Most Common Mental Disorders Explained

Nearly one in six adults in the US experiences mental illness each year. That’s a lot of people. We're going to talk about some of the most common mental illness you may have heard of.

18% of Americans live with an anxiety disorder

6.9% suffer from severe depression

2.6% have bipolar disorder

About 1% of adults in the US live with schizophrenia

(Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Anxiety disorders…People with anxiety disorders respond to certain things with fear as well as with physical signs of panic (think: a rapid heartbeat and sweating). Around 18% of Americans live with an anxiety disorder. This includes things like generalized anxiety disorder,panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

Mood disorders...These disorders involve feeling everything from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. It can interfere with everyday life for an extended period of time. Some of the most common are depression and bipolar disorder. Almost 3% of Americans have bipolar disorder, while close to 7% suffer from severe depression.

Eating disorders...When there are extreme emotions and behaviors involving weight and food, and there are irregular or disturbed eating habits. At least 30 million people suffer from an eating disorder in the US. This includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating.

Neurodevelopmental disorders...When there's a problem with the development of the central nervous system. Usually, this starts when you're a kid. Examples include autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), and learning disorders. Speaking of...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)...When people are, yes, inattentive and hyperactive. Think: lack of focus, getting easily distracted, talking non-stop. While it’s most common in kids, about 4% of US adults have ADHD.

Psychotic disorders…These cause people to remove themselves from reality. Two of the most common symptoms are hallucinations (images or sounds that are not real) and delusions (false ideas that the person believes are true, even when there’s evidence against it). Schizophrenia is an example, and about 1% of adults in the US live with the disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)...When people have constant thoughts or fears that make them do certain rituals or routines. Think: hoarding or hair-pulling, constant grooming.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...It’s a condition that develops after a traumatic and/or terrifying event. This includes things like sexual assault, the death of a loved one, or military combat. People with PTSD often have thoughts and memories of the event, and can be emotionally detached. There are also other trauma-and stressor-related disorders, such as acute stress disorder, where symptoms last from three days to one month after a traumatic event.

Impulse control disorders…The inability for someone to resist urges that could be harmful to themselves or others. Think: starting fires, stealing, compulsive gambling.

Addiction disorders…Usually alcohol and drug related problems where people start ignoring responsibilities and putting relationships aside. Reminder: the US is in the middle of an opioid crisis. Millions of Americans are addicted to opioids (think: prescriptions like OxyContin). Activities can also be addictive (think: sex or video games).

Personality disorders…when some thoughts and feelings change a person's identity, and can cause problems in how they relate to the world. Examples include antisocial personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder.

Sleep disorders...When your lack of sleep is more than a once-in-a-while thing. These are disorders bad enough to require clinical attention, such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.

These are just some of the common mental health conditions. But there are many, many more.

Are there treatments?

The good news is that most of these disorders can be treated. Treatment for everyone is different and specialists will make a plan specific to each person, based on the disorder, other mental health issues they may be dealing with, environment, finances, and even family history.

Do mental health struggles lead to other issues?

They can. Mental illness is a leading cause of disability. Untreated conditions can lead to conflicts in your relationships, isolation, problems with alcohol and other drugs, financial problems, poverty, self-harm, as well as heart disease and other medical conditions. Btw, depression can lead to heart disease (and vice-versa).

Do mental health conditions affect everyone the same way?

No. Reminder: mental health illness affects everyone regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. But nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness didn’t get mental health services the previous year.

How is it different for the LGBTQ community?

LGBTQ individuals are at least twice as likely to have a mental health condition, mostly because of fear of coming out and being discriminated against. And transgender people experience discrimination because others might not want to or be able to relate.

What about people of different ethnicities?

White Americans and American Indians/Alaska Natives are more likely to die by suicide than people of other groups. And while rates of depression are typically higher in African Americans and Hispanics than in whites, depression in blacks and Hispanics is also likely harder to be treated. Because people from racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive mental health care.

Why does this happen?

There are lower rates of health insurance for these groups, meaning they likely have less access to treatment. They also might face language barriers, racism, and bias. And there’s a stigma of mental illness among minority groups.

