Mental Disorders

1. Mental Disorders Chapter 4

2. Vocabulary • Mental disorder Mood Disorder • Anxiety Depression • Anxiety Disorder Schizophrenia • Phobia Personality Disorder • Obsession Compulsion

3. Recognizing Mental Disorders • Mental disorder: an illness that affects the mind and reduces a person’s ability to function, to adjust to change, or to get along with others. • Mental health experts see abnormal thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as signs, or symptoms, of a mental disorder. • Causes of Mental Disorders • Physical factors – exposure to a poison; injury to the brain. • Heredity – a person may inherit a tendency toward a disorder. • Early Experiences – extremely negative experiences that occur early in life such as child abuse or neglect. • Recent Experiences – a death of a loved one for example; assault

4. Anxiety Disorders Anxiety – a fear caused by a source you cannot identify or a source that doesn’t pose as much of a threat as you think. Anxiety disorder – when anxiety persists for a long time and interferes with daily living. List of Anxiety Disorders Generalized anxiety disorder Phobias phobia: anxiety that is related to a specific situation or object. (fear) Panic attacks Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder obsession: an unwanted thought or image that takes control of the mind. compulsion: an unreasonable need to behave in a certain way to prevent a feared outcome. 5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

5. An anxiety attack, people may feel fearful, apprehensive, may feel their heart racing or feel short of breath, but it's very short lived, and when the stressor goes away, so does the anxiety attack. Panic attack on the other hand doesn't come in reaction to a stressor. It's unprovoked and unpredictable.

6. Other Mental Disorders • Mood Disorders • Mood disorder: experiences of extreme emotions that make it difficult to function in daily life. (example: bipolar disorder a.k.a. manic depressive disorder) • Depression: an emotional state in which a person feels extremely sad and hopeless. • Schizophrenia • Schizophrenia: one of the most serious disorders; can be identified by severe disturbances in thinking, mood, awareness, and behavior. • Impulse-Control Disorders • - characterized by failure to resist a temptation or urge; the inability to not speak on a thought. • - Examples: substance abuse, kleptomania, gambling, risky behaviors

7. 4. Personality Disorders personality disorder: displays of rigid patterns of behavior that make it difficult for them to get along with others, unstable moods, etc. (not well understood) Group A: people in this group cannot form close relationships. (a.k.a. Suspicious – paranoid, anti-social) Group B: often overly emotional or unstable. (a.k.a. impulsive; narcissistic) Group C: often cannot make decisions. (a.k.a. anxious, avoidant, dependent, can be obsessive-compulsive)

8. EATING DISORDERS Eating Disorder: a mental disorder that reveals itself through abnormal behaviors related to food. Anorexia Nervosa: not eating enough food to maintain a healthy body weight. Symptoms: extreme weight loss, slowed heart rate and breathing rate, dry skin, lowered body temperatures, growth of fine body hair, loss of menstrual period (in females) Risks: can starve to death; lack of essential minerals can cause the heart to stop suddenly. Possible causes: lack of a chemical that regulates mood; low self-esteem; strong desire to please others; troubled relationships; strong desire for control Treatment: often treated in a hospital; doctors, nurses, dietitians, mental health experts work together to address the problem.

9. Anorexia cont’d.

10. Anorexia Recovery Story https://youtu.be/MprkgCuCu80

11. BULIMIA Bulimia: uncontrolled eating binges followed by purging, or removing the food from their bodies. Risks: dehydration, kidney damage, lack of vitamins and minerals, tooth enamel erosion from stomach acid, throat irritation from stomach acid, depression, suicide Possible causes: lack of a chemical that regulates mood; low self-esteem; strong desire to please others; troubled relationships; strong desire for control; using food to feel better emotionally. Treatment: seek help from a mental health professional.

