Introduction:
Mental health is having an all-around healthy mind and body. It's the state of mind in which your feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are all functioning normally. In other words, mental health means having all of the brains in all of the right places. Mental disorders are broadly grouped into five categories: mood disorders; anxiety disorders; substance use disorders; personality disorders; and adjustment disorders/psychotic disorders.
There are numerous mental health conditions and disorders that are diagnosed all over the world. These conditions range from the most common and widely known like depression, manic depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, etc to less known conditions such as social anxiety disorder and dementia.
Though there are many kinds of mental illnesses and conditions, psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians often use the term mental health to refer to normal moods and emotions, social effectiveness, intellectual development, physical comfort, and the ability to cope effectively with the demands of daily life.
Eating disorders
Eating disorders also referred to as eating problems or eating disorders, are a class of mental health conditions that involve abnormal eating behaviors and thoughts.
The condition can be characterized by an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or by a distorted body image. Eating disorders often involve bingeing and purging (self-induced vomiting and/or excessive exercise).
The symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa usually lead to death through complications related to malnutrition (low body weight) or heart problems (due to fluid loss in the gastrointestinal tract).
Eating disorders are a group of conditions that cause significant distress and impairment, often interfering with normal eating and weight-control behaviors.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by markedly low body weight and the refusal to maintain normal body size. The word "anorexia" means "not eating." People with anorexia usually see themselves as too fat rather than too thin.
They may avoid food or become obsessed with dieting and controlling calories. Some people with anorexia eat very little food, but they continue to exercise excessively, which causes muscle wasting and bone loss. Other people restrict calories but eat more than they would on a normal diet.
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behavior such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives or diuretics to prevent weight gain after the binge episode.
People who have bulimia may compensate for purging (by exercising excessively) or by engaging in excessive use of laxatives or diuretics (to remove water from their bodies). These behaviors can lead to serious medical complications such as electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and liver damage.
Binge eating disorder involves recurrent episodes
Anxiety disorders
The most common mental health problem in the United States is anxiety. Anxiety disorders are often triggered by stress, but they can also occur when you’re not under any kind of stress. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias.
Anxiety disorders can have serious physical and social consequences, including:
Feeling exhausted or depressed
A feeling of fear or dread
Inability to concentrate or make decisions
Irritability or hyperactivity
Sleep problems
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition, affecting 18.1% of all adults. They may be lifelong or develop during adolescence or old age. Anxiety disorders include phobias, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder.
Some people seek treatment for a panic attack even though they have no physical symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Panic attacks may occur with other anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobia.
Panic attacks usually begin suddenly and disappear quickly. People often report that they feel like their heart is racing or that they are about to faint when the attack starts. Some people experience additional symptoms that may include shaking, sweating, hot flashes, or shortness of breath on their own or with chest pain or nausea after the attack begins.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder in the United States. Approximately one in five adults in the U.S. will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point during their lifetime. Anxiety disorders affect more than 40 million American adults, and more than 18 million of them have a co-occurring substance use disorder.
Mood disorders
Mood disorders are a class of mental illnesses that can be identified by their symptoms, duration, and severity. The most common mood disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Depression
Depression is an illness characterized by a persistent sad mood, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, and diminished ability to experience pleasure. It also includes feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and hopelessness.
People who have depression often feel tired all the time and find it hard to concentrate. They may sleep more than usual or have difficulty getting out of bed. A depressed person may lose interest in sex or lose weight. Depression can last for months or years and can cause very serious problems if left untreated.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression). Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder function normally — they go to work every day, pay bills on time, take care of themselves physically and emotionally, engage in healthy relationships with friends and family members, etc.
But when they experience a manic episode (also called hypomania), they act so differently from how they normally do that it seems like a completely different person has taken over their body — someone who is irritable.
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that causes dramatic changes in mood, energy levels, and behavior over time. The episodes of mania or depression can be triggered by certain events or stressors in your life.
Some people experience only one episode of mania or depression during their lifetime; others experience several episodes over a long period of time (2). Dysthymia is a condition of chronic low-grade depression that lasts for at least two years and interferes with daily life (3).
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterized by winter blues or spring melancholy, which can be severe enough to interfere with activities like work and school (4).
Conclusion:
Developing positive mental health is key to anyone's well-being, but there are many factors that come into play. While these factors vary from person to person, they all fall under five examples of mental health. When people think about mental health, what usually comes to mind is serious mental illnesses like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. But these illnesses make up less than 10 percent of all mental health problems.
It's clear that people aren't always aware of what mental health issues are and how they can affect people. The fact is, depression isn't a joke. It's not a mindset or approach to life that can be fixed simply by altering your attitude. And the truth is, depression isn't always obvious when you're dealing with it yourself. It's something that often gets ignored by society at large, and many people don't even realize that they're suffering from it until it's too late.
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