Poor mental health is a major issue. It is not just a problem for the sufferer, but for their family and friends as well. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed with anxiety disorder symptoms and depression symptoms. It is important to understand that these are not just physical illnesses but are also mental illnesses.
Mental illness can be caused by a variety of factors such as genetics, environmental stressors, traumatic events, and more. It is important to note that while some people may have one or two of these risk factors, most people have multiple risk factors that contribute to their poor mental health.
- Depression symptoms: sadness, worthlessness, low interest in life, changes in appetite, insomnia and fatigue.
- Anxiety symptoms: worry or dreading of future events, difficulty concentrating, heart palpitations , dizziness, irritability.
- Posttraumatic stress disorder: recurrent distressing memories of a traumatic event
- Bipolar disorder: an individual’s mood swings are more severe and frequent than most people’s.
- Schizophrenia: an individual’s ability to distinguish reality from fantasy and focus on daily life is impaired.
- Autism spectrum disorder: an individual loses expected social skills, has difficulty communicating verbally and nonverbally, repetitive behaviors, and fixed interests.
- Personality disorder: a pattern of abnormal behavior that does not meet the criteria for any other mental health diagnosis.
Some of the many symptoms of a mental illness are those discussed above such as depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and personality disorders.
A person with depression may experience feeling sad, worthlessness, low interest in life and changes in appetite. A person with anxiety may feel worry or dreading of future events or difficulty concentrating. A person with posttraumatic stress disorder may have recurrent distressing memories of a traumatic event. People with bipolar disorder will often go through mood swings that are more severe and frequent than most people’s while those with schizophrenia could be impaired in their ability to process information. People with autism spectrum disorder may experience difficulty in social interaction and interests and people with a personality disorder may experience abnormally inflexible thoughts, feelings, beliefs or behaviors.
