Mental Illnesses
Depression
What is depression?
Depression is a mood disorder, that is it impacts the way one feels, relates to others, thinks, and interacts with the world. Depression is when the moods one feels are ‘stuck’ on certain moods that make it difficult for them to go about their day. These moods include things like feeling sad, worthless, hopeless, guilty, anxious, irritable or angry.
Who does it affect?
Depression can affect anyone, however it can be very different in every individual. There may also be differences in how depression is expressed based on age and sex.
Sources:
https://cmha.ca/brochure/depression-and-bipolar-disorder/
Feeling low, down, or depressed?
What is it?
Depression is much more than simple unhappiness. Clinical depression, sometimes called major depression, is a complex mood disorder caused by various factors, including genetic predisposition, personality, stress and brain chemistry. Health care professionals ask questions, such as whether someone is feeling down or hopeless or has little interest or pleasure in doing things, to help determine whether the person may have depression. While it can suddenly go into remission, depression is not something that people can “get over” by their own effort.
(Source: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/depression)
What are the signs and symptoms?
The main symptom of depression is a sad, despairing mood that:
is present most days and lasts most of the day
lasts for more than two weeks
impairs the person’s performance at work, at school or in social relationships.
Other symptoms of depression include:
changes in appetite and weight
sleep problems
loss of interest in work, hobbies, people or sex
withdrawal from family members and friends
feeling useless, hopeless, excessively guilty, pessimistic or having low self-esteem
agitation or feeling slowed down
irritability
fatigue
trouble concentrating, remembering or making decisions
crying easily, or feeling like crying but being not able to
thoughts of suicide (which should always be taken seriously)
a loss of touch with reality, hearing voices (hallucinations) or having strange ideas (delusions).
(Source: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/depression)
What can I do about it? How can I manage it?
The most commonly used treatments are:
pharmacotherapy (medications), such as antidepressants
psychoeducation
Self-help organizations run by clients of the mental health system and their families can be an important part of treatment and recovery for people with depression.
(Source: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/depression)
Other resources
Check out The Depression Project
Anxiety
What is anxiety?
Not all anxiety is bad, in fact it is essential to help motivate us and warn us in certain situations. Anxiety disorders are not reflections of this helpful stress and they cause unexpected or unhelpful anxiety that negatively impacts one's lives in how they think, act and feel.
Who does it affect?
Anxiety disorders can affect anyone at any age. They are the most common mental health problem. Sometimes they arise from unrealistic or unhelpful thinking patterns but they can also arise without reason.
What is anxiety? Signs? & How to manage
What is anxiety?
We have all had times when we feel nervous or scared of different situations.Your heart may be racing, you may have a hard time breathing and feel tightness in your chest, or even feel dizzy. These could all be signs of anxiety. Having a difficult time coping with these feelings is normal, but if they continue and cause issues in your daily life, you may need to seek help (CHMA Calgary, 2020).
Watch this short video explaining What is Anxiety?
(Source: https://rdc.libguides.com/c.php?g=716319&p=5121591)
What are the signs and Symptoms?
Racing pulse, heart palpitations, possibly even chest pain;
Shortness of breath, panting, dry mouth;
Blushing;
Nausea and/or vomiting;
Trembling, shaking, muscle tension;
Dizziness;
Hot flashes and sweating, or chills;
Difficulties with sleep;
Inability to concentrate
(Source: https://rdc.libguides.com/c.php?g=716319&p=5121591)
What can I do about it? How to reduce and manage my anxiety?
If you notice feelings of anxiety right now, watch a few minutes of this video, just follow the shapes and breath along. Notice how you feel after.
Counselling
Medication
Join a support group if your community has one
Eat a healthy diet;
Avoid alcohol, caffeinated beverages and hard substances
Try to cut back on smoking or vaping tobacco
Exercise
Stress management techniques
Try meditation and other activities that calm the mind
Get a good night’s sleep
Share your feelings
Check out this Coping Skills worksheet from the Therapist Aid .com which contains some of the helpful tips above.
Are you sure you are going to fail? Are you calling yourself names?
If so, you may have fallen victim to anxious thinking and it is normal. There's another way of thinking called "Realistic Thinking" that may be helpful to try, check out the worksheet on Realistic Thinking to find out what it is and how to practice it.
(Source: Anxiety Canada)
Are you a worrier? Have been called a "drama queen"?
If so, you may be allergic or intolerant to uncertainty. Many people are, so what you are experiencing is valid and normal! As with seasonal allergies, it is possible to become more tolerant of uncertainty. If you are interested, check out the worksheet on Tolerating Uncertainty. You may recognize yourself in what people do when they feel anxious and you'll learn some strategies to increase your tolerance to uncertainty. By increasing your tolerance to uncertainty, you can let go of all of the problems associated with being intolerant (and anxiety), and you get to realize that you can deal with things, even when they don’t go perfectly.
