Mental Health Problems

Mental Health Problems

  1. Anxiety is a normal and common emotion. It becomes a mental health problem when it is persistent and affects a person’s work and life functions.
  2. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. A person with Bipolar disorder experiences extreme periods of low (depressed) and high (manic) moods.
  3. Personality Disorders are found in persons whose aspects of their personality make it very difficult to cope with day to day life, especially when it comes to relationships with other people. Examples include narcissism, schizoid, schizotypal, paranoid, borderline, histrionic, dependent, avoidant and obsessive compulsive personality disorders.
  4. Depression is a diagnosis in a person who experiences a low mood and who finds it hard or impossible to have fun or enjoy their lives. It is a very common illness.
  5. Panic disorder A person with panic disorder reports intermittent apprehension, and panic attacks (attacks of sudden short-lived anxiety) in relation to particular situations or spontaneous panic attacks, with no apparent cause. They often take action to avoid being in particular situations in order to prevent those feelings.
  6. Substance Related and Addictive Disorders include dependence and addition to alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics, stimulants and tobacco. Gambling is also regarded as addictive.
  7. Eating disorder is found in a person who has unhealthy thoughts, feelings and behaviour about food and their body shape.
  8. Narcissism is found in a person who has a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.
  9. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is found in a person who experiences obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. The behaviours may include washing hands, locking doors, arranging items in a particular way, unrealistic and rigid adherence to timelines and schedules.
  10. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is experienced by a person who develops symptoms following a traumatic and terrifying event. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
  11. Psychosis is found in persons who perceive the world in a different way to others around them, including hallucinations, delusions or both.
  12. Schizophrenia found in persons who experience symptoms of psychosis, alongside what are called ‘negative symptoms’ such as withdrawal, lack of interest and pleasure and flat speech.
  13. Self-harm is when a person deliberately and intentionally injures or hurts themselves, as a way of coping with intense emotional distress or anxiety.
  14. Suicide is when a person attempts or successfully completes the action of taking their own life. It is the end result of a complex process of biological, psychological and social factors. The most common cause of suicide is depression. Other causes are anger, provocation, suicide pacts and the contagion effect.

Psychosocial Support Matters

"Words of comfort skillfully administered are the oldest therapy known to man. ~Louis Nizer"

“Always remember that for every patient you see, you may be the only person in their life capable of hearing and holding their pain. If that’s not sacred, I don’t know what is.” - Unknown