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Five Major Categories of Mental Illness
1. Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorders are the most common, with three main types: phobias,
panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People
who suffer from phobias experience extreme fear or dread of a certain
object or situation. Panic disorders involve sudden, intense, unexplainable
feelings of terror and symptoms similar to a heart attack. People
with OCD try to cope with anxiety by repeating words or phrases
or engaging in repetitive, ritualistic behavior such as constant
hand
washing.
2. Mood Disorders
Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder (or manic
depression). Symptoms include mood swings such as extreme sadness
or elation, sleep and eating disturbances, and changes in activity
and energy levels. Suicide may be a risk.
3. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious disorder that affects how a person
thinks, feels and acts. It is believed to be caused by chemical
imbalances
in the brain that produce symptoms including hallucinations,
delusions, withdrawal, incoherent speech, and impaired reasoning.
4. Dementias
This includes diseases like Alzheimer’s, which leads to loss
of mental functions, including memory loss and a decline in
intellectual and physical skills.
5. Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are serious, potentially life-threatening
illnesses. Anorexia is self-starvation while bulimia involves
cycles of bingeing (consuming large quantities of food) and
purging (self-inducing
vomiting or abusing laxatives). Behavior may also include
excessive exercise.