Understand Mental Health

Understand Mental Health Problems

1 1. Describe the main types of mental ill health according to the psychiatric (DSM/ICD) classification system: mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, substance-related disorders, eating disorders, cognitive disorders.

The main forms of mental ill health can include clinical depression whereby the main signs and symptoms of this may include:

* An unusually sad mood that does not go away
* Loss of enjoyment and interest in activities that used to be enjoyable
* Lack of energy and tiredness
* Loss of confidence in themselves or poor self-esteem
* Feeling guilt when they are not at fault
* Wishing they were dead
* Difficulty in concentrating or making decisions
* Having difficulty in sleeping or sleeping to much

Bipolar is a specific type of depression this is where a person may have an episode of depression followed by an episode of mania. Mania is the opposite of depression. A person experiencing mania may be:

* overconfident and full of ideas
* be very talkative
* find it difficult in sticking to one subject when they are talking
* be full of ideas
* have less need for sleep
* take risks they normally wouldn't

Anxiety disorders differ from day to day anxiety as they are more severe, it is long-lasting and it interferes with the persons work or relationships. Some specific types of anxiety disorders can include:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
The main symptom of this is overwhelming anxiety and worry, commonly about things that may go wrong or a persons inability to control a situation, even when there are no signs of trouble. Physical symptoms of GAD include a fast or pounding heart, headaches and inability to relax. Psychological symptoms include excessive worry, feeling on edge, difficulty concentrating and sleep disturbances. After GAD has been present for a while a person may have inability making decisions that would normally be easy and may...