 Before we begin, we'd like to add a quick warning discretion. This video discusses mental illness, including eating disorders and PTSD. What is mental illness? According to National Alliance on Mental Illness, it's defined as a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling, or mood for a sustained period of time that negatively impacts them. You might be wondering, is depression a mental illness? What about anxiety? Yes, they are. In fact, they're the most common types of mental illnesses. In this video, Psych2Go covers 10 of the most common types of mental illnesses. 1. Anxiety Disorders We know 18.1% doesn't sound like a lot, but that's the number of adults in the US who suffer from anxiety disorders. 40 million people suffer from symptoms of an anxiety disorder every year. Of those 40 million people, it's estimated that only 36.9% of them will get help. Anxiety disorders rarely appear alone, with depression being a common co-diagnosis. Anxiety disorders come in a few varieties. Generalized anxiety disorder, GAD, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, SAD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD. So, what do all these anxiety disorders have in common? They're all characterized by a nearly uncontrollable way that messes with several aspects of daily life, such as sleep, relationships, school, and work. The good news is there are several treatment options available, which include different types of therapy and medication. 2. Personality Disorders What does it mean when someone's personality is disordered? Personality disorders refer to behavioral, emotional, and thought patterns that deviate greatly from the expectations of an individual's culture. The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that 9.1% of the population has the traits of a personality disorder. So what does this look like in real life? Could anyone who's a little different be diagnosed with a personality disorder? Well, according to the diagnostic criteria in the DSMB, these differences must be causing the individual significant amounts of distress in the way they see themselves, others, and situations, inappropriate or exaggerated emotional responses, impulse control, and how well the individual relates to and functions around others. Personality disorders can't be cured, but thankfully they can be treated. This treatment consists of combinations of medications for the underlying mental health issues as well as talk therapy. 3. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder If we say ADHD, what comes to mind? The stereotype of a person diagnosed with ADHD is usually a small child who's bouncing off the walls or can't finish a task. However, between 7.8% and 11% of children aged 4 to 17 are diagnosed with ADHD any given year. ADHD affects people of all ages and includes multiple symptoms, such as inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, inability to sit still, restlessness, and losing things. And individuals' symptoms vary depending on their age, gender, and type of ADHD. Did you know there's actually 3 recognized types of ADHD? There are ADHD, Combined Type ADHD, Impulsive Hyperactive Type, and ADHD, Inattentive and Distractable Type. Most people think meds are the only way to control ADHD. But many people diagnosed with the disorder find relief by using a combination of medications, life coaching, education, and talk therapy. 4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Did you know that an estimated 6.8% of the U.S. population will develop some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? That's about 19 million people in the U.S. alone. So how does this happen? You, me, everybody will get stressed out by something in our lives. Some people will come across something so stressful that it affects them permanently. For many of them, this stress becomes trauma. A traumatic event is considered any event that should not have happened, such as a natural disaster, an assault, childhood neglect, abuse, starvation, and so on. Stress is a completely normal reaction to trauma. So what happens when the threat is gone? The stress and trauma stops on its own for most people when the mind and body understand the individual is no longer under attack. But what if the mind and body don't get the memo? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder reverses to a prolonged fight or flight response that happens after the stressful event has stopped. Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, CPTSD, refers to the PTSD that occurs due to a series of continued traumatic events, such as childhood abuse. Think of PTSD and CPTSD as the echoes of the stress response. These echoes can happen in the form of emotional flashbacks, nightmares, extreme anxiety or panic, difficulties connecting to others, and an overwhelming sense of fear. So how does someone get help for something so overwhelming? People suffering from PTSD or CPTSD can find relief through trauma therapies, such as eye movement desensitization reprocessing, EMDR, or traditional talk therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, or dialectical behavior therapy, DBT, Thive, Depression. An estimated 6.7% of the US population over the age of 18, 15.7 million people live with depression. Although the occasional low mood is a normal response to negative situations, depression entails low moods that are severe and last longer than six weeks. Depression manifests differently in women than men. Women tend to experience depression as feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and shame or guilt. Men tend to mistake the symptoms of depression as fatigue and being easily irritated. Common treatments for depression include cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, interpersonal therapy, IPT, psychodynamic therapy, psychoeducation groups, antidepressants, and various brain stimulation therapies. 6. Bipolar Disorder An estimated 2.8% of the US population that saw mental health treatment was diagnosed with some form of bipolar disorder in 2018. This number may be low as many individuals who suffer from any mental health disorder do not seek treatment. Bipolar disorder means a lot more than just really bad mood swings for a couple of reasons. First, people diagnosed with bipolar disorder cannot completely control these mood swings. And second, these mood swings range from manic, feeling super happy or invincible, doing crazy spontaneous things, grandiosity and having racing or unrealistic thoughts to extreme bouts of depression and maybe a little hypomania in between. Living with bipolar disorder isn't easy, but people struggling with the disorder can find a variety of medications and traditional counseling treatments to help them find more balance. 