Mental illnesses can affect a person’s mood and cause difficulties in a person’s ability to think and relate to others. Mental illness may affect our ability to cope with the demands of daily life. Mental illnesses can occur at any age and affect people of all cultures.
There are many possible causes of mental illness including biochemical, genetic, social, psychological or environmental. When you first seek help, a mental health professional will want to assess the symptoms in order to diagnose the problem and decide on the best treatment. A diagnosis is not always easy to make.
Here is a list of common mental illnesses and symptoms:
Anxiety Disorders
- affects about 12% of Canadians.
- includes generalized anxiety, phobias (involuntary but intense fear of objects, animals or situations) and panic attacks (repeated episodes of intense, sudden fear and physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, sweating, heart racing).
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is another anxiety disorder in which a person is unable to control the repetition of unwanted thoughts or actions.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can affect anyone who has survived a severe and unusual physical or emotional trauma. People may re-experience the trauma through nightmares or flashbacks and may also experience anxiety, insomnia, poor memory and difficulty concentrating.
Mood Disorders (depression and bipolar disorders)
- affects up to 10% of Canadians.
- people with mood disorders experience the ”highs” and ”lows” of life with greater intensity and longer than most people.
- depressive symptoms include feelings of sadness, changes in eating patterns, disturbed sleep, lack of energy, inability to enjoy life, difficulty concentrating and making decisions, impaired sex-drive, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that can lead to thoughts of death or suicide.
- bipolar symptoms include periods of depression and periods of feeling ”high” or euphoric, which can lead to impaired judgement and insight, extreme irritability, excessive energy and difficulty concentrating.
Schizophrenia
- affects 1% of Canadians, with the onset usually in the late teens or twenties.
- symptoms may include disturbed thought processes, delusions (false or irrational beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that do not exist) and odd behaviour.
- other symptoms include social withdrawal, depression, lack of interest, and difficulty expressing emotions.
- the number and severity of episodes vary.
Eating Disorders
- common in men and women under the age of 30.
- anorexia nervosa, the most common, is a serious illness that involves drastic weight loss due to fasting and excessive exercise. This illness can become life-threatening.
- bulimia involves binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting and the abuse of laxatives.
Personality Disorders
- A personality disorder is a type of mental illness in which a person has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and to people. There are many specific types of personality disorders.
- In general, a person with a personality disorder has a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking and behaving, no matter what the situation. This leads to significant problems and limitations in relationships, social encounters, work and school.
- In some cases, the person may not realize they have a personality disorder because their way of thinking and behaving seems natural to them, and they may blame others for the challenges they face. Source: www.mayoclinic.com
Organic Brain Disorders
- affects about 1% of people as a result of physical disease or injury to the brain.
- disorders include Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS dementia complex (caused by damage to brain cells by the HIV virus), and damage from strokes and accidents.
These Organizations offer Information and Support for Organic Brain Disorders:
Alzheimer Society of Manitoba
204-943-6622
toll free 1-800-378-6699
www.alzheimer.mb.ca
Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba
204-774-1821
www.LDAmanitoba.org
Manitoba Brain Injury Association
204-975-3280
toll free 1-866-327-1998
www.mbia.ca
Society for Manitobans with Disabilities
204-975-3010
TTY 204-975-3012
Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba
204-942-2880
www.strokerecovery.ca
FASD Life’s Journey Inc.
204-772-1591
Initiatives for Just Communities Touchstone FASD Program
204-925-1928
Suite 302 – 1200 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
Manitoba FASD Centre
204-258-6600
www.fasdmanitoba.com