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

DEPRESSIVE DISORDER – A depressive disorderis an illness that involves body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression. Depressive disorders come in different forms.
There are three (see below) of the most common types of depressive disorders. However, within these types there are variations in the number of symptoms, their severity, and persistence.

* Major Depression – is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat and enjoy once pleasurable activities. Such a disabling episode of depression may occur only once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime.
 
* Dysthymia – a less severe type of depression, dysthymia, involves long-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but keep one from functioning well or from feeling good. Many people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes at some time in their lives.

* Bipolar Disorder – Another type of depression is bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness. Not nearly as prevalent as other forms of depressive disorders, bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes: sever highs (mania) and lows (depression). Sometimes the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but most often they are gradual. When in the depressed cycle, an individual can have any or all of the symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in a manic cycle, the individual may be overactive, over talkative, and have a great deal of energy. Mania often affects thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems and embarrassment. Mania, left untreated, may worsen to a psychotic state.