Many people need to be encouraged to seek help.

Five leading mental disorders affect 10 million Americans, but many people, especially those suffering from depression and panic disorder, do not seek help. It is estimated that during any one year, almost 18 million American adults will suffer from a depressive illness. Among people 65 years of age and older, an estimated 3% suffer from clinical depression.

Five Major Disorders

There are five major mental disorders.

Schizophrenia is a chronic disabling illness. About 100,000 patients with schizophrenia are in public mental hospitals. Schizophrenia affects men and women equally, but onset is earlier in men. The first psychotic symptoms are often seen in the teens or early 20s. Onset past the age of 40 is rare. A schizophrenic person may appear quite normal much of the time. Schizophrenia is not “split personality,” which is an entirely different, and rare, disorder. The children of a parent with schizophrenia will have a 10% chance of developing the condition.

Depression, the most prevalent mental disorder, is divided among a number of clinical conditions, ranging from transient depression to clinical depression, or depression that lasts for months on end. Two serious types of clinical depression are major and bipolar depression. Major depression frequently presents in one’s lifetime as one or more depressive episodes. First depressive disorders generally appear in one’s mid-20s. Major depression is more common in women, but in
children strikes boys and girls equally.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is characterized by mood swings and affects two million Americans at any given time. The disorder usually manifests in one’s early 20s.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the anxiety disorders, and affects males and females equally.

Panic disorders affect more people than is realized because many sufferers do not seek help. A combination of drugs and psychotherapy is effective in alleviating this disorder.

Related posts:

1. Anxiety Disorders: Where Patients Seek Treatment Where Patients Seek Treatment A large number of patients with an anxiety disorder never seek treatment. These reasons will be discussed in depth in the next section. Those who do seek help often turn to practitioners in acute care clinics or emergency departments. As...
2. Anxiety Disorders: Why Many Patients Do Not Seek Treatment Nearly one-half of patients with panic attacks do not seek care for their problem. Patients may endure symptoms for years before they seek treatment. For others, it may take years for their symptoms and disorder to be correctly diagnosed and adequately treated. One study...
3. Anxiety Disorders on the Rise But treatments are increasingly effective Feeling anxious? You’re not alone. According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, published in the The Record, of Bergen County, N.J., anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental disorders. More than 19 million Americans suffer from...
4. Mental Health Professional with Depression Question. I am a mental health professional. However, I also find myself searching for information to console me personally. I have been diagnosed with major depression. I go regularly to a psychiatrist and I am currently taking Wellbutrin SR. What is the potential for...
5. Anxiety Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment Approach to Anxiety Disorders Diagnosis of uncomplicated anxiety disorders may be made by competent physicians in many specialties who have a thorough understanding of the etiology, signs and symptoms, impact and treatment of anxiety disorders. The accepted guidebook in making a diagnosis is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual...