Let's Talk Minds: Understanding Mental Health Without the Confusion
Mental health is your state of mind. It involves your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how you think, feel, act, and cope with stress. Like our bodies, our minds can also get sick. Sometimes, your mind may not work as well as it should. It is when we say you have a mental condition. It can be frustrating for you and also for those close to you. Not everyone will get this. Some might shun or discriminate against you. We call this mental health stigmatization. Understanding mental health conditions helps you find support without delay. It also raises awareness and fights stigma. The following are the types of mental health conditions:
Types of mental health conditions
Anxiety disorder
When you have an anxiety disorder, you will experience excessive worries and dread. It’s okay to worry and feel nervous sometimes. But if these feelings are too strong, you might have an anxiety disorder.
If anxiety is hurting your daily life or if your reactions seem too strong, it is time to get help. Types of anxiety disorders include the following:
- People with generalized anxiety disorder experience fear and worry. You will be overwhelmed by daily issues. It can be work, family, or health. You may find it hard to sleep or relax.
- Panic disorder – You get persistent and unexpected panic attacks. You might shake, sweat, get short breaths, and a racing heart. It can be for something specific or no particular reason.
- Specific phobias – You may fear certain things, such as heights, spiders, or public speaking. You will be able to know the particular cause of your disorder but still not be able to control it.
- Agoraphobia means you fear places or situations where escaping is hard or embarrassing. The fear is greater than the perceived danger. Going out alone can make you feel anxious. It can be using public transport, riding the elevator, or standing in line. You may need someone to help you in these cases. If you do not do it, you might face intense fear.
- Social anxiety disorder – You do not like social gatherings. You may fear that others will embarrass, reject, humiliate, or judge you, which can cause this to happen. You might avoid making friends, speaking in public, or eating and drinking out.
- Separation anxiety disorder is when you have an intense fear of being apart from a person or a place that feels safe. This fear is excessive for your age. You can get nightmares or not want to leave the person or place.
- Selective mutism – a child might choose not to speak in certain situations or to specific people. They can talk but choose not to. It often occurs at school, leading to feelings of shyness and awkwardness. It can also affect school performance. They might use non-verbal cues also. For example, nodding, grunting, and pointing when they meet strangers.
Behavior and emotional disorders in children
Children may experience temporary stress that can affect their health. It could be a long-lasting problem. According to research, these conditions are more common in boys than in girls. Some of these conditions include:
- **Oppositional Deficiency Disorder (ODD)** – A child with ODD may feel irritable. They often become angry and tend not to cooperate. They throw tantrums, argue with adults, and blame others for mistakes. They also try to annoy people on purpose.
- Conduct disorder (CD) – You will find that the child will have unacceptable behavior.
Signs of trouble in these children include:
a)Not obeying parents.
b)Skipping school
c)Picking fights
d)Lying often
e)Running away from home
f)Committing crimes
g)Attempting suicide.
- ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A child with ADHD may struggle to focus and often forget instructions. They can be impulsive, repeatedly becoming angry at once and displaying a short temper. Additionally, they may be fidgety and restless, showing signs of overactivity.
Bipolar affective disorder
This condition affects your mood, energy, and behavior. It can lead to manic behavior or depression. You can change topics quickly. You can be confident but find it hard to concentrate. You might have trouble sleeping. You might act without caution. For example, you could spend too much money or take risks with your sex life. You may also hold strong but incorrect beliefs. Other signs include low self-worth, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. You can have disrupted sleep, changes in appetite, and low energy.
Eating disorder
It affects how you handle food, eating, weight, and shape. It shapes your eating behavior. Some eating disorders include:
- Anorexia – This is a condition characterized by a fear of gaining weight. You might go to extremes to achieve this.
These can include:
a)Exercising too much.
b)Using laxatives
c)Relying on diet aids.
d)Vomiting after meals.
- Bulimia is when you binge eat. It means consuming a large quantity of food in a short amount of time. Then, due to guilt, you purge. You might overexert yourself, vomit, or use laxatives.
- Binge Eating Disorder-You consume a large quantity of food quickly. Afterward, you may feel shame, disgust, and guilt.
