A mental disorder is defined as a wide range or disturbance in an individual’s mood, thinking, and behavior. Mental disorders are usually associated with distress or impairment in areas of function or cognition, impacting one’s ability to connect with others to navigate daily life. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the most prevalent disorders.

Anxiety 

Anxiety is the feeling of fear and dread that causes one to feel restless, nauseous, tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. Although most of these symptoms are common and seemingly harmless, they can become more severe over time, which can impact one’s lifestyle. Anxiety can be caused by normal things such as public speaking, but it can also be a result of stress or trauma from childhood or adolescence, which can trigger major anxiety problems. Click here to read more about anxiety in the US. 

There are several main types of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). These disorders can all evolve from different kinds of stress, however, there are proven treatments to help fight these disorders. Many seek out and use medicine such as antidepressants or even look for help in therapies like psychotherapy. 

Depression

Depression is a very common but serious medical illness. Although it is usually seen as feeling down temporarily, the feeling of sadness tends to last for long periods of time. These feelings persist each day and can interfere with your daily activities. Depression can often be caused by stressful events, family history, age, death or a loss of a loved one, genes, and major events. Symptoms include feeling sad, nonchalant, or empty, a loss of interest in favorite activities, overeating or not eating at all, constant hopelessness, disrupted sleep, and thoughts about suicide.

Depression can happen at any age, but it is most common in teenagers and young adults. Some may even get seasonal depression, depending on the weather changes. There are a variety of causes for depression and effective treatments work very well in treating depression. For more information on ways to improve depression, check out our article: Unlocking Hope: Innovative Mechanisms to Improve Depression. 

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are often mistaken for a lifestyle choice. They are very serious and often disturb people’s eating habits and related thoughts or emotions about food. They affect people’s ways of thinking and your body’s ability to get the proper nutrition it needs. Eating disorders can affect all kinds of genders and ages, however, it is more common in women than in men. They are often found in teenagers and even young adults. Click here to read more about eating disorders. 

There are four main types of eating disorders. Eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and selective eating disorders involve abnormal eating patterns and consistent concerns about body weight and image. These disorders can severely affect the body’s ability to function and carry out normal functions. Binge eating disorders, on the other hand, are quite different from the previous three. Binge-eating is when people lose control of their eating habits and have unusually large amounts of food and is often not followed up by any kind of exercise or fasting, which results in many detrimental impacts. People with these disorders usually follow up on treatments with medical care and monitoring, or even nutrition counseling. 

Bipolar Disorder 

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood that range from extremely high (manic episodes) to lows (depressive episodes). A manic episode is usually when you feel euphoric, energized, or insatiable. A depressive episode is usually characterized by feeling down, sad, different, anxious, and hopeless. They also often experience changes in their behavior, energy, and activities. 

There are three types of bipolar disorder: bipolar l disorder, bipolar ll disorder, and cyclothymic disorder. Each disorder contains a different amount of symptoms and lasting times for manic and depressive episodes. Although it is not very easy to cure, there are many helpful treatments. The main treatments for bipolar disorder include multiple medications, psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and light therapy. 

So What is the Best Remedy?

The most important antidote is social support. Not everyone has access to the same amount of help as other people do, and treatment such as medication is often necessary but is poorly delivered. People with mental health problems require and deserve social support for not only family or personal relationships, but education, employment, finance stability and other activities.