Darcy Gruttadaro



About Mental Illnesses in America

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects more than 2 million Americans, or 1 percent of the nation’s population age 18 and older. Schizophrenia interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. The first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or twenties. Most people with schizophrenia experience symptoms of the illness chronically or episodically throughout their lives, and are often stigmatized by lack of public understanding about the illness. Schizophrenia is not caused by bad parenting or personal weakness. A person with schizophrenia does not have a "split personality," and almost all people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent towards others when they are receiving treatment.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is a serious mental illness that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning. It affects 5.7 million adult Americans, which is about 2.6 percent of the population, and can run in families. The disorder affects men and women equally. Bipolar disorder is characterized by episodes of mania and depression that can last from days to months. Bipolar disorder is a chronic and generally life-long condition with recurring episodes that often begin in early adolescence or early adulthood, and occasionally in younger children. It often requires lifelong treatment, and with effective supports and services, recovery is often possible. Generally, those who live with bipolar disorder have symptoms of both mania and depression (sometimes at the same time).

What is major depression?

Major depression is a serious mental illness affecting 14.8 million American adults, or approximately 6.7 percent of the adult population in a given year. Unlike normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states, major depression is persistent and can significantly interfere with an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood, activity, and physical health. Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and many other developed countries.

Major depression occurs twice as frequently in women as in men, for reasons that are not fully understood. This mental illness can occur at any age including childhood, teenage years and adulthood. About three-fourths of those who experience a first episode of depression will have at least one other episode in their lives. Some individuals may have several episodes in the course of a year. If untreated, episodes commonly last anywhere from six months to a year. Like many serious mental illnesses, depression can lead to suicide if left untreated.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event that caused intense fear, helplessness, or horror. PTSD can result from personally experienced traumas (e.g., rape, war, natural disasters, abuse, serious accidents, and captivity) or from the witnessing or learning of a violent or tragic event.

While it is common to experience a brief state of anxiety or depression after such occurrences, people with PTSD continually re-experience the traumatic event; avoid individuals, thoughts, or situations associated with the event; and have symptoms of excessive emotions. People with this disorder have these symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as they did before the traumatic event. PTSD symptoms usually appear within three months of the traumatic experience; however, they sometimes occur months or even years later.

What is Obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessions are intrusive, irrational thoughts -- unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in a person's mind. Again and again, the person experiences disturbing thoughts, such as "My hands must be contaminated; I must wash them"; "I may have left the gas stove on"; "I am going to injure my child." On one level, the individual knows these obsessive thoughts are irrational. But on another level, he or she fears these thoughts might be true. Trying to avoid such thoughts creates great anxiety.

Compulsions are repetitive rituals such as handwashing, counting, checking, hoarding, or arranging. An individual repeats these actions, perhaps feeling momentary relief, but without feeling satisfaction or a sense of completion. People with OCD feel they must perform these compulsive rituals or something bad will happen. Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life.

What is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is a mental illness characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and in some cases, hyperactivity. The most commonly diagnosed behavior disorder in youth, AD/HD affects an estimated three to five percent of school-age children. Although AD/HD is usually diagnosed in childhood, it is not a disorder limited to children-AD/HD often persists into adolescence and adulthood and is frequently not diagnosed until later years. Left untreated, AD/HD can lead to poor school performance, conduct disorder, depression and substance abuse.

What is panic disorder?

A person who experiences recurrent panic attacks, at least one of which leads to at least a month of increased anxiety or avoidant behavior, is said to have panic disorder. Panic disorder may also be indicated if a person experiences fewer than four panic episodes but has recurrent or constant fears of having another panic attack.

Doctors often try to rule out other possible conditions before diagnosing panic disorder. To be diagnosed as having panic disorder, a person must experience at least four of the following symptoms during a panic attack: sweating; hot or cold flashes; choking or smothering sensations; racing heart; labored breathing; trembling; chest pains; faintness; numbness; nausea; disorientation; or feelings of dying, losing control, or losing one's mind.

What is borderline personality disorder?

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior.  It is a disorder of emotion dysregulation. The instability of this medical illness often disrupts family and work, long-term planning, and the individual’s sense of self-identity. While less well known as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, BPD is as common, affecting between .07 to 2 percent of the general population.

While there has been much progress and success in the past 28 years in the understanding of and specialized treatment for BPD, the complex symptoms of the disorder often make it difficult to treat.

Updated January 2009

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