Download Mental Illness MENTAL ILLNESS Mental Illness What are the

MENTAL
ILLNESS
Mental Illness
What are the symptoms of
Mental Illness?
Mental Illness
What do you think causes Mental
Illness?
By the end of the lesson you will need to
be able to:
Mental Illness
Describe the differences between anxiety disorders,
mood disorders, and schizophrenia.
List two factors that can lead to mental illness.
Explain how some mental illnesses share symptoms.
Understanding Mental Illness
Health problems that affect a person’s behavior,
thoughts, and emotions can be scary.
Mental Illness
These problems are illnesses that can often
be successfully treated, just like other
health problems.
Understanding these illnesses can make them
less mysterious.
Understanding Mental Illness cont.
The brain controls thoughts, feelings, memories
and actions.
Mental Illness
When the brain is working properly, it responds to
life events with normal emotions.
But the brain’s responses can be changed
by illnesses that affect the balance of
chemicals in the brain.
Mental Illness
Understanding Mental Illness?
Mental illness is a disorder that affects a person’s
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Mental Illness
One out of every six people has a mental illness.
Cause of Mental Illness?
It is not completely understood. Many illnesses
are more common in some families than others.
Mental Illness
Inherited traits may influence mental illness.
Sometimes stressful events can trigger a mental
illness, so the environment may also influence
mental illness.
Mental illnesses can be grouped by the kinds of
emotional and behavioral changes they cause.
Anxiety disorders, mood disorders and
schizophrenia are common mental illnesses.
Mental Illness
Treating these illnesses involves counseling as
well as medicines that balance the brain
chemistry.
When people who have mental illness find and
continue proper treatment, they can live normal
lives.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a feeling of extreme nervousness and
worry.
Mental Illness
An anxiety disorder is an illness that causes
unusually strong nervousness, worry, or panic.
They vary in how long the nervous feelings last
and in what causes those feelings to occur.
Anxiety Disorders cont.
Panic disorder is an anxiety that causes a person
to have brief periods of extreme anxiety called
panic attacks.
Mental Illness
During panic attacks, people become extremely
scared and may think they are having a heart
attack.
They may experience a fast heart rate, difficulty
breathing, shaking and lightheadedness.
Anxiety Disorders cont.
Panic attacks that are triggered by specific things
are called phobias.
Mental Illness
Common phobias include fear of animals, or
situations, such as flying. Social phobia is a
disorder that causes people to fear social
situations, such as giving a speech or meeting
new people.
Acrophobia - Fear of Heights
Claustrophobia - Fear of Enclosed Spaces
Nyctophobia - Fear of the Dark
Ophidiophobia - Fear of Snakes
Arachnophobia - Fear of Spiders
Nosophobia - Fear of Having a Disease
Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the Number 13
Anxiety Disorders cont.
Sometimes anxiety is triggered by repetitive
thoughts called obsessions.
Mental Illness
Some people develop rituals, or compulsions,
such as excessive counting or washing, to try and
overcome this anxiety.
This combination of anxiety and ritual activity is
an anxiety disorder called obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD). Medicines and counseling can
usually treat people with OCD successfully.
Bipolar Mood Disorder
A mood disorder is an illness in which people
have uncontrollable mood changes.
Mental Illness
Bipolar mood disorder (BMD) is one kind of mood
disorder. BMD causes a person to experience two
extreme moods: depression and mania. It is also
referred to as manic depression.
Different behaviors and emotions occur during
each extreme of BMD.
Bipolar Mood Disorder cont.
Depression is a disorder that causes a mood of
extreme sadness or hopelessness. It may cause
people to sleep or eat or less than they normally do.
Mental Illness
Mania is a mood that causes excessive energy
and irritation. Manic people are very active and
need little sleep. There thoughts may race and
become disorganized. They may talk fast and may
be difficult to interrupt.
The two extremes of BMD are usually separated
by periods of normal moods. Periods of
depression or mania can last from weeks to
months.
Bipolar Mood Disorder cont.
People who have BMD may also experience and
believe things that are not real. A hallucination is
sensing something that is not real. E.g. A person may
hear voices when no one is talking.
Mental Illness
A delusion is a false belief. Manic people may have
delusions that they are famous. Or, they may think
that they have a special relationship they have never
met.
Some symptoms of BMD occur in several mental
illnesses. This can make BMD hard to recognize and
treat. Once diagnosed, BMD can be treated.
Schizophrenia skit-se-free-nee-uh
Is a disorder in which a person breaks from reality in
several ways. People with the disorder do not always
have the same symptoms.
Mental Illness
Most people who have this disorder express little
emotion. They usually have hallucinations and
delusions, and often they feel paranoia.
Paranoia is the belief that other people want to
harm someone. Many people who have the disorder
suffer from disorganized thinking, which can lead
to nonsense speech.
Schizophrenia cont.
Some people who have this disorder go through
periods of time during which their bodies are frozen
in one position.
Mental Illness
Schizophrenia, like other mental illnesses, affects a
person’s thoughts and actions. People who have
mental illness usually require life-long treatment to
regain control of their lives. Once treatment is
established for people who have schizophrenia or
other mental illness, they can often lead happy lives.
What can you remember?
Describe the differences between anxiety disorders,
mood disorders, and schizophrenia.
Mental Illness
List two factors that can lead to mental illness.
Explain how some mental illnesses share symptoms.