SOME CATEGORIES OF MENTAL ILLNESSES

1. ANXIETY DISORDERS
- a disorder in which excessive anxiety leads to personal distress and atypical, maladaptive, and
irrational behavior.
a. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
- a common, chronic disorder characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any
one object or situation.
b. PANIC DISORDER
- a person has brief attacks of intense terror and apprehension, often marked by trembling,
shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, and/or difficulty breathing.
c. PHOBIA
- Cases in which irrational fear and anxiety is triggered by a specific stimulus or situation.
d. OBSESSIVECOMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)
- a type of anxiety disorder primarily characterized by repetitive obsessions (distressing,
persistent, and intrusive thoughts or images) and compulsions (urges to perform specific
acts or rituals).
e. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- If you develop strong feelings of anxiety after experiencing or witnessing something you found
very traumatic, you might be given a diagnosis of PTSD. PTSD can cause flashbacks or nightmares
which can feel like youre re-living all the fear and anxiety you experienced during the actual
event.

2. SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
- mental illnesses that cause bodily symptoms, including pain. The symptoms cannot be
explained fully by a general medical condition or by the direct effect of a substance, and are
not attributable to another mental disorder.
a. CONVERSION DISORDER
- A somatic symptom disorder involving the actual loss of bodily function such as blindness,
paralysis, and numbness due to excessive anxiety.
b. BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER
- the afflicted individual is concerned with body image, and is manifested as excessive concern
about and preoccupation with a perceived defect of their physical appearance.
c. HYPOCONDRIASIS
- People with this type are preoccupied with concern they have a serious disease. They may
believe that minor complaints are signs of very serious medical problems. For example, they
may believe that a common headache is a sign of a brain tumor.
d. PAIN DISORDER.
- People who have pain disorder typically experience pain that started with a psychological
stress or trauma. For example, they develop an unexplained, chronic headache after a
stressful life event. Pain is the focus of the disorder. But psychological factors are believed to
play a role in the perception and severity of the pain. People with pain disorder frequently
seek medical care. They may become socially isolated and experience problems with work
and family life.
e. SOMATIZATION DISORDER
- This is also known as Briquet's syndrome. Patients with this type have a long history of
medical problems that starts before the age of 30. The symptoms involve several different
 organs and body systems. The patient may report a combination of pain, neurologic
problems, gastrointestinal complaints and sexual symptoms.

3. MOOD DISORDER
- category of illnesses that describe a serious change in mood.
a. MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
- a pervasive and persistent low mood that is accompanied by low self-esteem and by a
loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

B. POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

- Also called postnatal depression, is a type of clinical depression which can affect both sexes
after childbirth. Symptoms may include sadness, low energy, changes in sleeping and eating
patterns, and reduced desire for sex, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability. While many
women experience self-limited, mild symptoms postpartum, postpartum depression should be
suspected when symptoms are severe and have lasted over two weeks.

C. DYSTHYMIA

- is a condition related to unipolar depression, where the same physical and cognitive problems
are evident, but they are not as severe and tend to last longer (usually at least 2 years). The
treatment of dysthymia is largely the same as for major depression, including antidepressant
medications and psychotherapy.

D. BIPOLAR DISORDER

- characterized by periods of elevated mood or mania and periods of depression.

4. EATING DOSORDERS

- Mental illnesses defined by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's physical or
mental health.

a. BINGE EATING DISORDER

- characterized by recurring binge eating at least once a week for over a period of 3 months
while experiencing lack of control and guilt after overeating.
b. BULIMIA NERVOSA
- characterized by recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as
purging (self-induced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives/diuretics, or excessive exercise).
Fasting and over-exercising may also be used as a method of purging following a binge.

c. ANOREXIA NERVOSA

- characterized by lack of maintenance of a healthy body weight, an obsessive fear of gaining

weight or refusal to do so, and an unrealistic perception, or non-recognition of the
seriousness, of current low body weight.
 5. DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
- characterized by an involuntary escape from reality characterized by a disconnection between
thoughts, identity, consciousness and memory.
a. DEPERSONALIZATION
- involves ongoing feelings of detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they
are watching a movie (depersonalization). Sometimes other people and things may feel like people
and things in the world around them are unreal (derealization).
b. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
- characterized by alternating between multiple identities. A person may feel like one or more voices
are trying to take control in their head. Often these identities may have unique names, characteristics,
mannerisms and voices.
C. DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA
this type of dissociative disorder deals with the inability to recall critical personal information.
Unlike many other types of amnesia, this one is not associated with physical trauma (such as a blow to
the head) but, rather, a psychological trauma. A person with dissociative amnesia will often not
remember that trauma that caused this disorder in the first place.

