Disorders
Impacting an estimated 300 million people, this is the most-common mental disorder and generally affects women more often than men. It is often characterized by loss of interest or pleasure, general sadness, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, difficulty falling asleep, eating pattern changes, exhaustion and a lack of concentration.
Depression
Everyone has mental health.
True. Your mental health can change day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, but everyone has mental health.
Who was the infamous serial killer that was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, known as the “Milwaukee Cannibal,” who killed seventeen boys and men between 1978 and 1991?
Jeffrey Dahmer
This form of treatment does not outright cure mental illness. However, it may help with the management of symptoms.
Medication
Affecting 40 million adults in the U.S., or 18.1 percent of the population, every year. This disorder develops from a multitude of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry and life events, and while it is a highly treatable illness, only 36.9 percent of those who live with this disorder actually seek out treatment, and ultimately, access it.
Anxiety
If you have a mental illness, you have it for life.
False. Some mental illnesses will need to be managed throughout your life,
but some illnesses are treatable and you are able to conquer them.
Leader of the “Manson Family” cult and mastermind behind the 1969 murders at the home of Sharon Tate, who was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.
Charles Manson
In a minority of cases, this treatment method may be necessary so that an individual can be closely monitored, accurately diagnosed or have medications adjusted when his or her mental illness temporarily worsens.
Hospitalization
Engendering both manic and depressive episodes, sometimes book-ended, and sometimes featuring moments of “normal” or stabilized mood, this illness impacts approximately 60 million people worldwide. Manic episodes can contain elevated or irritable mood, hyperactivity, inflated self-esteem and a lack of desire to sleep.
Bipolar Affective Disorder
You can tell if someone has a mental illness.
False. Mental illnesses are not visible illnesses, you cannot “see” them.
American rapper and actor who was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot in 1998. He passed away on April 9, 2021.
DMX
This is a group meeting where members guide each other towards the shared goal of recovery. These groups are often comprised of nonprofessionals, but peers that have suffered from similar experiences.
Support Group
This is a severe mental illness impacting about 23 million people worldwide and is characterized by distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, sense of self, and behavior. Those who have these illnesses can experience hallucinations and delusions starting in late adolescence or early adulthood, making it difficult for people to work, study, or interact socially.
Schizophrenia
If you have a mental illness you will feel mad, sad or worried all the time.
False. People diagnosed with a mental illness may not have to battle their illness every day. Often, if they take care of their mental health, their mental
illness will not affect their day at all. Some days their illness takes over and they’ll need to battle. Just like someone without a mental illness, every day is different.
First entered stardom as a Disney actor, but rose her way to fame as a recognized musician over the years. Today, she is also a mental health advocate by being candid about her own struggles with mental illness. This actress/artist was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2020. Her symptoms include depression and anxiety, and she has been recently learning to manage those by staying off social media and taking medication, in combination with therapy five times per week.
Selena Gomez
A form of treatment that coordinates services for an individual with the help of a case manager. A case manager can help assess, plan, and implement a number of strategies to facilitate recovery.
Case management
This disorder is generally chronic or progressive in nature and entails a deterioration of cognitive function beyond normal aging, impacting about 50 million people across the globe. From memory, orientation and thinking, to comprehension, calculation, and language, the decline in cognitive function is generally met with deterioration in emotional and social control.
Dementia
Kids can’t have a mental illness like depression, those are adults’ illnesses
False. Children can experience mental illnesses. In fact, many mental illnesses appear when children are young.
American swimmer and the most decorated American Olympian of all time. He is known for breaking records and winning medals, but has struggled with ADHD since he was in the 6th grade.
Michael Phelps
Therapeutic treatment that explores thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and seeks to improve an individual’s well-being. Paired with medication, this is the most effective way to promote recovery. Examples include: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, etc.
Psychotherapy