Lesson 5 mental illnesses

Mental Illnesses What is mental illness ?? Health disorder that affect a persons behavior, thoughts, and emotions. – This can be scary. In the United States, one our of every six people has a mental illness. These “problems” are illnesses that can most times be corrected. Most people can live normal lives once this is under control First step is recognizing you have a problem and getting it diagnosed.

Disorders Anxiety – feeling of extreme nervousness and worry – Many times a person will have a panic attack and feel as if they are having a heart attack  Anxiety Disorder = is an illness that caused unusually strong nervousness, worry, or panic.  Mood Disorders = I an illness in which people have uncontrollable mood changes.

Disorders Bipolar Mood Disorder (BMD)= is one kind of mood disorder where people will go from extreme happiness to sadness. (Depression/ mania) Depression = is a disorder that causes a mood of extreme sadness or hopelessness. Mania = is a mood that causes excessive energy or irritation Hallucinations= sensing something that is not real Delusions = a false belief OCD – obsessive compulsion disorder

Panic attacks: an anxiety disorder that causes someone to have a brief period of of extreme anxiety Panic attacks are triggered by things called phobias (fears). Common phobias include the fear of animals, situations, or social situations (speeches, meeting new people).

Disorders Schizophrenia = disorder in which a person breaks from reality in several ways – Normally little emotional expression is given from a person with this disorder – They may have hallucinations or delusions – Paranoia is common  Paranoia = is the belief that other people want to harm you or someone.

Depression A mood disorder in which a person feels extremely sad and hopeless for at least two weeks. Healthy sadness is normal and isn’t depression. Depression is a mental illness known as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Symptoms include: extreme sadness for no reason, inability to cheer up with good news, changes in sleeping patterns, tiredness or lack of energy, slowed or increased movements, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, feelings of guilt or hopelessness, thoughts of death and suicide.

Suicidal Thinking Most dangerous symptom of depression. Is the desire to take one’s own life. People are in so much emotional pain that they feel they would be better off dead than continue to suffer. 15% of depressed people successfully commit suicide. Treatments for depression are successfully relieve symptoms in 80% of cases.

Getting help ! Talk to your friends. Ask if they need help and if anything is wrong. Listen activity to their response. If your friend has a serious problem, suggest that he or she talk about it to parent or trusted adult. If your friend finds help an adult, let them know you are still there to offer support If your friend refuses to talk to someone who can help, try to find an appropriate person who can help. If your friend is upset about a small problem, just talking about the problem may help it or them to feel better If you think they may hurt themselves or another person get help ASAP from an adult

Professional help Teen hotline – phone number teens can call to talk privately and anonymously about their problems Counselor - professional who helps people work through difficult problems by talking Psychologist- a person who tried to change thoughts, feelings, and actions by finding reasons behind them or by suggesting new ways to manage emotions Psychiatrist – medical doctor who specializes in illnesses of the brain and body that affect emotions and behavior