1.3. Explain types of mental ill-health

This guide will help you answer 1.3. Explain types of mental ill-health.

Mental ill-health refers to conditions that affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviour, or overall mood. These conditions can impact how individuals interact with others, cope with stress, and manage daily activities. Mental ill-health varies in nature and severity, and people experience it differently. In this guide, we cover the main types of mental ill-health.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders involve excessive fear, worry, or nervousness that interferes with daily life. While feeling anxious in certain situations is normal, these disorders are more severe and persistent. They impact how a person thinks, behaves, and feels physically.

Key types of anxiety disorders include:

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): This causes chronic and excessive worry about daily matters such as work, finances, or health, even if there’s no specific reason. Physical symptoms might include muscle tension, trembling, or trouble sleeping.
• Panic Disorder: People with this condition experience sudden and repeated panic attacks, which are intense feelings of fear and discomfort. Symptoms include a racing heart, difficulty breathing, sweating, or a sense of losing control.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: This involves a strong fear of social or performance situations, leading to avoidance of such events. Fear of being judged or humiliated is a central issue.
• Phobias: These are irrational fears of specific objects, situations, or activities, such as heights (acrophobia) or confined spaces (claustrophobia).

Mood Disorders

Mood disorders primarily affect emotional states, often leading to long periods of sadness, elevated moods, or both. They can disrupt relationships, work, and daily life.

Common mood disorders include:

• Depression: This is characterised by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest in activities, fatigue, and low self-worth. Some people may experience physical symptoms such as pain or changes in appetite. Severe cases can lead to thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
• Bipolar Disorder: People with bipolar disorder experience extreme mood swings, including manic episodes (periods of excessive energy and euphoria) and depressive episodes. Manic episodes may involve impulsive behaviour, decreased need for sleep, or unrealistic ideas about personal ability.
• Cyclothymic Disorder: This involves milder mood swings but follows a similar pattern to bipolar disorder. Emotional highs and lows might not be as severe but can still disrupt daily routines.

Psychotic Disorders

Psychotic disorders involve a disconnection from reality. They often include symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganised thinking. These disorders can significantly affect perception and judgement.

An example is:

• Schizophrenia: This involves symptoms like hearing voices (auditory hallucinations), false beliefs (delusions), and difficulty concentrating. People may become withdrawn or have limited emotional responses. It typically requires lifelong management.

Some people with psychotic disorders may also experience paranoia, which is an extreme and irrational mistrust of others.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders affect how individuals perceive themselves and others. These thought patterns often result in behaviour that is rigid, inappropriate, or harmful. Personality disorders develop during adolescence or early adulthood and are often ongoing.

Common personality disorders include:

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): This is marked by intense emotions, fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, and impulsive behaviours. People with BPD might struggle with feelings of emptiness or have difficulty managing anger.
• Antisocial Personality Disorder: This involves disregard for others’ rights, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy or remorse. People with this condition might behave deceitfully or violate social norms.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD): This is different from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). People with OCPD tend to have an excessive focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders distort how individuals view food, their body image, and weight. These disorders may result in harmful eating behaviours that affect physical and mental health.

Examples include:

• Anorexia Nervosa: This is characterised by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image. Individuals may severely restrict food intake or exercise excessively, often to the point of becoming dangerously underweight.
• Bulimia Nervosa: This involves cycles of binge eating followed by purging, such as vomiting or using laxatives. The person might maintain a normal weight, making the disorder less visible.
• Binge Eating Disorder: Here, individuals eat excessive amounts of food in a short time without control. Unlike bulimia, they don’t engage in purging behaviours, which can result in weight gain and associated health problems.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

These disorders originate during childhood and influence brain development. They often affect communication, learning, and behaviour.

Examples are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): This is a range of conditions affecting social interactions, communication, and behaviour. Some people with ASD may have repetitive patterns of behaviour or intense interest in specific topics.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD affects concentration, impulse control, and activity levels. Individuals may appear restless, struggle to stay focused, or act without thinking.

Trauma-Related Disorders

These develop after exposure to a traumatic event. Trauma affects how an individual’s brain processes emotions or memories, often leading to long-term distress.

The main trauma-related disorder is:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD is caused by experiencing or witnessing events such as violence, accidents, or abuse. People might relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares and avoid triggers associated with the trauma. Symptoms may also include emotional numbness, irritability, or difficulty sleeping.

Substance-Related Disorders

These occur when a person becomes dependent on alcohol, drugs, or other substances. Substance misuse can lead to physical and mental health problems.

Examples include:

• Substance Use Disorder: This relates to the excessive use of substances such as alcohol, drugs, or nicotine. Dependence often leads to withdrawal symptoms and cravings when usage stops.
• Alcohol Dependency: Persistent alcohol use despite harmful consequences, such as damaged relationships or poor health, may indicate alcohol dependency.

Somatic Symptom Disorders

This involves physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by a medical condition. These symptoms can cause significant discomfort and distress.

An example is:

• Somatic Symptom Disorder: This includes excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviours centred on physical symptoms, such as pain or fatigue, often without a clear physical cause.

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

These disorders often include recurring obsessions (unwanted thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviours aimed at reducing stress).

The most well-known condition is:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): This involves intrusive thoughts or images that cause anxiety and repetitive actions to relieve it. Common compulsions include handwashing or checking locks repeatedly.

Impact of Mental Ill-Health

Mental ill-health can affect individuals in many ways. They may struggle with relationships, work, and daily living. Emotional distress and physical symptoms can worsen if conditions are untreated. Mental ill-health can also lead to isolation, discrimination, and stigma.

Understanding the different types of mental ill-health helps in identifying when someone may need support. Early intervention, understanding, and appropriate care can improve quality of life and recovery outcomes.