Did You Know... MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS

* ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER or (ADHD)
* CONDUCT DISORDER & OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER or (ODD)
* BIPOLAR DISORDER
* ANXIETY DISORDERS
* AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS or (ASD)
* BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER or (BPD)
* SCHIZOPHRENIA
* DEPRESSION
* DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
* POSTNATAL DEPRESSION
* STRESS
* ANOREXIA NERVOSA
* BULIMIA NERVOSA
* AGORAPHOBIA
* ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
* BODY DYSMORPHIA DISORDER or (BDD)
* DEMENTIA
* MUNCHAUSEN’S SYNDROME
* SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER or (SAD)
*SHOCK
* HEALTH BULLETINS
* NYC YOUTH VITAL SIGNS

ANXIETY DISORDERS – are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. These disorders fill people’s lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by stressful event such as a business presentation of a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated. Effective treatments for anxiety disorders are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment.

* Panic Disorder – People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. They can’t predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. If you are having a panic attack, most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control. You may genuinely believe you’re having a heart attack or losing your mind, or on the verge of death. Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack generally peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer. It is twice as common in women as in men. It most often begins during late adolescence or early adulthood. Risk of developing panic disorder appears to be inherited. For those who do have panic disorder, though, it’s important to seek treatment. Untreated, the disorder can become disabling.
Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to medications or carefully targeted psychotherapy.

* Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or (OCD) - involves anxious thoughts or rituals you feel you can’t control. If you have OCD, you may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, so you wash your hands over and over. You may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly. You may have frequent thoughts of violence, and fear that you will harm people close to you. You may spend long periods touching things or counting; you may be preoccupied by order or symmetry; you may have persistent thoughts of performing sexual acts that are repugnant to you; or you may be troubled by thoughts that are against your religious beliefs. The disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the rituals that are performed to try to prevent or get rid of them are called compulsions. There is no pleasure in carrying out the rituals you are drawn to, only temporary relief from the anxiety that grows when you don’t perform them. It strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers and usually first appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. OCD generally responds well no treatment with medications or carefully targeted psychotherapy.

* Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or (PTSD) - is a debilitating condition that can develop following a terrifying event. Often, people with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. PTSD was first brought to public attention by war veterans, but it can result from any number of traumatic incidents. Whatever the source of the problem, some people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in the form of nightmares and disturbing recollections during the day. They may also experience other sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and have trouble feeling even violent. Things that remind them of the trauma may be very distressing, which could lead them to avoid certain places or situations that bring back those memories. Women are more likely to develop PTSD. It can occur at any age, including childhood. People with PTSD can be helped by medications and carefully targeted psychotherapy.

* Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder) – involves overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work or school, and other ordinary activities. While many people with social phobia recognize that their fear of being around people may be excessive or unreasonable, they are unable to overcome it. They often worry for days or weeks in advance of a dreaded situation. Physical symptoms often accompany the intense anxiety of social phobia and include blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking. If you suffer from social phobia, you may be painfully embarrassed by these symptoms and feel as though all eyes are focused on you. You may be afraid of being with people other than your family. Women and men are equally likely to develop social phobia. The disorder usually begins in childhood or early adolescence. Social phobia can be treated successfully with carefully targeted psychotherapy or medications.

* Specific Phobias – is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Some of the more common specific phobias are centered around closed-in-places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, dogs, and injuries involving blood. Such phobias aren’t just extreme fear; they are irrational fear of a particular thing. It is twice as common as in women as in men and usually first appear during childhood or adolescence and tend to persist into adulthood. Specific phobias are highly treatable with carefully targeted psychotherapy.

* Generalized Anxiety Disorder or (GAD) – is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. It’s chronic and fills one’s day with exaggerated worry and tension, even though there is little or nothing to provoke it. Having this disorder means always anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. Sometimes, though, the source of worry is hard to pinpoint. Simply the thought of getting through the day provokes anxiety. Their worries are accompanied by physical symptoms, especially fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes. People with GAD may feel light headed or out of breath. They also may feel nauseated or have to go to the bathroom frequently. Individuals with GAD seem unable to relax, and they may startle more easily than other people. They tend to have difficulty concentrating, too. Often, they have trouble falling or staying asleep. GAD affects about twice as many women as men. The disorder comes on gradually and can begin across the life cycle, though the risk is highest between childhood and middle age. GAD is commonly treated with medications.