12. Bulimia cont’d.

13. Binge Eating Disorder Binge eating disorder: uncontrollable urge to eat large amounts of food even if you are full. Risks: excessive weight gain, unhealthy dieting, greater risk for diabetes, high blood pressure Possible causes: some people use this to avoid dealing with difficult emotions, and stressful situations. Treatment: seek help from a mental health professional, therapists, nutritionist. Address how to control eating and any possible underlying emotional problems.

14. Binge Eating Disorder cont’d

15. Depression • Depression can cause problems at school, at home, and in one’s social life. If untreated, depression can also lead to substance abuse, serious behavior problems and even suicide. • Clinical Depression: mood disorder where people may feel sad and hopeless for months. • Signs of Clinical Depression: pg. 95 Figure 10 • Feelings of hopelessness • Loss of interest in usual activities • Repeated thoughts of death and/or suicide • Risk factors: pg. 95 • Major life change or prolonged stress • A sense of hopelessness • Treatment: • Medication can help to restore normal brain function. • Mental Health experts can teach new strategies for coping with problems.

16. Self-Injury Cutting: the use of sharp object to intentionally cut or scratch one’s body deep enough to bleed. Self-injury is an unhealthy way to cope with emotions, stress, or traumatic events. Examples: cutting; scratching; burning the skin; pulling out your hair; biting or hitting your body Signs: Scars or scratches, bruises, hair loss or bald spots, keeping sharp objects on hand, wearing long sleeves or long pants even in hot weather. Risk factors: Commonly associated with other mental disorders such as personality disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders.Excessive alcohol or drug use could be a factor also. Treatment: Seek help from a mental health professional to learn better ways to cope with problems and treat possible underlying disorders.

17. Suicide • Suicide: the intentional killing of oneself. • Risk Factors: family history of suicide; previous suicide attempt; feelings of hopelessness or isolation; lack of access to mental health treatments; outside influences such as celebrities, family members, peers, physical or sexual abuse, substance abuse. • Cluster Suicides: series of suicides that occur within a short period of time in the same peer group or community. • Warning Signs: • Talk: If a person talks about being a burden to others, feeling trapped experiencing unbearable pain, having no reason to live, killing themselves. • Behavior: Specific things to look out for include increased use of alcohol or drugs, giving away prized possessions, withdrawing from activities, acting recklessly, searching for ways to kill themselves in books or online, isolating from family or friends.

18. Suicide cont’d • Warning Signs: • Mood: People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods: depression; loss of interest; irritability; rage; humilation; anxiety • Review Figure 13 pg. 98 – Do’s and Do Not’s When a Friend is Thinking About Suicide. • Where to Get Help: • Talk to a mental health professional • Talk to, seek support from a trusted adult: family member, counselor, school psychologist • Seek help or support from a crisis center • Call a suicide prevention hotline – available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. National suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-8255 • https://teenlineonline.org/ Teens Helping Teens Support Site • 877-565-8860 – Trans Lifeline Hotline

19. Suicide Survival Story https://youtu.be/WcSUs9iZv-g

20. Treating Mental Disorders • Locate Community Resources: health center; mental health clinics; counseling centers; local hospital • Types of Mental Health Professionals: • Psychiatrists: a physician who can diagnose and treat mental disorders. • Clinical Psychologist: trained to recognize and treat behavior that is abnormal. • Mental Health Counselors: focus on specific problems or work with specific groups of people. • Social Workers: listen to and advise people. • Psychiatric Social Worker: helps people with mental disorders and their families to adjust to and to accept an illness.

21. Kinds of Treatments • Method 1: Psychotherapy – during this therapy, a person talks with a therapist. • Types of Psychotherapy: • Insight Therapy: helps people better understand the reasons for their behavior. • Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy: helps a person to identify situations, objects, or thoughts that trigger abnormal behaviors. • Group Therapy: people meet with other people who have similar disorders. A mental health professional leads the group. Method 2: Drug Therapy – doctors prescribe drugs to treat the mental disorders and allow patients to function normally. Method 3: Hospitalization – for those that need constant monitoring or are in danger of harming themselves or others.