Types of Mental Illnesses

By Emmanuel Omondi

Joubert Botha once said,” sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to. It’s not for them.” It got to be your responsibility to maintain good mental health. Mental illness, sometimes called mental health disorders, is a health condition that incredibly affects how you feel, think, and behave. The symptoms of mental illness sometimes get severe, and a person with an untreated mental illness finds it hard to cope with life’s daily routines. The following are just a few of the types of mental disorders that we have.

• Mood Disorders

Mood disorders are circumstantial inconsistency that interferes with your ability to function. You may sometimes be extremely sad, and sometimes you are delighted. The commonly known mood disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder, and seasonal affective disorders(SAD).

• Anxiety Disorders

Everyone always feels anxious sometimes, and occasional anxiety is okay. Anxiety disorder is a mental illness condition when you have excessive worry and fear about daily life experiences. The impacts of excessive tension are real and can make you avoid work, school, or gatherings like family and church. Examples of anxiety disorders are panic disorders, social anxiety disorders, separation anxiety, etc.

• Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are behavioral conditions that affect your health negatively, your emotions, and your thinking. Eating disorders are severe and not lifestyle choices as others perceive them. 

• Personality Disorders

A personality disorder is a mental health condition in which you have an inflexible thinking pattern, behavior, and functioning. People with personality disorders find it quite hard relating situations and people, which makes them have problems at work, school, or relationships. Some examples of this disorder are antisocial personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, etc.

In conclusion, generally, it is crucial to maintain your mental health to be on the right side of your health. Matt Haig once said that” mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain, and you feel the rain, but, importantly, YOU ARE NOT THE RAIN.”