Mental disorders are a common occurrence in the United States, with one in five adults experiencing some form of mental illness each year. Mental disorders can take many different forms, but the five most common types are anxiety disorders, mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders.
Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive worry or fear that can interfere with daily activities. Common types of anxiety disorder include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder (SAD), and phobias.
Mood Disorders: Mood disorders involve persistent feelings of sadness or irritability (depression) or extreme elation and energy (mania). Bipolar disorder is the most well-known type of mood disorder.
Substance Abuse Disorders: Substance abuse refers to patterns of using alcohol or drugs that lead to problems in a person’s life. These problems can include relationship difficulties, job loss, legal issues, and health problems. Substance abuse can also lead to addiction-a chronic disease characterized by compulsive drug-seeking behavior despite negative consequences.
Personality Disorders: Personality disorders are long-term patterns of thoughts and behaviors that differ significantly from what is considered normal within a person’s culture.
Psychotic Disorders
The 5 most common types of psychotic disorders are:
1. Schizophrenia: This disorder is characterized by psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking. People with schizophrenia often have difficulty functioning in society and may need to be hospitalized.
2. Schizoaffective Disorder: This disorder is similar to schizophrenia but also includes symptoms of mood disorder such as depression or mania.
3. Delusional Disorder: This disorder is characterized by persistent delusions (false beliefs) that are not based in reality. People with delusional disorder may believe that they are being persecuted or that they have a special relationship with someone famous.
4. Brief Psychotic Disorder: This disorder involves the sudden onset of psychotic symptoms which last for less than a month. The cause of brief psychotic disorder is often stress or trauma related.
Dementia
Dementia affects people of all ages, but it is most common in older adults. In the United States, 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 has dementia. The number of people with dementia doubles for every 5-year period beyond age 65. There are many different causes of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
There is no one test that can diagnose all types of dementia. A diagnosis is made after a careful medical evaluation by a team of specialists that includes a neurologist, psychiatrist, and neuropsychologist. The evaluation includes taking a detailed medical history, doing physical and neurological exams, and ordering laboratory tests and brain imaging studies (such as MRI or CT scan).
The cause of the person’s symptoms plays an important role in choosing treatment options. There is no cure for most types of dementia, but there are treatments that can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life for both the person with dementia and their caregivers. Treatment options include medications to help with memory loss, depression, anxiety, or other behavioral problems; occupational therapy; physical therapy; speech therapy; and support groups.