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'Mental health' properly describes a sense of well-being:
the capacity to live in a resourceful and fulfilling manner,
having the resilience to deal with the challenges and obstacles
which life presents. Mental health 'problems' or 'difficulties'
are terms that can be used to describe temporary reactions
to a painful event, stress or external pressures, or systems
of drug or alcohol use, lack of sleep or physical illness;
this terminology may also be used to describe long-term psychiatric
conditions which may have siginificant effects on an individual's
functioning.
The table below provides a brief summary of some of the symptoms
of the most common mental health problems; such conditions
should only be diagnosed by a qualified clinician. It may
be helpful to note that anxiety and depression feature as
the two most common reasons for individuals to consult their
GP.
| Anxiety |
Agitation, significant
changes in appetite, headaches, digestive difficulties,
or panic attacks. Includes post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), an anxiety disorder that may be characterised
by repetitive memories or flashbacks of a traumatic event. |
| Depression |
Low mood, lack of motivation, sense
of emptiness, change of appetite, disturbed sleep patterns,
withdrawal, self-neglect, self loathing, thoughts of hurting
or killing oneself. |
| Mania |
Elated mood, rapid speech, little
sleep, relentless high energy, reckless behaviour, delusions
or hallucinations. Mania with depression may also be a
feature of 'bi-polar disorder' (also known as manic depression). |
| Psychosis |
Disordered or paranoid thoughts, delusions,
disorganised or strange speech, 'hearing voices', agitated
or bizarre behaviour, extreme emotional states. |
| Schizophrenia |
Schizophrenia is the most common psychotic
disorder. In addition to the symptoms of psychosis listed
above, this disorder may be characterised by negative
symptoms such as social withdrawal, poor personal hygiene
and poor motivation. |
| Anorexia
Nervosa |
An eating disorder characterised by
extreme fear of being fat, distorted body image, extremely
low dietary intake, excessive exercise. |
| Bulimia
Nervosa |
An eating disorder characterised by
binge eating, induced vomiting, induced diarrhoea. |
| Obsessive-Compulsive |
Repitition of behaviours, rituals,
checking, ruminating, repetitive thoughts. Intense fear,
usually with one focus such as open or confined spaces,
heights, rats, spiders, social situations. |
This table is based upon an information sheet entitled
'Common Mental Health Terms', produced by the University of
Leicester Student Psychological Health Project. Used with
permission.
Many of us experience some of the symptoms described above
at some points in our lives and indeed some are typical reactions
to a range of common life events. The degree of severity is
reflected by the intensity of the symptoms and the impact
of the individual's capacity to function. 'Depression' for
example, may mean one person feeling temporarily low in mood
to another feeling completely dehabilitated and unable to
take care of basic physical needs.
Reproduced by the kind permission of AMOSSHE (Association
of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education)
This diagram shows the range of mental health conditions
we may all experience.
Based on information in the IRISS Students Resource,
published by Rethink,
1994
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