Fact sheet for adults

The following are fact sheets provided by the NAMI.org website. They provide need-to-know information on 16 mental health disorders.

For greater understanding of mental health disorders, click  on the link of your interest from the following links.

• Autism Spectrum Disorders – Complex developmental disorders of brain function.
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – Characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
• Bipolar Disorder or Manic Depression – Causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning.
• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – Characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self image and behavior.
• Dissociative Disorders – Marked by a dissociation from or interruption of a person’s fundamental aspects of waking consciousness (such as one’s personal identity, one’s personal history, etc.).
• Dual Diagnosis Services – Treatments for people who suffer from co-occurring disorders—mental illness and substance abuse.
• Anorexia Nervosa – Serious, occasionally chronic, and potentially life-threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain minimal body weight within 15 percent of an individual’s normal weight.
• Bulimia Nervosa – A serious eating disorder marked by a destructive pattern of binge-eating and recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors to control one’s weight.
• Binge Eating Disorder (BED) – Eating that is characterized by rapid consumption of a large amount of food by social comparison and experiencing a sense of the eating being out of control.
• Major Depression – 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.
• 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.
• Panic Attacks – 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.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – An anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event that caused intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
• Schizophrenia – Interfering with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others, schizophrenia impairs a person’s ability to function to their potential.
• Schizoaffective Disorder – Characterized by a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia and an affective (mood) disorder.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder – Characterized by recurrent episodes of depression – usually in late fall and winter – alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of the year.
• Tourette’s Disorder or Tourette’s syndrome (TS) – A neurologic syndrome that involves multiple tics that are sudden, rapid, recurrent, non-rhythmic, stereotypical, purposeless movements or vocalizations.
• Community Project Adult Mental Health Resource Guide

Fact sheet for children

Fact sheets provided by Minnesota Association for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health (MAIECMH), 165 Western Avenue N, Suite 2, St. Paul, MN 55102; www.macmh.org

Mental Health and Substance Abuse
http://dmh.mo.gov/ada/factsheets.htm