Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We’re passionate about reducing the stigma associated with diagnoses and seeking help….especially when we know about 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. Here we provide an overview of common mental health conditions and typical treatments ( *note: this is not a full, exhaustive list)
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders have a central theme of persistent and excessive worry. There can be both physical and cognitive symptoms including restlessness, jitteriness, a sense of danger or threat, predicting the worst possible outcome, underestimating ability to manage etc…
Generalized anxiety is a specific condition that refers to pervasive and general feelings of anxiousness about multiple areas of life, occurring for at least six months.
Social anxiety refers to intense fear about social interactions. This may be due to worry thoughts of others perceiving them in a negative way.
Panic disorder is a specific condition when an individual has panic attacks. These can occur in response to something, or without warning. Symptoms are often abrupt and powerful such as chest pains, difficulty breathing, dizziness etc…
A phobia is classified as an unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation.
A common response for those with anxiety disorders is avoidance. An individual may change or adjust their behavior to avoid thinking about, feeling, or doing difficult things. In therapy, a clinician will work with a client to challenge urges to avoid and increase ability to tolerate discomfort. Cognitive behavioral therapy is particularly useful in the treatment of anxiety.
Bipolar Disorder
This is a condition that leads to dramatic shifts in mood, energy and thought processes. This goes beyond a “mood swing” or fluctuation in response to an identifiable stressor. Individuals with Bipolar have distinct periods of mania/hypomania (elevated mood, impulsivity) and depression. There are two subtypes of this disorder. Bipolar I refers to when an individual has experienced one or more episodes of mania, with a manic episode lasting at least seven days. Bipolar II is when individuals experience depressive symptoms and hypomania (a less severe form of mania) but do not have a true manic episode.
In therapy, it is common for cognitive behavioral strategies to be utilized, in addition to medication management.
Depressive Disorders
These are characterized by periods of low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, disruptions to sleep and eating, hopelessness, and helplessness.
A major depressive episode is when symptoms persist for at least a two-week period. These could be episodic in nature, or be an isolated incidence.
Persistent depressive disorder is when at least two symptoms of depression are present, but symptoms persist for at least two years.
Seasonal affective disorder, sometimes referred to as SAD, can occur around the change in seasons and can mimic depressive symptoms.
In therapy, clinicians will work to challenge unhelpful/negative thoughts patterns that perpetuate symptoms. Behavioral activation is also a technique aimed at increasing motivation and positive emotions.
Eating Disorders
This a group of conditions that involves preoccupation with food or weight, and can lead to significant medical and mental health complications.
Anorexia nervosa refers to when an individual restricts their food intake, engages in binging/purging, or excessive exercise to eliminate calories. Individuals will often be in self-starvation which can lead to medical issues such as loss of menstruation, heart irregularities, dehydration etc…
Bulimia occurs when an individual consumes large quantities of food in a short duration, and resort to vomiting or laxative to rid themselves of calories. An individual with bulimia may not necessarily appear underweight, as most individuals are typically of appropriate weight or slightly above.
Binge eating disorder is when an individual consumes a large amount of food and continues to do so until uncomfortably full. This can lead to subsequent shame or guilt about their behavior. A distinction with this particular condition is that an individual does not attempt to rid themselves of calories.
Treatment for these conditions can involve a treatment team of providers including primary care physicians, nutritionists etc… CBT or Exposure therapy can be helpful treatment modalities.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
This condition is characterized by repetitive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and irrational urges to perform particular actions (compulsions). Individuals find it difficult to control the worry and stop engaging in the compulsions. Common themes of obsessions include thoughts of death or harm to others, fear of contamination, doubts about something, or order/routine. Common compulsions include sanitizing or hand washing, counting, checking behaviors etc…
Treatment for this can involve a combination of therapy and medication management. Exposure response prevention therapy helps an individual to tolerate the anxiety associated with obsessive thoughts while not acting out a compulsion, to reduce that anxiety.
Substance Use Disorders
A substance use disorder is a chronic condition characterized by continued use despite negative consequences in health, school/employment, and social functioning. Common symptoms of this include tolerance (needing to increase use to achieve the same desired affect), withdrawal (physical and cognitive symptoms when not using a substance), cravings and urges, unsuccessful attempts to cut back on usage etc… There are ten separate classes of drugs that include alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, stimulants, and tobacco.
Treatment options vary for substance use disorders. Sometimes, a detox program is needed to safely taper off substances. For some, outpatient therapy or group options (such as a 12-step program) can be helpful. Relapse prevention therapy is one specific evidence-based option that assists individuals in identifying and managing high-risk situations for relapse.
Trauma
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a condition occurs after exposure to a distressing event, either by witnessing it, experiencing it, or hearing about a loved one experiencing it. While we tend to think of PTSD as associated with military and combat, serious accidents, natural disasters, abuse/neglect, assault etc… can all be triggering events. There are a cluster of symptoms usually present for individuals and include re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams), avoidance, mood symptoms (guilt, worry, depression), and arousal symptoms (hypervigilance, easily startled etc…).
There are several evidence-based treatment options for PTSD. These include EMDR, cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure and more.
It is a brave decision to enter therapy and seek the support needed. The National Alliance on Mental Illness references that the average delay between onset of mental illness symptoms and treatment is 11 years. Below are some resources to get your started: