A look into common Mental Health Disorders/Conditions!

This week I want to take a look into common mental health Conditions and Disorders. I think a lot of us know the common disorders and conditions such as Anxiety, Depression, OCD, ADHD and many more. But what do all these conditions look like and what do they all mean? Well that is what I’m going to show you today.

Anxiety:

Anxiety is a normal reaction to being under pressure. Taking Tests, Job Interviews, Public Speaking or Meeting New People are all situations where you may experience a small amount of anxiety. It usually subsides when the situation is over, but for people who suffer with anxiety the feeling may stay with them all day just by doing normal everyday things.

New Social situations can make them feel as though everyone is watching them, people can hear their thoughts or even think everyone is talking about them.

Anxiety can present itself in a number of different ways and different people will have different symptoms and experiences with it.

Common Symptoms:

- Racing heartbeat

- Sweating

- Obsessiveness

- Avoiding Social Situations

- Excessive Worrying

- Upset Stomach

- Fidgeting such as; playing with your hair, cracking knuckles, biting your nails or lip or tapping.

- Nausea

Depression:

Feeling sad is a normal part of life. Feeling sad for longer periods of time, (weeks, months or years) can have intense effects on your personal and professional life. It can even affect your physical health. Sometimes depression has no clear cause.

Everyone experiences some of these feelings or behaviours from time to time. But for people experiencing depression, the feelings are more severe and they do not go away over time.

Common Symptoms:

- Loss of appetite or over eating

- Lack of motivation and energy

- Feeling sad, moody and irritable

- Feeling numb or empty

- Unable to feel good or enjoy things you normally do

- Being overly self-critical

- Poor concentration and memory

- Thoughts of suicide or self-harm

- Crying a lot

- Losing your temper more than usual

- Headaches or stomach aches

- Feeling physically sick

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

OCD is commonly described as (obsessions) excessive thoughts that lead to repetitive behaviours (compulsions). People with OCD may know that their thoughts and behaviours don’t make logical sense, but they’re often unable to stop them.

OCD is characterised by irrational thoughts and fears that lead to compulsive behaviour. OCD is often centred on things like fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a particular way. Symptoms usually begin slowly and vary throughout life.

Common Symptoms:

- Compulsive behaviour

- Agitation

- Impulsivity

- Hypervigilance

- Compulsive hoarding

- Meaningless repetition of own words

- Repetitive actions/movements

- Social isolation

- Ritualistic behaviour

(ADHD) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder:

ADHD can cause above normal levels of hyperactivity and impulsive behaviours. People with ADHD may also have trouble concentrating their attention on a single task or sitting still for extended periods of time.

There are 3 main kinds of ADHD and they are

- Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type

- Predominantly inattentive

- Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive

Common Symptoms:

- Having trouble focusing or concentrating on tasks

- Being easily distracted

- Interrupting people while their talking

- Having difficulty sitting still

- Being forgetful about completing tasks

- Fidgeting

- Trouble staying quiet

Bipolar:

Bipolar disorder is commonly described as extreme shifts in mood. Bipolar disorder is also known as Manic Depression. People with Bipolar may have difficulty handling everyday life tasks at school or work.

Common Symptoms:

- Mood swings

- Loss of interest in activities

- Hopelessness

- Irritability

- Disorganised behaviour

- Self-harm

- Depression

- Manic episode

- Paranoia

- Weight gain or loss

- Difficulty falling asleep

- Fatigue

- Rapid or frenzied speaking

These are the only Mental Health Conditions/Disorders I will be covering this week but if you would like to request one for part 2 feel free to comment on the post or email me at so.mental@icloud.com

I hope you guys can read this post and get a better understanding as to what other people may be going through.

Danielle xoxo