There's no trick to preventing mental health struggles. But there are things you can do, like pay attention to warning signs, check-in with the doc, get help when you need it, and take good care of yourself.

Source: theSkimm’s Mental Health Awareness Guide

WHEN THE SPOTLIGHT FADES: MENTAL HEALTH AND TOURING MUSICIANS

BY JOE SHERIDAN

May 19, 2016 12:25

Whether you’re a multi-million-selling artist performing to tens of thousands of people each night, or you’re in a local band scrabbling together the petrol money to get to the next toilet circuit venue, you’re equally susceptible to the detrimental effects which can arise as a result of living with mental health issues. 

In fact, the more successful an act becomes, the harder it can be for them to find a sympathetic ear when discussing such issues. When we hear of musicians whose public images epitomise the excesses of rock’n’roll fame talking frankly about depression or anxiety, we might struggle to understand how someone so idolised could possibly be unhappy. And that in itself is a problem.

According to a 2014 survey by the charity Help Musicians UK, mental health issues affect around 60% of musicians. That figure may seem high at first, but when you consider the context – increasing costs and decreasing incomes, weeks at a time away from home, friends and family, finding oneself in a new city each day – it really shouldn’t be that surprising.

While we all surely have our own share of ‘sad’ songs which we love, it’s often the case that lyricists hide the darkest and most emotionally wrought lyrical matter behind an upbeat melody. This is particularly true for music we might consider to be ‘radio friendly’, or even ‘pop’. Where some bands wear their their despondency on their sleeves – the sadly-defunct Hindsights (tagline: “Sad Since ‘11”), for example, or Tellison, who self-describe as “sad indie rock” and whose 2015 album ‘Hope Fading Nightly’ was a lachrymose tour-de-force (a tear-de-force?) – other bands hide it so well that we might not hear the melancholy behind the melody.

Consider Fall Out Boy’s ‘7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)’, which addresses bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz’s own battles with mental illness. Titular pun aside (Atavan is a benzodiazepine drug, similar to Valium), the song is so fast-paced and catchy that it has crowds of fans happily singing along to lines like “I’m having another episode” and “I don’t do too well on my own”. The juxtaposition of this lyrical content with the poppy, hooky structure shows how easy it is to see and hear people discussing their mental health issues without noticing.

Music helps me in a way I truly can’t explain. When I get up on stage all thoughts, pain and anger are released. I don’t ever think up there, I just do. And when I come off stage, I have this huge sense of fulfilment and calmness in my life.” - Mark Holley, Black Foxxes

One common issue that many musicians experience is the rush that comes from being onstage, and the crash and attendant lows which can come afterwards. This has been described by some professionals as ‘Post Performance Depression’, or P.P.D.

John C. Buckner, a specialist in Community Psychology and Development Psychology at Harvard, writes:

“When the body experiences major shifts in mood, it is flooded with several different neurotransmitters, resulting in a biochemical release that leads to a feeling of ecstasy. After an exciting performance the body starts to balance out the level of neurotransmitters, and therefore it is not releasing the same level that cause the exciting feelings, resulting in a lingering sadness.”

Neurotransmitters are chemicals which allow our brains to communicate with our bodies. So in other words, exciting experiences flood our brains with happiness in a manner not dissimilar to the temporary highs caused by stimulants like those found in some recreational drugs. Performing live gives musicians a high and as anyone who’s ever had a particularly heavy night out knows, what goes up must come down.

The cathartic nature of songwriting, though, means that musicians who live with these issues may find that the cause of their problem can also be one of its solutions.

As Luke Rainsford, vocalist in Layover, explains:

“Being a musician that struggles with mental health is a very strange thing. The very nature of depression means it’s usually the last thing you want to talk about, but in the course of songwriting, it manages to sneak its way in and become a major theme in the music you produce. It can be quite daunting to play songs you’ve written during some of the darkest periods of your life, especially when a lot of people still don’t really understand mental health issues that well, but over time I’ve learned to be proud of it to an extent.”

Connor Cottrell, vocalist for Brighton hardcore band Put Down, finds performances to be cathartic. “I have suffered with depression and anxiety for several years…Being able to get on stage and express how I feel to a room full of people who suffer from similar issues, listening to what I have to say [helps]”.

