What is…

• Anxiety – Some levels of anxiety and experiences with anxiety are a normal part of life. Anxiety becomes problematic when it begins to interfere with daily living. Anxiety disorders are characterised by persistent and excessive worrying and fear. It encompasses a range of conditions including Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Specific Phobias, Post-traumatic Stress disorder.

• Bipolar Disorder: is characterised by major changes in mood for no obvious reason. At one extreme, the person may feel excessively happy & excited with a huge increase in energy and activity (i.e. ‘mania’). At the other extreme the person may feel severely depressed with a great loss of interest or energy. These mood swings usually last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Some people experience “mixed episodes” where they experience most of the symptoms of both mania & depression for at least a week.

• Depression: is a mood state that is characterised by significantly low mood, loss of interest in pleasure/activities that are normally enjoyable, low energy, problems with memory & concentration, reduced self-confidence/self-esteem, pessimism regarding the future, thoughts or acts of self-harm or suicide, disturbed sleep & appetite, decreased libido and feelings of guilt & worthlessness. When this mood is present most of the time for at least two consecutive weeks it is usually described as a ‘major depressive episode’. A major depressive episode may range in its severity (e.g. mild, moderate, severe).

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder: Individuals worry excessively and persistently about a number of areas of their lives including their families, health, job, or finances.

• Grief & Loss: When an individual experiences a significant loss, whether through the loss of a loved one, loss of health, money, an idealised future, or certain roles in life (to name a few examples) the adjustment to these changes can affect a person’s mood, levels of anxiety, coping abilities, stress levels and lead to insomnia, physical symptoms and aggression.

• Panic Disorder: Individuals experience recurrent and unexpected panic attacks which are followed by persistent concern about having another panic attack or concern about the implications of the panic attacks (e.g. that they are going to die or go mad).

• Social Phobia: Individuals are anxious about being scrutinised or evaluated by others in case they do something humiliating or show obvious symptoms of anxiety. The anxiety usually leads to avoidance of certain situations (e.g. eating, speaking, or writing in front of others, social gatherings).

• Specific Phobias: Individuals have a persistent & irrational fear of a particular object or situation (e.g. fear of enclosed spaces, fear of heights, storms, animals, insects). The fear usually leads to avoidance of those objects or situations.

• Stress: is usually thought of as response to a stimulus where the perceived or real demands of a situation exceeds the perceived or real resources of an individual. Stress can affect individuals on a physical (e.g. muscle tension, headaches, clenched fists/jaws, susceptibility to allergies & skin irritations) and mental level (e.g. indecision, worrying, persistent negative thoughts, bad dreams or nightmares, impaired judgement).

Source of information: “Management of Mental Disorders” (2000), The Treatment Protocol Project, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.