One in six people have a mental illness. Mental illnesses are disorders that affect thoughts, feelings, and actions which are controlled by the brain. They can be caused by imbalances in brain chemistry and are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Common mental illnesses include anxiety disorders like panic attacks, phobias, and OCD, mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, which causes a break from reality.

1. MENTAL ILLNESS
Mental Illness
FACT: One out of every six
people has a mental illness.

2. Understanding Mental Illness
The brain controls thoughts, feelings, memories
and actions. Mental A mental illness is a disorder that
affects them.
Illness
When the brain is working properly, it responds to
life events with normal emotions.
But the brain’s responses can be changed
by illnesses that affect the balance of
chemicals in the brain.

3. Mental Illness

4. Causes of Mental Illness
It is not completely understood. Many illnesses
are more common in some families than others.
Mental Illness
Inherited traits may influence mental illness.
Sometimes stressful events can trigger a mental
illness, so the environment may also influence
mental illness.

5. Anxiety Disorders - Panic Attacks
Panic disorder is an anxiety that causes a person
to have brief periods of extreme anxiety called
panic attacks.
Mental Illness
During panic attacks, people become extremely
scared and may think they are having a heart
attack.
They may experience a fast heart rate, difficulty
breathing, shaking and lightheadedness.

6. Anxiety Disorders - Phobias
Panic attacks that are triggered by specific things
are called phobias.
Mental Illness
Common phobias include fear of animals, or
situations, such as flying. Social phobia is a
disorder that causes people to fear social
situations, such as giving a speech or meeting
new people.
Acrophobia - Fear of Heights
Claustrophobia - Fear of Enclosed Spaces
Nyctophobia - Fear of the Dark
Ophidiophobia - Fear of Snakes
Arachnophobia - Fear of Spiders
Nosophobia - Fear of Having a Disease
Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the Number 13

7. Anxiety Disorders - OCD
Sometimes anxiety is triggered by repetitive
thoughts called obsessions.
Mental Illness
Some people develop rituals, or compulsions,
such as excessive counting or washing, to try and
overcome this anxiety.
This combination of anxiety and ritual activity is
an anxiety disorder called obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD). Medicines and counseling can
usually treat people with OCD successfully.

8. Mood Disorders - Depression & Bipolar
Depression is a disorder that causes a mood of
extreme sadness or hopelessness. It may cause
people to sleep or eat or less than they normally do.
Mental Illness
Mania is a mood that causes excessive energy
and irritation. Manic people are very active and
need little sleep. There thoughts may race and
become disorganized. They may talk fast and may
be difficult to interrupt.
The two extremes of BMD are usually separated
by periods of normal moods. Periods of
depression or mania can last from weeks to
months.

9. Schizophrenia skit-se-free-nee-uh
Is a disorder in which a person breaks from reality in
several ways. People with the disorder do not always
have the same symptoms.
Mental Illness
Most people who have this disorder express little
emotion. They usually have hallucinations and
delusions, and often they feel paranoia.
Paranoia is the belief that other people want to
harm someone. Many people who have the disorder
suffer from disorganized thinking, which can lead
to nonsense speech.

10. Main learning points …...
Give examples/ descriptions of anxiety disorders,
mood disorders, and schizophrenia.
Mental Illness
List two factors that can lead to mental illness.