6. PERSONALITY DISORDER

- class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and
inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating markedly from those accepted by the
individual's culture.

a. HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

- pervasive pattern of attention-seeking behavior and excessive emotions.

b. NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

- a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.

c. ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

- a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, lack of empathy, bloated self-
image, manipulative and impulsive behavior.

D. BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER (BPD)

- is a condition characterized by difficulties in regulating emotion. This difficulty leads to severe, unstable
mood swings, impulsivity and instability, poor self-image and stormy personal relationships. People may
make repeated attempts to avoid real or imagined situations of abandonment.

E. PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER (PPD)

- a mental disorder characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and

generalized mistrust of others. Individuals with this personality disorder may be hypersensitive, easily feel
slighted, and habitually relate to the world by vigilant scanning of the environment for clues or
suggestions that may validate their fears or biases. Paranoid individuals are eager observers. They think
they are in danger and look for signs and threats of that danger, potentially not appreciating other
evidence.
7. PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS

- severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose
touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are false
beliefs, such as thinking that someone is plotting against you or that the TV is sending you secret
messages. Hallucinations are false perceptions, such as hearing, seeing, or feeling something that is not
there.

a. SCHIZOPHRENIA

- mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to recognize what is real.
Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced
social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation.

B. SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER

- a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and deregulated emotions. The
diagnosis is made when the patient has features of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder
either bipolar disorder or depression. Common symptoms of the disorder
include hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and disorganized speech and thinking.

C. SCHIZOTYPAL DISORDER

- a mental disorder characterized by severe social anxiety, paranoia, and often unconventional beliefs.
People with this disorder feel extreme discomfort with maintaining close relationships with people,
mainly for the fact that they think that their peers harbor negative thoughts towards them; so they avoid
forming them. Peculiar speech mannerisms and odd modes of dress are also diagnostic signs of this
disorder. In some cases, people with STPD may react oddly in conversations, not respond, or talk to
themselves.

D. Schizophreniform disorder
- a mental disorder diagnosed when symptoms of schizophrenia are present for a significant portion of
the time within a one-month period, but signs of disruption are not present for the full six months
required for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. The symptoms of both disorders can
include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, and social
withdrawal. While impairment in social, occupational, or academic functioning is required for the
diagnosis of schizophrenia, in schizophreniform disorder an individual's level of functioning may or may
not be affected. While the onset of schizophrenia is often gradual over a number of months or years,
the onset of schizophreniform disorder can be relatively rapid.

8. IMPULSE CONTROL DISORDERS

- class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity failure to resist a temptation, urge or impulse that
may harm oneself or others.

a. TRICHOTILLOMANIA

- an impulse control disorder characterized by the compulsive urge to pull out one's hair, leading to hair loss
and balding, distress, and social or functional impairment
b. KLEPTOMANIA

- the inability to refrain from the urge to steal items and is done for reasons other than personal use or
financial gain.

c. PYROMANIA

- an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, in
order to relieve tension or for instant gratification.

9. SLEEP DISORDERS AND DISTURBANCES

a. INSOMNIA the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep.

b. Narcolepsy the uncontrollable tendency to fall asleep.
c. APNEA breathing difficulty and even cessation of breathing while the person is asleep.
d. HYPERSOMNIA characterized by excessive sleepiness. It is a condition in which a person has trouble
staying awake during the day.
e. KLEINE-LEVIN SYNDROME OR SLEEPING BEAUTY SICKNESS- rare and complex neurological disorder
characterized by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep, altered behavior, and a reduced
understanding of the world.
f. SOMNAMBULISM sleep walking
g. SOMNILOQUY sleep talking
h. BRUXISM teeth grinding while asleep
i. ENURESIS nocturnal bed-wetting
j. SLEEP MYOCLONUS kicking of legs while asleep
k. NIGHTMARE bad dreams that involve little or no movement at all
l. NIGHT TERROR horrific dream that makes the dreamer sit up staring, let out a blood curling scream and
abruptly awaken into a state of intense fear.