7. Eating Disorders Did you know there are almost as many people living with eating disorders as there are with bipolar disorder? It's true. Approximately 2.7% of individuals who sought treatment were diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2018. The most common question people ask about eating disorders is what's the difference between not being happy with your body and having an eating disorder? Well, in addition to this total focus on their physical flaws, eating disorders are defined by dysmorphia and the binge purge restricts cycle of behavior. This cycle comes from the person's feelings of extreme distress and disgust about their body. This disgust drives the individual who has the disorder to become super focused on their body weight and shape. Leave a comment below if you want to know more about the binge purge restrict cycle. The eating disorders everyone knows about are anorexia nervosa and bulimia, but most people have never heard of eating disorders not otherwise specified, EDNOS, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, ARFID. Leave a comment below if you want to hear more about the lesser known eating disorders. Everyone needs food, so how is someone who has such a terrible relationship with eating and body image supposed to get better? Recovery from an eating disorder is totally possible with a combination of talk therapy, residential treatment, and medications to treat the symptoms of any underlying mental health conditions. 8. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder If obsessive compulsive disorder, OCD, is a type of anxiety disorder, why did it make the number 8 spot? Simple. Professionals say 2.3% of individuals will qualify for a diagnosis of OCD during the course of their lifetime. What's the first thing you think of when you think of someone who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder? Did you imagine someone who can't stand the thought of germs? Maybe a person who turns the door knob 27 times before they can leave the house. The common stereotype of an individual diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, OCD, is if someone obsessed with cleaning or counting to a comical degree. But that's not the whole picture. The reality of OCD includes a great deal of anxiety, rigid thinking, and feeling isolated from others. Individuals diagnosed with OCD suffer from reoccurring thoughts that they cannot control, which are referred to as obsessions. These obsessions can be things like cleaning or counting, but also include checking and double checking, feeling as though one will be punished for being a sinner, organizing and arranging and hoarding. Having obsessions is different from being detail oriented, or a little type A. Because individuals who suffer from obsessions experience crippling anxiety due to these thoughts they're unable to control. The compulsions are the actions, such as cleaning, hand washing, arranging and hoarding that individuals use to cope with overwhelming anxiety and rigid thinking. So what is someone who lives with the reality of OCD to do? Although there's no cure for OCD, combination of medical and talk therapy will help them manage their symptoms effectively. 9. Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD We've been hearing more and more about autism spectrum disorder, ASD, in recent years. That's because approximately 1.2% of children, 1 in 59 children, will qualify for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in the coming year. ASD begins in childhood, but many individuals are not diagnosed until adolescents are adulthood. ASD is characterized by significantly impaired social interactions, learning and communication. Individuals at the ASD may seem eccentric or unemotional to others, as they do not understand normal social cues. Some of these odd behaviors include seeming off in their own world, repetitive thoughts or behaviors, restricted interests, poor eye contact, and difficulty communicating with others to the point their functioning is greatly impaired. The most common treatments for ASD include special education classes, applied behavioral analysis, ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, behavioral management therapy, and medication management. 10. Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders Did you know that 3 out of 100 people will experience the symptoms of psychosis in their lifetime? Yep. This means 1% of the population suffers from a psychotic disorder. People usually have their first psychotic break between the ages of 16 and 30, which means approximately 100,000 adolescents and adults will experience their first psychotic break every year. This does not mean everyone who experiences psychosis will always have a psychotic disorder. Medical and environmental or situational factors such as extreme stress, certain prescriptions, and illicit drugs can induce temporary psychosis. For individuals with a psychotic disorder, however, the symptoms last longer than 6 months. So, what is psychosis anyway? Someone suffering from psychosis has breaks or disruptions in their reality, which manifest in behaviors such as religious delusions, audio, visual, or tactile hallucinations, feelings of paranoia or persecution, and disordered or jumbled thoughts and speech. Schizophrenia is the most common psychotic disorder, but the DSMV recognizes a few others. Would you like to know more about the other psychotic disorders? Then tell us in the comments below. Having a psychotic disorder can feel like torture, but it doesn't have to. Many people who are diagnosed with some type of psychosis are successfully treated with a combination of specialized medications, therapy, and case management. Have you or a loved one ever dealt with any of the mental illnesses in this article? Were there any symptoms on this list that surprised you? Which mental illnesses do you want to hear more about? Tell us in the comments below. As always, any information provided here is for educational purposes only. If you need mental health counseling or treatment, please contact your insurance company, local college students counseling clinic, or your county crisis line. Help is out there. For more information on mental illness and mental health, stay tuned to Psych2Go. As always, thanks for watching.