Types of Mental Illness

Schizophrenia

Often misunderstood, schizophrenia affects 1% of the population. It is a term used to describe a group of disorders that cause distorted thoughts and perceptions. It can be one of the most debilitating of all mental illnesses and severely compromise someone’s ability to live their life normally. Symptoms are different for every sufferer, some will only experience one episode and then go on to make a complete recovery, others may suffer a variety of symptoms, these include, false beliefs (delusions), hearing voices, seeing or sensing something that is not there (hallucinations), confused or muddled thinking, loss of feelings or emotions, and self neglect.

This is the link to the National Schizophrenia Association which has all you wish to know about the illness, treatements available etc.

Depression

Most people understand to a certain extent what depression is, ups and downs are a part of everyday life. Clinical depression is when the down feelings are severe and persistent, and impact on everything you do. It affects people by lowering their mood, and can lead to feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, with a pronounced lack of motivation. People often talk about an overwhelming sense of sadness and experience a loss of interest in activities that they formerly enjoyed.

This is a link to a Northern Irish website called Aware - helping to defeat depression which is very informative and helpful on all issues to do with depression and how to overcome it.

Manic Depression

Also know as ’Bi-Polar Disorder’, manic depression causes mood swings from deep depression to extreme elation, or ’Lows’ to ’Highs’. A person can become hyper-active, sleep less, and talk a great deal and very quickly when experiencing a ’High’. High episodes can also effect a persons inhibitions. Depressions or ’lows’ will see a person withdrawn and insular, it may lead to thoughts of self harm or even actual self harm.

There are a number of useful sites on bipolar disorder and manic depression including the following : MDF The Bipolar Organisation and Pendulum Resources.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal experience, and we have all felt to an extent in our lives, but when it becomes a constant everyday experience it can be the cause of restlessness, sleep problems, increased heart rate and stomach upset. A person suffering from anxiety can experience Panic Attacks, which is when they suffer a rapid and overwhelming build up of feelings of terror.

Websites with information on anxiety disorders include : The Royal College of Psychiatrists website.

Phobia

A Phobia can be described as an intense and unreasonable fear. It can relate to almost anything and can seriously disrupt your life. A phobia is categorised as a ’neurosis’ which means that the sufferer is aware of the problem but feels out of control and unable to do anything about it.
Personality Disorders

Personality disorders refer to characteristics such as long-lasting, limited and inflexible attitudes and behaviors. Examples include, paranoid, antisocial, avoidant and dependent personality disorder.

This is a useful link to the National Phobics Society.

Obsessive-compulsive & personality disorder

also comes under this classification, and relates to a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism and keeping everything under control.

Here are two useful sites on Obsessive Compulsive Disorders : OCD Action and OCD -UK

This is the link to the National Personality Disorder Website.

eating disorders

Jersey has its own eating disorders charity which you can contact at Laura Eatdisordgroupjer eatdisordergroupjersey@hotmail.com. For links to national websites try the following : Beat and the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley

Other

For details on link sites relating to a wide range of other illnesses and conditions [ e.g. Alzheimers, drug and alcohol related illnesses, ] try this link page.