CONSUMER EDUCATION
WHAT IS MENTAL ILLNESS?
A mental illness is a biologically-based brain disorder that affects a person’s thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and ability to cope with the normal demands of life. One in every five families is affected by mental illness (National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, 2008). Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, social status, race, or income. However, in most cases, symptoms can be managed with a combination of medications and talk therapy. In fact, between 70 and 90 percent of people who receive treatment experience a decrease in symptoms and improved quality of life (NAMI, 2008). Compass Health offers a variety of services to meet the needs of our clients. Our programs are individualized and combine psychotherapy with medication management to achieve the best results possible for our clients. To contact a facility in your area, please click here.
Below are some of the more common psychiatric disorders. Click on the disorder for more information.
- Major Depression
- Anxiety Disorders
- Bipolar Disorder
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Depression in the Elderly
As a normal part of life, people will experience “ups and downs.” However, when the “downs” last for longer than a couple of weeks, and several of the following symptoms are involved, it may not be a normal part of life. It may be an episode of Major Depression.
Although Major Depression is a serious illness, it is highly treatable. Between 80 and 90 percent of those diagnosed with major depression can be effectively treated and return to their usual daily activities and feelings (NAMI 2008).
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of Major Depression include:
- Persistently sad or irritable mood
- Pronounced changes in sleep, appetite, and energy
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating, and remembering
- Physical slowing or agitation
- Lack of interest in or pleasure from activities that were once enjoyed
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, and emptiness
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
- Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain
Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness, apprehension, or tension that a person feels in response to a real or perceived threat. Situations that cause distress may create a feeling of anxiety. Anxiety may be mild or so intense that it creates a feeling of panic. Anxiety can be brought on by certain drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, certain sedatives, amphetamines, and other drugs that affect the nervous system. Anxiety is usually temporary, but when it lasts for a prolonged period or occurs in the absence of threat, a person should consult a mental health professional.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of Anxiety or Panic may include:
- Apprehension/irritability/panic
- Impatience/restlessness
- Feelings of imminent danger
- Inability to relax
- Difficulty concentrating
- Trouble sleeping
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation
- Dry mouth, skin flushing
- Lightheadedness, faintness
- Muscle tension
- Hyperactivity
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Sweating, especially in the palms
- Shortness of breath
- Choking sensation
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness. Once called manic depressive illness, bipolar disorder causes severe changes of mood and behavior. At times you may feel extremely happy or irritable. This is the “high”, or manic phase of the illness. At other times you may feel deeply depressed.
An episode of mania or depression usually lasts for months if not treated. Some people, however, may have both high and low episodes in a matter of days. People with bipolar disorder typically experience both manic (high) and depressive (low) phases, but some people have only the manic symptoms.
Bipolar disorder occurs in about 1.5 percent of the population. It is equally common in both sexes. If not treated, this illness can ruin careers and marriages and can result in suicide and violence.
Milder degrees of mania are referred to as hypomania, which does not involve loss of touch with reality or as much life disruption.
If not treated, the average manic phase lasts four weeks to four months.
The manic or hypomanic episode may be followed by a period of normal mood, but eventually the depressive part of the cycle begins. During the depression, you feel drained of energy and motivation. You feel worthless, helpless, and hopeless. You may have crying spells and may withdraw from social activities, work, and sex. You may lose your appetite, or your appetite may increase. You may need more sleep, although if the depression is severe, you may have trouble sleeping.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder include:
- You feel you are “on top of the world”, and that anything is possible. However, these feelings may quickly change to anger or irritability.
- You are unrealistically self-confident, even to the point of believing you have special powers or abilities that other people do not have.
- Your thoughts may race uncontrollably to the point of being disorganized and incoherent. Sometimes, in the milder phases of the disorder, your thinking can be very creative.
- You tend to talk rapidly and loudly, moving from topic to topic. It may be hard for others to follow what you are saying.
- You may be able to go for days with little or no sleep and not feel tired.
- Your sex drive might be increased, and almost everything seems interesting and enjoyable.
- You may be excessively active and may engage in reckless or dangerous behavior. You are in danger of doing too much. For example, you might spend all your savings or go into debt, or you might drink too much alcohol or take illegal and dangerous drugs such as cocaine. You also may get very angry and get into fights.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that may develop after a person experiences a frightening, stressful, or traumatic life event. Characterised by intense fear, PTSD interferes with a person’s normal functioning. Treatments include medication and psychotherapy.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder include:
Intrusive Recollection
- Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions
- Recurrent or distressing dreams of the event
- Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated)
- Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
- Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
Avoidance/Numbing
- Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma
- Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma
- Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
- Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
- Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
- Restricted range of affect (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)
Hyper-Arousal
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Irritability or outbursts of anger
- Difficulty concentrating
- Hyper-vigilance
- Exaggerated startle response
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts, or obsessions, and/or repetitive, ritualized behaviors that the person feels driven to perform, or compulsions.
