200+ Types of Mental Illness
In the last blog, mental health awareness was the point of focus. In this post, we want to bring attention to mental illness. Mental illnesses are diagnosable health conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “mental disorders are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior and affect their ability to function or relate to others" (1).
Did you know there are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness? Some of the most common include depression and anxiety. Though it is important to note people can "experience different types of mental disorders and they can often occur at the same time" (1). Mental illnesses can "occur over a short period of time or be episodic, which means that the illness comes and goes with discrete beginnings and ends" (1).
Therefore, we must be mindful that mental illness is different from person to person and there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to managing a mental disorder.
In table 1 below, there is a list of common mental disorders, a brief description, and a few examples you may have heard in conversation with friends or loved ones (3). This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but is meant to provide awareness of the disorders that a person may experience at some point in their lifetime.
Table 1. Categories of Mental Disorders
By increasing our own awareness of the types of mental illnesses that exist, we can all become better allies to those who may be suffering.
Sources:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm
3. Mental Health First Aid USA (pg. 20-21). 2020. Mental Health First Aid for Adults assisting Adults. Washington, DC: National Council for Behavioral Health. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/