning of a panic attack in itself, so sometimes a
‘vicious cycle’ develops. Fortunately, there are
many self-management techniques for dealing with panic attacks
that a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist
can help with.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - symptoms
can develop following a person's exposure to an extreme or
traumatic event. Traumatic events involve reactions of intense
fear, hopelessness or horror to something that a person witnessed
or was confronted with. It involves events that involve actual
or threatened death or serious injury to a person or others
A person with this disorder re-experiences the event in 'flashback'.
This can happen in dreams, whilst driving, or watching TV.
A person who is having these flashbacks can also 'feel' the
fear of the event as if it was happening again. People may,
in this situation, start avoiding situations, people or places
that could trigger any flashbacks.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - approximately
2% of Australians are affected by this disorder. A person
with obsessive compulsive disorder experiences irrational
and annoying ideas which they cannot control. People may think
constantly about bad things happening to themselves, their
families, or their communities. These obsessive thoughts can
often lead to compulsive actions and rituals like checking
the door locks twenty times before leaving and only doing
it in a certain order. A person with this disorder may believe
that if the rituals and behaviours are not done correctly
then something bad could happen to themselves or their friends.
People can build up a pattern of behaviour that is hard to
escape, even if they realise that it is irrational.
For detailed information about anxiety
disorders go to The Clinical
Research Unit on Anxiety Disorders at the University of
NSW.
Clinical Depression
Clinical Depression - The word 'depression'
is often used to describe feelings of sadness and grief, which
are experienced by most people at some time through their
lives.
Clinical depression is not just one condition, but a group
of conditions ranging from understandable reactions to stress
(such as death), to a serious depressive illness. People may
develop depression if it runs in the family or it may come
on suddenly without visible cause due partly to a chemical
imbalance in the brain. People with other mental health conditions
can also experience clinical depression. Clinical depression
can affect a person's whole life.
With any of the groups of clinical depression, a person may
have difficulty sleeping, waking early, have no energy, might
want to eat more or eat less. Feelings of worthlessness, isolation,
intense anxiety, sadness, fear and hopelessness may also be
experienced. A person with clinical depression may find it
hard to concentrate, make decisions and feel deeply sad. Also,
feelings of being unable to feel love for someone, feeling
inadequate or unlovable may be experienced. A person with
clinical depression may feel unable to cope, nothing will
ever make it better or even that life is not worth living.
Often people who attempt suicide can be reacting to the feelings
associated with clinical depression.
Reactive Depression - a clinical depression
as a result of a person's reactions to a very distressing
event in someone's life.
Post Natal Depression - approximately 10%
of women develop clinical depression following childbirth.
Beyond Blue,
the National Depression Initiative, has more information about
depression and young people.
Anyone who shows signs of clinical depression should be reassured
and encouraged to visit and talk to a local doctor or a counsellor
as soon as possible.
Bipolar Disorders
Bipolar disorder, the name for manic depression, is a mood
disorder.
Bipolar disorder affects nearly 180,000 Australians (about
1%). Bipolar equally affects both men and women.
People with bipolar disorder can have intense mood swings
from extreme exhilarating highs (mania) or extreme depressing
lows (clinical depression). Some people may only have mania
while others may get only depression. The mood swings can
last for weeks or months with years of 'normal mood' in between.
People having an episode of bipolar mania may have extra
energy, not sleep much, have big 'way-out' plans and ideas,
lose their normal inhibitions, lose touch with reality, become
delusional and do things that they later regret. People having
an episode of bipolar depression may have all the symptoms
and signs of someone with clinical depression as well as hallucinations,
delusions, suicidal thoughts and lose touch with reality.
Find out how the State of Victoria 'Get-On-Top's Youth Mental
Health site deals with bipolar disorder
Schizophrenia
There are several schizophrenic disorders which involve people
not being able to process information correctly. Schizophrenia
affects 1% of the population and can be one of the most debilitating
illnesses. People with forms of schizophrenia may experience
a number of symptoms when they are unwell (episode). People
experiencing and episode may experience fragmented thinking
processes, which may show up in speech and movement as if
someone is not in touch with reality. Some people used to
think altered movement and speech was a sign of split personality.
A person may experience some symptoms (below) but rarely
all of them at the same time.
Delusions: A person may so deeply believe
in things that are false or not real that logical arguments
can't make them stop. Commonly a person may believe that certain
people or organisations are out to hurt them, or that God
has sent them on a special mission to save the world. A person
may also think that other people can 'hear' their own thoughts
or are able to 'put' thoughts into their head.
Hallucinations: A person may perceive, through
their senses, things which are not really there. A person
may hear the voice of God, a friend or a stranger (even two
or more at a time). The voices may tell them to do things,
or be critical, argue or describe an action as it is carried
out. People may also see, feel or taste things like insects
crawling over the body, or familiar food has a strange taste.
Very often hallucinations can support a person's delusions.
If food tastes strange, the person may have proof of their
belief that their family, or ASIO, is trying to poison them.
Thought Disorder: This relates to various
difficulties of thought and concentration. A person's mind
may feel clouded, or slow, or thoughts may rush through their
head and they may have trouble sorting them out. Because of
this, a person's speech may come out jumbled, or could jump
from one subject to another. The person may use totally new
words, which have no meaning to anyone else.
Altered Emotions: A person's feelings and
reactions may not match what is going on around them eg. giggling
when someone is sad. An event or someone else's happy or sad
occasion may go by unnoticed. A wooden facial expression or
lack of non-verbal expression and gestures may also be experienced.
Social Withdrawal: A person may withdraw
from the company of others, even to the point of hiding away
for days at a time. Many people may become frightened of others,
or find it a strain to socialise and interact with others.
Lack of Insight: The person may not realise
they are unwell, that their behaviour is inappropriate or
that they may need treatment.
Loss of Motivation: A person may experience
severe lack of initiative and drive.
For more information about psychosis associated with
schizophrenia (and bipolar), 'Get on top' (a youth mental
health site from Victoria) has some good information
For more information
on drugs and schizophrenia, click here.
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