Common Mental Health Disorders and their Symptoms
1. Anxiety- The most common mental illness that Americans suffer from is some variation of anxiety, which includes Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Social Anxiety Disorder. It is estimated that 40 million adults, 18 and older, experience anxiety in their daily life to the point where it can be disruptive in their functioning. One way to self-assess and evaluate how often anxiety impacts your life negatively is to ask yourself at what points of your day do you start to feel anxious. If your anxiety spikes in common situations where anxiety is normal, such as public speaking or before a big test, then you can feel fairly confident that this is actually a “healthy anxiety”, which everyone has. However, if you are feeling anxious during random times during the day without any triggers or causes, you might be suffering from anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a common form of treatment for anxiety.
2. Mood Disorders- The most common mood disorders include Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Substance-Induced Mood disorders. An estimated 1 in 10 adults suffer from some form of a mood disorder, which can include feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair and crying. Mood swings are typical for any person to have throughout their daily life but when there are periods in a person’s day where those mood swings become distracting or even confusing, this might indicate that there is something more serious occurring. Psychotherapy is a great place to start treatment and try to figure out what is causing these extreme feelings. Psychiatric medication might be the next step to evaluate if the cause is a chemical imbalance but each person and situation is different.
3. Psychotic Disorders- This disorder is comprised of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Brief Psychotic Disorder, and Delusional disorder. The defining feature of these psychotic disorders is being unable to differentiate what is reality and what is not. There is still a lot to be discovered about psychotic disorders but it is believed that psychotic disorders can stem from traumatic brain injuries, problems with neurological circuitry, and even viruses. As these disorders can range from moderate to severe, best practice would dictate using a collaborative approach of medical and psychological experts for a successful outcome.
4. Eating Disorders- The most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa andBinge Eating Disorder. Each disorder has its own unique set of warning signs and symptoms to identify but the element they all share is the chance for recovery is greater the earlier the disorder is detected. It is also important to point out that not everyone experiences these disorders the same way so it is imperative that a mental health professional does a complete evaluation on someone who might feel they are struggling with an eating disorder.
If you or someone you know is experiencing the mental health illnesses listed above, please be sure to contact a medical professional for medical advice and recommendations. Ben Barer, LCSW-C can also be contacted in order to refer out to a medical professional if you are unsure on how to begin this journey. He can be contacted by phone or email, 443-601-9722 or barercounseling@gmail.com or through the contact form on barercounseling.com.