And while the concept of performance as catharsis is as old as music itself, it’s another example of the cycles involved with some mental health issues. The stresses involved in the process of touring bring their own challenges.

 

“It can be quite daunting to play songs you’ve written during some of the darkest periods of your life, especially when a lot of people still don’t really understand mental health issues that well" – Luke Rainsford, Layover

In response to these figures and citations, no doubt some might shrug and suggest that musicians seek an alternative career. But ask yourself this: how different would your life be, but for those bands who changed your life? Through whom you met your best friends, lovers, life partners? Whose art connects with you on a level which mere words can’t describe? And how different would your life be if every time those musicians had suffered as a result of their career choices, they’d sacked it off and taken a job fitting bells to bikes at the local branch of Halfords?

But what can be done to help them? And how can the industry learn to react more quickly and appropriately when it becomes clear that they need help? When a musician is flying high, many people are invested in their career.

Take dubstep pioneer, Benga. Throughout the first half of this decade, Benga enjoyed Top 10 singles and albums as a member of Magnetic Man, and even a Top 5 hit as a writer/producer with 2011’s ‘Katy On A Mission’. A source, who declined to be identified, tells us that stories of Benga’s alcoholism and drug use were rife – a joke, even – within the industry. That he was seen as someone who liked to party.

In 2015, he revealed that he’d been sectioned the previous year as a result of bipolar order and schizophrenia, laying the blame partly on the industry itself.

“My bipolar was brought on by drugs and the schizophrenia was the result of excessive touring”, he tweeted. “I dont[sic] want sympathy but to raise awareness. Because if I had help early the damage could have been controlled!”

Obviously everyone is different and there’s no one golden rule for looking after yourself on tour or in the studio, but there are organisations out there dedicated to helping musicians who might feel like they are suffering in silence. The Musicians’ Union provides links to resources for members and non-members alike, and a more hands-on approach is being taken by the organisation Help Musicians UK.

Help Musicians UK which has been around in various forms for almost a century, was set up with the purpose of supporting emerging, professional and retired musicians, in all genres, dealing with stress, psychotic disorders and substance abuse, as well as assisting with financial issues that might arise from mental health challenges affecting a musician’s career. The existence of organisations like this – and their support by the wider music community – is incredibly important, particularly the one-to-one assistance they can offer musicians.

So being a musician can be both therapeutic for, and detrimental to one’s mental health. And perhaps it might always be thus – does it take a certain type of person to seek a career in music, despite the ever-diminishing returns? Possibly. But, at the independent level at least, there are things you, as a consumer and fan, can do. Support bands. Attend shows. Buy merch. Buy music. Provide your favourite artists with a sufficient income when they do tour, so that they can afford to keep doing so while also feeding themselves and their families.

Art will always attract people whose need for self-expression is rooted in suffering. But it doesn’t have to make the problem worse.

Depression's Effect on the Brain

Written by Erica Cirino
Medically Reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PMHNP-BC on February 29, 2016

What Is Depression?

Depression is a mood disorder that affects the way you think, feel, and behave. It causes feelings of sadness or hopelessness that can last anywhere from a few days to a few years. This is different than being upset about a minor setback or disappointment in your day.

Some people may experience mild depression only once in their lives, while others have several severe episodes over their lifetime. This more serious, long-lasting and intense form of depression is known as major depressive disorder (MDD). It may also be referred to as clinical depression or major depression.

The symptoms of MDD significantly interfere with daily activities, such school, work, and social events. They also impact mood and behavior as well as various physical functions, such as sleep and appetite. To be diagnosed with MDD, you must display five or more of the following symptoms at least once a day over the course of two weeks:

• persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness 
• lack of interest in doing most activities, including those you once enjoyed
• decrease or increase in appetite accompanied by extreme weight loss or weight gain
• sleeping too much or too little
• restlessness
• fatigue
• excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt or worthlessness
• difficulty making decisions, thinking, and concentrating
• multiple thoughts of death or suicide
• a suicide attempt

People of any age may develop MDD, but the average age of onset is 32. According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, approximately 14.8 million American adults, or 6.7 percent of the United States population over age 18, are affected by MDD every year. The disorder also occurs in about one in 33 children and one in eight teens. In both children and adults, MDD may be treated with psychological counseling, antidepressant medication, or a combination of both therapies.

