Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing. Mental illness is an illness just like a physical illness.
Disorders
Categories of diagnoses in these schemes may include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, eating disorders, developmental disorders, personality disorders, and many other categories. Commonly recognized categories of anxiety disorders include specific phobia, Generalized anxiety disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychotic disorders centrally involving this domain include Schizophrenia and Delusional disorder.
Symptoms
Anxiety is one of the most readily accessible and easily understood of the major symptoms of mental disorders. Disturbances of perception and thought process fall into a broad category of symptoms referred to as psychosis. Like anxiety, psychotic symptoms may occur in a wide variety of mental disorders. A more complex group of symptoms resulting from disordered interpretation of information consists of delusions.
Treatment
Treatment may include psychotherapy (individual, family, group), skills programs (learning, social skills, behavior), and psychiatric medication, and be provided in a variety of inpatient, outpatient, or day treatment settings. This may include special schools, residential placements, hospitals, private offices, or community clinics. Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options, as well as supportive interventions. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.
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