(Source: Anxiety Canada)
Do you consider yourself or have you been called "OCD"?
If so, you may be displaying obsessive and compulsive behaviours. This Self-Help Managing your OCD at Home may be helpful.
Other Resources
There are many more resources on Anxiety Canada such as:
https://www.anxietycanada.com/free-downloadable-pdf-resources/
Calm Breathing exercise (audio): https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/calm-breathing-audio/
Eating Disorders
What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders are disorders that arise as a way to cope with difficult problems or regain a sense of control. They are not just about food. They are complicated illnesses that affect a person’s sense of identity, worth, and self-esteem.
There are three main types of eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa - involves self-starvation; the body is denied the essential nutrients it needs to function normally, so it is forced to slow down all of its processes to conserve energy. This “slowing down” can have serious medical consequences.
Bulimia nervosa - is a condition where you think a lot about your body weight and shape, frequently having intense feelings of guilt and/or shame. It affects your ability to have a ‘normal’ eating pattern as a cycle is often created – dieting, the subsequent “starvation reaction” or binge eating, followed by some manner of maladaptive compensatory behaviour.
Binge-eating disorder - is a severe, life-threatening, and treatable eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort), a feeling of a loss of control during the binge, experiencing shame, distress, or guilt afterward, and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating.
Who does it affect?
Anyone can be affected by an eating disorder however certain characteristics create higher risk factors. These include low self-esteem or poor body images, perfectionism, or difficulties dealing with stress.
Sources:
ADHD
What is ADHD?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that consists of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. These can interfere with an individual's daily activities and relationships.
Who does it affect?
It can again affect anyone but genes play a large role in combination with other factors. If you have ADHD as an adult you had ADHD as a child, whether you were diagnosed as a child or not.
Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/adhd-what-you-need-to-know#pub1
Substance Use Disorder
What is substance use disorder?
A substance use disorder is a mental disorder that affects the brain and causes a person’s inability to control their use of substances such as legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications.
Who does it affect?
Substance use disorders can affect anyone but research has found that about half of individuals who experience a substance use disorder will also experience a co-occuring mental illness.
Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/substance-use-and-mental-health#:~:text=A%20substance%20use%20disorder%20(SUD,most%20severe%20form%20of%20SUDs.
Schizophrenia
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that impacts the way you understand and interact with the world. People may feel that things seem to be strange or different, have problems concentrating, thinking, communicating, and taking part in their usual activities. People who experience schizophrenia may also experience psychosis which can include hallucinations and/or delusions.
Who does it affect?
Schizophrenia can affect anyone although it usually starts in teens and starts earlier in females. Genes are suspected to play a role but the exact cause is not known.
Sources:
https://cmha.ca/brochure/schizophrenia/
OCD
What is OCD?
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental illness that is composed of obsessions and compulsions. A person can experience both or just one. They are very distressing in nature and can impact a person's quality of life quite a bit. Obsessions are unwanted and repetitive thoughts, urges, or images that will not go away. These are not representative of what the person thinks but rather a symptom of the illness. Compulsions are actions that are supposed to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsessions. These can cause the person distress if they cannot complete them and can also be very time consuming.
Who does it affect?
OCD can affect anyone and it is still not known what causes it.
Sources:
https://cmha.ca/brochure/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/
Bipolar Disorder
What is Bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. With bipolar disorder people experience depression and manic episodes. The depression in bipolar is the same as depression, the mania is an unusually high mood for the person. This usually manifests as hyperactivity, racing thoughts, confidence, happiness, or power. The frequency of episodes - which include depressive episodes, manic episodes, and bouts of wellness depend on the person.
Who does it affect?
Bipolar disorder can affect anyone and is likely caused by a number of factors, not just one.
Sources:
https://cmha.ca/brochure/depression-and-bipolar-disorder/
Personality Disorders
What are personality disorders?
A personality disorder is when someone’s personality lacks the average amount of adaptability and flexibility that a lot of people have. In real life this means an individual with a personality disorder will have rigid thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that may not be helpful to the situation. This can cause distress to the people around the individual and depending on the personality disorder, distress to the individual.
There are 10 recognized personality disorders and they are organized in clusters based on similarities.
Cluster A: Characterized by feeling paranoid, distrustful and suspicious
Paranoid
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Cluster B: Characterized by having difficulty controlling emotions, fears, desires and anger.
Borderline
Narcissistic
Histrionic
Antisocial
Cluster C: Characterized by experiencing compulsions and anxiety
Obsessive-Compulsive (this is different from OCD)
Dependent
Avoidant
Who does it affect?
Personality disorders can affect anyone and the cause is not yet known but research is looking into genetics, childhood trauma, verbal abuse, high reactivity/oversensitivity and peer influences.
Sources:
https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/personality-disorders