- Avoidant/restrictive food disorder happens when you limit how much you eat certain foods or avoid them. You may worry about stomach problems or vomiting. It could also be due to the color, texture, smell, or taste.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
It causes unwanted and irrational thoughts that lead to anxiety. It makes you perform extreme, repetitive behaviors. The likely symptoms are like these:
- Excessive handwashing, showering, brushing teeth, and cleaning.
- Checking locks or safety items.
- Repetitive actions, like opening doors, reading, and writing.
- Insisting on a particular way to place items.
- Touching, tapping, or moving items in a specific way.
Personality disorder
It is what affects how you behave, feel, or act. It controls how you adapt to situations. It can also affect how you get along with others. Some personality disorders include:
- Borderline personality disorder- can make it hard to control your emotions. It often leads to impulsive behavior. You may fear that someone will abandon you. You might engage in risky behaviors, like reckless driving or unsafe sex. You could experience intense emotions, such as guilt, anxiety, anger, shame, and depression. Relationships may be challenging for you, and handling stress can feel overwhelming.
- Antisocial personality disorder means you often ignore other feelings and property. You may not respect authority or other people. You blame others for every problem. It can make you aggressive and violent toward them.
- Narcissistic personality behavior means you often feel very significant and superior to others. You become sensitive to judgment and criticism. You will likely take advantage of those you think are beneath you.
Histrionic personality disorder means you care a lot about how you look. You like attention. You get dramatic if you do not get it. People will see you as superficial and vain in social situations.
Psychotic disorder
You lose touch with reality. You will not tell what is real from your imagination. The main symptoms you might have are hallucinations and delusions. Types of psychosis include:
- Brief reactive psychosis is when you react to extreme stress for a short time, lasting less than a month.
- Drug-induced psychosis occurs when someone uses too much of certain drugs. It includes alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, or speed. It fades once the drugs leave your system.
- Schizophrenia means you face various symptoms. You might struggle to organize your thoughts.
- Bipolar disorder – You will have extreme moods that can lead to psychotic behavior.
Psychotic depression happens when your depression is very severe. In this case, you may experience psychotic symptoms.
Substance abuse disorder
It means you use harmful drugs even though they hurt you. It includes alcohol, tobacco, and other addictive substances like marijuana, sedatives, and stimulants. You are unable to function without them.
PTSD(POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER)
It can cause strong reactions. It occurs after events such as violence, accidents, or natural disasters. The symptoms may include nightmares, self-destructive behavior, anxiety, anger, and repeated unpleasant memories.
Major Depression
It impacts your mood and behavior. You may lose interest in everything. The signs are:
- Sadness and anxiety.
- feeling worthless,
- Lack of interest in activities.
- Trouble sleeping or eating.
- Trouble concentrating
- Appetite and weight changes.
- Restlessness, irritability
- repeated thoughts of death.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
It is a group of behaviors. People with ASD often struggle with social skills. They may have focused interests and show repetitive behaviors. Each person with autism has different strengths and weaknesses. There is no single cause of ASD. However, it may result from various causes like genetic, environmental, and developmental factors. Some signs include:
- Not maintaining eye contact.
- Not sharing interests with others.
- Use of nonverbal gestures
- Difficulty coping with change
- Arranging things like toys in a specific manner.
- Very sensitive sensory organs do not like loud noises or bright light.
Focusing on fixed subjects and ignoring others.
Suicide
Statistics show that more than 726,000 people take their lives every year. Suicide is a death that occurs due to self-harm. It can happen either over time or all at once. If you have thought about suicide or tried it, remember there is always help. You can find a solution to any problem you face. Suicide warning signs may include:
- Suicidal thoughts
- Talking about suicide
- Careless behavior like reckless driving.
- Withdrawing from others and social situations.
- Sudden feelings of calmness after a mood swing.
- Depression worsening
- Feeling trapped and being a burden.
My two cents
Like any other physical illness, you can cure or control mental illness. If you or someone you know has a disorder, the first step is acceptance. Then, seek for help. You can get help from a professional. If you’re not ready for this big step, consider asking a friend or family member for help. Mental disorders are common, so there is no reason to feel ashamed or strange about them. Let’s end the stigma.