What are the most common mental illnesses?

The most common forms of mental illnesses are:

Anxiety disorders - the most common group of mental illnesses. The sufferer has a severe fear or anxiety which is linked to certain objects or situations. Most people with an anxiety disorder will try to avoid exposure to whatever triggers their anxiety. Examples of anxiety disorders include:

Panic disorder - the person experiences sudden paralyzing terror or imminent disaster.

Phobias - these may include simple phobias - disproportionate fear of objects, social phobias - fear of being subject to the judgment of others, and agoraphobia - dread of situations where getting away or breaking free may be difficult. We really do not know how many phobias people may experience globally - there could be hundreds and hundreds of them.

(OCD) Obsessive-compulsive disorder - the person has obsessions and compulsions. In other words, constant stressful thoughts (obsessions), and a powerful urge to perform repetitive acts, such as hand washing (compulsion).

PSTD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) - this can occur after somebody has been through a traumatic event - something horrible and scary that the person sees or that happens to them. During this type of event the person thinks that his/her life or other people's lives are in danger. The sufferer may feel afraid or feel that he/she has no control over what is happening.

Mood disorders - these are also known as affective disorders or depressive disorders. Patients with these illnesses share disturbances or mood changes, generally involving either mania (elation) or depression. Experts say that approximately 80% of patients with depressive disorder improve significantly with treatment. Examples of mood disorders include:

Major depression - the sufferer is not longer interested in and does not enjoy activities and events that he/she previously got pleasure from. There are extreme or prolonged periods of sadness.

Bipolar disorder - also known as manic-depressive illness, or manic depression. The sufferer oscillates from episodes of euphoria (mania) and depression (despair).

Dysthymia - mild chronic depression. Chronic in medicine means continuous and long-term. The patient has a chronic feeling of ill being and/or lack of interest in activities he/she once enjoyed - but to a lesser extent than in major depression.

SAD (seasonal affective disorder) - a type of major depression. However, this one is triggered by lack of daylight. People get it in countries far from the equator during late autumn, winter, and early spring.

Schizophrenia disorders Whether or not schizophrenia is a single disorder or a group of related illnesses has yet to be fully determined. It is a highly complex illness, with some generalizations which exist in virtually all patients diagnosed with schizophrenia disorders. Most sufferers experience onset of schizophrenia between 15 and 25 years of age. The sufferer has thoughts that appear fragmented; he/she also finds it hard to process information. Schizophrenia can have negative or positive symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, thought disorders and hallucinations. Negative symptoms include withdrawal, lack of motivation and a flat or inappropriate mood. (See the article "What is schizophrenia")