Tag Archives: mental health

What is a phobia? Phobias are common treatable mental health disorders. A phobia is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. It is a type of  anxiety disorder. A phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation. Phobias are diagnosable mental disorders. …

What can trigger schizophrenia? A person with disorganized-type schizophrenia will exhibit behaviors that are disorganized or speech that may be bizarre or difficult to understand. Schizophrenia usually shows its first signs in men in their late teens or early 20s and women in their early 20s and 30s. It’s rare before adolescence. Men and women are equally affected. The period between …

What is schizophrenia? There are several different kinds of schizophrenia each with slightly differing symptoms. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental disorder which is one of the most disabling mental conditions. Schizophrenia affects the person’s perception of reality, thoughts, emotions, actions and their interaction with others. Patients often have difficulty maintaining relationships and performing at work or school. This is …

Anorexia is an eating disorder in which a person's distorted body image leads them to starve themselves to stay thin. Anorexia is an eating disorder that leads to markedly reduced appetite or a complete aversion to food. People with anorexia constantly try to keep their weight as low as they can by not eating enough food.  The condition, dubbed anorexia …

What does anxiety mean? Anxiety disorders are characterized by irrational worry, fear and panic in response to mundane situations. Six types include panic disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety and others. We all get worried or scared in response to certain situations in our lives. On a clinical level, anxiety refers to the state of extreme worry, fear and panic the …

Facts you should know about mental illness in children Share Your Story ADHD, anxiety, and depression are the most common mental illnesses in children. Mental disorders in children are quite common, occurring in about one-quarter of this age group in any given year. The most common childhood mental disorders are anxiety disorders, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although …

What is Cotard’s syndrome? The cause of Cotard’s syndrome, a neuropsychiatric condition, is unknown, but certain conditions are likely to cause it, including dementia, encephalopathy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, subdural bleeding, epilepsy, and migraine. Cotard’s syndrome, also known as walking corpse syndrome, is a neuropsychiatric condition in which people develop false beliefs that their body parts are missing, or they …

What is chemical restraint? A chemical restraint is a drug, usually a sedative or antipsychotic, administered to control a patient's violent behavior that could harm medical staff or themselves. Chemical restraint refers to the administration of certain medications to restrain agitated patients from behavior that is harmful to themselves or others, including the medical staff attending to them. The administration …

Facts you should know about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Women are twice as likely to develop PTSD as men. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that doctors first formally diagnosed in soldiers and war veterans and is usually caused by terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experiences but can also be caused by devastating life events like …

What is bipolar disorder? There are three main types of bipolar disorder – bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder. Bipolar disorder (also called manic-depressive illness or manic depression) is a mental condition that causes unusual and extreme shifts in mood.  It is characterized by periods of deep, profound, and prolonged depression that alternate with periods of an excessively elevated …