Mental Health Disorders

Breaking The Stigma Around Mental Health Disorders

Mental health disorders, also called mental illnesses, are much more common than most people think. That’s because while we openly discuss physical ailments — you would probably never be embarrassed to tell a coworker you had a cold or the flu — there is a stigma surrounding mental health conditions.

We’ve developed trainings for our call center team around guidelines from the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and more

1 In 25 People Lives With Serious Mental Illness

Like physical illness, there are different types of mental illness. The most common are:

Anxiety

Anxiety is by far the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition in the United States. It’s marked by pervasive feelings of worry or fear that something bad will happen. Anxiety can infringe on your quality of life, keeping you from doing things you love or causing panic attacks.

Depression

The second-most-common mental illness across the country, major depressive disorder is much more than just being sad. While it is characterized by feelings of sadness, another hallmark of depression is loss of interest in things you cared about before. It can also cause fatigue, irritability, and social withdrawal.

PTSD

This condition develops after you’ve lived through a traumatic incident. This could be something like surviving abuse in the home or witnessing a violent act. Many mass shooting survivors and military members who served in active war zones live with PTSD. This condition can cause memories of the traumatic incident to return suddenly, interfere with your sleep, and contribute to anxiety or depression.

Bipolar Disorder

People with bipolar disorder live with extended periods of depression and extended periods of mania or hypomania. They may move suddenly between depressive and manic episodes. Some manic episodes can cause psychosis, or a break from reality. It’s possible to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder without experiencing a true manic episode, or a period of mania that lasts at least a week. If you experience hypomania, which is less severe than mania, you’re diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder rather than Bipolar I.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia interferes with your ability to perceive, process, and interact with the world as it truly is. It can cause positive symptoms — like hallucinations and agitated movements — and negative symptoms — like expressionlessness, loss of joy, and talking less — along with cognitive symptoms that affect your ability to remember things, process information, and perform tasks.

Let Us Connect You To Needed Resources

At Hollywood Addiction Center, we can connect you to the resources you need to get a mental health diagnosis and to understand it. We also make it easy to find a mental health professional near you or available via telehealth who is experienced in treating your specific condition. Like physical illness, mental illness is treatable. The right care reduces your symptoms and improves your quality of life.

To get started with the mental health care you need to lead a healthy, balanced life, don’t wait to get in touch with our Hollywood Addiction Center team.

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