Mental Health Info...
- History
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Mental Health Association
Mental Health Association
in Orange County
302 W. Weaver Street     Carrboro, NC 27510     919.942.8083
- Welcome
- History
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- What is Mental Illness?
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- Mailing address
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- How you can get involved
Mental Health Info...
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    People with mental illnesses come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life.  There is no single picture of what a person with a mental illness looks like. Mental illness does not discriminate between social classes, geographic locations, races, gender, or age.  Sometimes we associate those with severe mental illnesses as homeless people or people in inner cities.  While it is true that about one-third of homeless people have serious mental illnesses, it is also true that most of these psychiatric disorders affect people fairly equally across different groups. 

    We know that many of our most famous celebrities and leaders have also suffered with some form of severe mental illnesses. A few of the best known victims of mental illness include:
  • Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President - major depression
  • Vincent Van Gogh, artist - psychotic disorder
  • Patti Duke, actress/author - bipolar depression
  • Eugene O'Neill, playwright - major depression
  • Ludwig von Beethoven, composer - bipolar depression
  • Edgar Allan Poe, author - paranoia and bipolar depression
  • Tennessee Williams, playwright - major depression
  • Ernest Hemingway, author - major depression
  • Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister - bipolar depression
  • Jimmy Piersall, baseball player - bipolar depression
  • Charles Dickens, author - major depression

    Even among people diagnosed with the same disorder and even the same subtype, the illness manifests itself differently based on the severity, personal characteristics, personal resources, and supports.  Many people with mental illnesses can function quite well in the community with the appropriate treatment, and support.
The Major Mental Illnesses

A.Psychotic disorders (schizophrenia spectrum) Schizophrenia

B.Affective Disorders (major depression and bipolar disorder)
Mood disorders are characterized by a disturbance in the regulation
of mood, behavior, and affect. Mood disorders are subdivided into (1) depressive disorders, (2) bipolar disorders, and (3) depression in association with medical illness or alcohol and substance abuse.
1.Major Depression
a.Epidemiology Approximately 15 percent of the general population experiences a major depressive episode at some point in life, and 6 to 8 percent of all outpatients in primary care settings satisfy diagnostic criteria for the disorder.
b.Symptoms (1) depressed mood (2) anhedonia (3) sleep disturbance (4) appetite disturbance (5) inappropriate guilt (6) anergy (7) problems concentrating (8) psychomotor retardation or agitation (9) thoughts of death or overt suicidality
c.Causes (1) genetic (2) biologic (3) environmental
d.Treatment
i.Highly treatable- Best response is to a combination of pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions
ii.Many individuals have recurrent episodes or may suffer from comorbid disorders that make there course of illness more complicated.
iii.Side Effects- somnolence, nausea, tremors, sexual dysfunction, agitation, dizziness
2.Bipolar disorders
a.Epidemiology - Common, affecting approximately 3 million persons in the United States
b.Causes- strong biological and genetic component
c.Symptoms- psychomotor activity, excessive social extroversion, decreased need for sleep, impulsivity and impairment in judgment, and expansive, grandiose, and sometimes irritable mood.  BEING MANIC IS NOT FUN!
d.Treatment
i.Highly responsive to treatment
ii.High association with substance abuse disorders.  Many people have recrurrent episodes, often due to inability to continue taking medications.
iii.Side effects- gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, diarrhea, polyuria, weight gain, skin eruptions, alopecia, and edema are common
C.Anxiety Disorders
1.Generalized anxiety
2.Obsessive-compulsive disorder
3.Panic disorder
4.Post-traumatic stress disorder


An Overview of
Mental Illness...
An Overview of
Mental Illness...