Download Mental Illness 101 - Chagrin Falls Schools

A Critical Health Issue
 20%
or 1 in 5 Americans suffer from a mental
illness in a given year
 Mental Illness is more common than:
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Cancer
Diabetes
Heart Disease
 50%
of all individuals suffering from a mental
disorder are going untreated
 40% of all homeless people have some form
of mental/emotional problem
 20% of people in prison have a mental
disorder
 Biological
Causes
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Biochemical Disturbances
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Genetics
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Infections- can cause brain damage
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Brain defects or injury
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Prenatal damage
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Poor nutrition, exposure to toxins
 Psychological
Causes
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Severe psychological trauma suffered as a child,
such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse
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An important early loss, such as the loss of a
parent
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Neglect
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Poor ability to relate to others
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Death or divorce
A dysfunctional family life
Living in poverty
Feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, anxiety,
anger or loneliness
Changing jobs or schools
Social or cultural expectations (For example, a
society that associates beauty with thinness can
be a factor in the development of eating
disorders.)
Substance abuse by the person or the person's
parents
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Academic
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Homesickness
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Peer relationships
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Family
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Identity
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Work
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Illness
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Only 35% of people with diagnosable disorders seek treatment
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The single most common barrier to seeking treatment is
embarrassment
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The stigma attached to mental illness continues to be a huge
barrier and delay to early diagnosis and treatment
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Secrecy
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The “black sheep of the family” role
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Isolation or Social Exclusion
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Stereotypes
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Discrimination
 Anxiety
 Mood
Disorders
Disorders
 Personality
 Psychotic
Disorders
Disorders
 Dissociative
Disorders
 Somatoform
Disorders

Panic Disorder
 6 million Americans

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – OCD
 2.2 million Americans

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD
 7.7 million Americans

Phobias
 6.2 million Americans

Generalized Anxiety Disorder – GAD
 6.8 million Americans
 Affect
about 40 million adults, the most
common of the all mental disorders
 Begin in childhood, adolescence and early
adulthood
 Occur slightly more often in women than in
men
 Commonly occur along with other mental
or physical illnesses, including alcohol or
substance abuse, which may mask anxiety
symptoms or make them worse
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Feelings of panic, fear and uneasiness
Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
Repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic
experiences
Nightmares
Ritualistic behaviors, such as repeated hand
washing
Problems sleeping
Cold or sweaty hands
Shortness of breath
Palpitations
An inability to be still and calm
Dry mouth
Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
Nausea
Muscle tension
1
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in 8 teens suffer from clinical depression
Fewer than half seek treatment
 Onset
is most often occurs during the 24-44
year olds.
 More than twice as many women than men
suffer from clinical depression
 1 of 4 women and 1 of 10 men develop
depression during their lifetime
 Family history, substance abuse, and stress
increase risk
 An
illness, not a weakness!
 Serious
disturbances in work, social, and
physical functioning including suicidal thought
 Not
relieved by circumstances
 May
last for months or years untreated
 Persistent
and intense mood change
 Situational/Adjustment
– Related to a
specific situation
 Bereavement – Death of a loved one
 Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
 Clinical Depression
 Psychotic Depression
 Bipolar (Manic-Depressive Illness)
 Dysthymia Depression
 Post-Partum Depression – after pregnancy

2% general population over a lifetime
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Half of cases begin before age 20
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Episodic extremes between states
depressed state and excitable,
 euphoric/irritable, impulsive state
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Strong family linkage
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Occurs equally in men and women
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Symptoms of mania ("the highs"):
“Silver Linings Playbook”
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Excessive happiness, hopefulness, and excitement
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Sudden changes from being joyful to being irritable, angry, and hostile
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Restlessness
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Rapid speech and poor concentration
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Increased energy and less need for sleep
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Tendency to make grand and unattainable plans
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Tendency to show poor judgment, such as deciding to quit a job
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Drug and alcohol abuse
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Increased impulsivity
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During depressive periods ("the lows”) symptoms
include:
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Sadness
Loss of energy
Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
Loss of enjoyment from things that once were pleasurable
Difficulty concentrating
Uncontrollable crying
Difficulty making decisions
Irritability
Increased need for sleep
Insomnia
A change in appetite causing weight loss or gain
Thoughts of death or suicide
Attempting suicide

Can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic
or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was
threatened. Victims of trauma related to physical and sexual assault
face the greatest risk.

PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense
fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the
unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster.
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Families of victims can also develop post-traumatic stress disorder, as
can emergency personnel and rescue workers.

Can develop at any age, including
childhood. Women are more likely to
develop it than men. Due to the fact
that women are more likely to be victims
of domestic violence, abuse and rape.
 Symptoms
of PTSD most often
begin within three months of the
event.
 In some cases, they do not begin until
years later.
 The severity and duration of the illness
vary. Some people recover within six
month, while others suffer much longer.
 Symptoms are grouped into three main
categories, including re-living, avoiding,
and increased arousal
 American Sniper
 Common
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obsessions include:
Fear of dirt or contamination by germs.
Fear of causing harm to another.
Hoarding – Fear of losing something (again)
Fear of being embarrassed or behaving in a
socially unacceptable manner.
Fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts.
Need for order, symmetry or exactness.
Excessive doubt and the need for constant
reassurance
“Checking and Cleaning”
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Personality disorders: Individuals have extreme
and inflexible personality traits that are distressing
to the person and/or cause problems in work,
school or social relationships.
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In addition, the person's patterns of thinking and
behavior significantly differ from the expectations
of society and are so rigid that they interfere with
the person's normal functioning.
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Examples include antisocial personality disorder
(Joker), obsessive-compulsive personality
disorder ( Black Swan) and paranoid personality
disorder.
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This disorder most often first appear when a person is in his or her
late teens, 20s or 30s. They affect men and women about equally.
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Schizophrenia: “A Beautiful Mind”
 People with this illness have changes in
behavior and other symptoms -- such as delusions and
hallucinations -- that last longer
than six months, usually with a
decline in work, school and social
functioning.
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Brief psychotic disorder:
 People with this illness have sudden, short periods of
psychotic behavior, often in response to a very stressful
event, such as a death in the family. Usually lasts less
than a month.
 Individuals
suffer severe disturbances or
changes in memory, consciousness,
identity, and general awareness of
themselves and their surroundings.
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These disorders usually are associated with
overwhelming stress, which may be the result of
traumatic events, accidents or disasters that
may be experienced or witnessed by the
individual.
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Dissociative identity disorder,
formerly called multiple personality
disorder, or "split personality“
A
person with a somatoform disorder, formerly
known as psychosomatic disorder,
experiences physical symptoms of an illness
even though a doctor can find no medical
cause for the symptoms.
 Hypochondria is an example of a somatoform
disorder. Hypochondria
 There will be legitimate physical problems but
no physical cause…often related to stressors
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Medication-Medicines used to reduce the symptoms of
anxiety disorders include anti-depressants and anxietyreducing medications.
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Psychotherapy (a type of counseling) - addresses the
emotional response to mental illness. It is a process in
which trained mental health professionals help people by
talking through strategies for understanding and dealing
with their disorder.
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Cognitive-behavioral therapy: People suffering from
disorders often participate in this type of psychotherapy in
which the person learns to recognize and change thought
patterns and behaviors that lead to troublesome feelings.
Binge Eating
Disorder
Anxiety Disorder
Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder
Schizophrenia
Dysthymic Depression
Narcissistic Disorder
ADD-ADHD