Researchers don’t know exactly why some people develop MDD, but they believe the following factors may play a role:

• genetics: It appears that people with a family history of MDD are more likely to develop the disorder than others.
• stress: A stressful life event, such a divorce or death of a loved one, can trigger an episode of MDD.
• biochemical reactions: Chemicals in the brains of people with MDD seem to function differently than those in the brains of those without the disorder.
• hormone imbalances: Changes in the balance of hormones may trigger MDD in certain people, especially during menopause or during and after pregnancy.

How Does Depression Affect the Brain?

There are three parts of the brain that appear to play a role in MDD: the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex.

The hippocampus is located near the center of the brain. It stores memories and regulates the production of a hormone called cortisol. The body releases cortisol during times of physical and mental stress, including during times of depression. Problems can occur when excessive amounts of cortisol are sent to the brain due to a stressful event or a chemical imbalance in the body. In a healthy brain, brain cells (neurons) are produced throughout a person’s adult life in a part of the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus. In people with MDD, however, the long-term exposure to increased cortisol levels can slow the production of new neurons and cause the neurons in the hippocampus to shrink. This can lead to memory problems.

The prefrontal cortex is located in the very front of the brain. It is responsible for regulating emotions, making decisions, and forming memories. When the body produces an excess amount of cortisol, the prefrontal cortex also appears to shrink.

The amygdala is the part of the brain that facilitates emotional responses, such as pleasure and fear. In people with MDD, the amygdala becomes enlarged and more active as a result of constant exposure to high levels of cortisol. An enlarged and hyperactive amygdala, along with abnormal activity in other parts of the brain, can result in disturbances in sleep and activity patterns. It can also cause the body to release irregular amounts of hormones and other chemicals in the body, leading to further complications.

Many researchers believe high cortisol levels play the biggest role in changing the physical structure and chemical activities of the brain, triggering the onset of MDD. Normally, cortisol levels are highest in the morning and decrease at night. In people with MDD, however, cortisol levels are always elevated, even at night.

How Can Treatment Change the Brain?

Experts have found that balancing the amount of cortisol and other chemicals in the brain can help reverse any shrinkage of the hippocampus and treat the memory problems it may cause. Correcting the body’s chemical levels can also help reduce symptoms of MDD.

There are several common medications that can fight the negative effects of depression on the brain by helping to balance the chemicals in the brain. These include:

• selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs): These drugs can help alleviate symptoms of MDD by changing the levels of a chemical called serotonin in the brain. Examples of SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and citalopram (Celexa).
• serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants: When used together, these medications can relieve MDD symptoms by altering the amounts of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. These chemicals help boost mood and energy levels. Examples of SNRIs include duloxetine (Cymbalta) and venlafaxine (Effexor XR). Imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), and trimipramine (Surmontil) are examples of tricyclic antidepressants.
• norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs): These medications aid people with MDD by increasing levels of the mood-boosting chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. Bupropion (Wellbutrin) is a type of NDRI that may be used.
• monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs): These drugs help ease symptoms of MDD by increasing the amount of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine in the brain. They can also improve brain cell communication
• atypical antidepressants: This group of medications includes tranquilizers, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics. These drugs can block brain cell communication in order to relax the body.

Besides medications, certain medical procedures can also affect the brain to help ease symptoms of MDD. These include:

• electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves passing electrical currents through the brain to boost communication between brain cells
• transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which involves sending electrical pulses into the brain cells that regulate mood

Researchers also believe that psychotherapy can alter brain structure and help relieve MDD symptoms. Specifically, psychotherapy appears to strengthen the prefrontal cortex.

There are other ways to boost brain health and help recover from MDD without medical intervention. These include:

• eating healthful foods and staying active, which stimulates brain cells and strengthens communication between brain cells
• sleeping well, which helps grow and repair brain cells
• avoiding alcohol and illegal drugs, which can destroy brain cells
•