In addition to the listed criteria, at some point during the course of the disorder, the sufferer must realize that his/her obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive. Moreover, the obsessions or compulsions must be time-consuming (taking up more than one hour per day), cause distress, or cause impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning. OCD often causes feelings similar to those of depression.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Obsessions are defined by:
- Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
- The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
- The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
- The person recognizes that the obsessive thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality
Compulsions are defined by:
- Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
- The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe psychiatric disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Although not as common as other psychiatric disorders, the symptoms can be debilitating.
The symptoms of schizophrenia are generally divided into three categories – Positive Symptoms, Negative Symptoms, and Cognitive Symptoms.
Schizophrenia can also affect a person’s mood. When mood instability is a major feature of the illness, ther person may have Schizoaffective disorder.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of schizophrenia include:
Positive Symptoms—behaviors/thoughts that manifest as a result of the disorder:
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
Negative Symptoms—absence of behaviors or characteristics:
- Emotional flatness or lack of expression
- Inability to start and follow through with activities
- Speech that is brief and devoid of content
- Lack of pleasure or interest in life.
Cognitive Symptoms—the disorder’s affect on the thought process:
- Difficulty prioritizing tasks
- Difficultyi with certain kinds of memory functions
- Difficulty organizing thoughts
- Lack of insight into the difficulties experienced related to the disorder
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.
The following is a description of symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease that was published on the Alzheimer’s Association website. For more information about the disorder, please visit their website at www.alz.org.
Memory loss. Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later.
Difficulty performing familiar tasks. People with dementia often find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps involved in preparing a meal, placing a telephone call, or playing a game.
Problems with language. People with Alzheimer’s disease often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. They may be unable to find the toothbrush, for example, and instead ask for “that thing for my mouth.”
Disorientation to time and place. People with Alzheimer’s disease can become lost in their own neighborhood, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.
Poor or decreased judgment. Those with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers on a warm day or little clothing in the cold. They may show poor judgment, like giving away large sums of money to telemarketers.
Problems with abstract thinking. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may have unusual difficulty performing complex mental tasks, like forgetting what numbers are for and how they should be used.
Misplacing things. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.
Changes in mood or behavior. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may show rapid mood swings – from calm to tears to anger – for no apparent reason.
Changes in personality. The personalities of people with dementia can change dramatically. They may become extremely confused, suspicious, fearful, or dependent on a family member.
Loss of initiative. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may become very passive, sitting in front of the TV for hours, sleeping more than usual, or not wanting to do usual activities.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Memory loss
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks
- Problems with language
- Disorientation to time and place
- Poor or decreased judgment
- Problems with abstract thinking
- Misplacing things
- Changes in mood or behavior
- Changes in personality
- Loss of initiative
The American Psychiatric Association estimates that up to 5% of people 75 and older suffer from depression. Some believe the rate is even higher as many of those with depression can be misdiagnosed with illnesses such as dementia or may not be diagnosed at all. Since many seniors accept their symptoms as an inevitable part of aging or are embarrassed by the stigma of mental illness, no help is sought. Because treatment for depression can so dramatically improve the quality of these later years, a correct diagnosis and professional attention are vital.
If the signs of this illness are recognized and appropriate help is sought, most elderly patients can experience improvement within weeks. When depression is not recognized and treated, the consequences can be tragic. Depression may be the cause of up to two-thirds of suicides in older adults, and the elderly have the highest suicide rate of any age group in America.
WHAT CAUSES DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY?
- Stress and loss. For some people, the loss of loved ones, health, physical strength, financial stability, formerly rewarding career or family responsibilities may be too much to cope with and depression may result.
- Genetics. Some people have a biological vulnerability to depression. While these individuals may live for decades without developing the illness, the many changes of aging may cause the condition to emerge in later years.
- Biological factors. Depression can be triggered by a disturbance in the brain’s biochemicals that regulate mood and activity. An imbalance in the brain’s biochemicals can cause major disruptions in thought, emotion, and behavior.
- Medical Conditions. Certain medical problems, such as hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, heart disease, and certain cancers physically create the symptoms of depression. Medications for illnesses, particularly high blood pressure or arthritis, can cause drug interactions leading to depressive symptoms and mood changes.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please consult your physician or a Compass Health liaison. To locate a Compass facility in your area, please click here.
Symptoms of depression in the elderly:
- Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or helplessness
- Feelings of inappropriate guilt
- Persisten sadness or anxiety
- Unexplained crying
- Irritability
- Withdrawal from formerly pleasurable activities and relationships
- Memory loss, confusion, disorientation
- Inability to concentrate or make decisions
- Inability to perform activities of daily living
- Change in eating or sleeping habits
- Decreased energy or fatigue
- Thoughts of suicide
- Overly concerned with physical problems