mental illness

There are nearly 300 mental disorders listed in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). This is a handbook used by health professionals to help identify and diagnose mental illness.

Some of the main groups of mental disorders are:

• mood disorders (such as depression or bipolar disorder)
• anxiety disorders
• personality disorders
• psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia)
• eating disorders
• trauma-related disorders (such as post-traumatic stress disorder)
• substance abuse disorders

The diagnosis of mental illness can be controversial. There have been many debates in the medical community about what is and isn’t a mental illness. The definition can be influenced by our society and culture, but most mental illnesses occur across all countries and cultures. This suggests that they are not just constructed by social norms and expectations, but have a biological and psychological basis too.

Ø  Paranoid personality disorder: characterized by a pattern of irrational suspicion and mistrust of others, interpreting motivations as malevolent.

Ø  Schizoid personality disorder: lack of interest and detachment from social relationships, apathy, and restricted emotional expression.

Ø  Schizotypal personality disorder: pattern of extreme discomfort interacting socially, and distorted cognition and perceptions.

Ø  Cluster B personality disorders

Antisocial personality disorder: pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, lack of empathy, bloated self-image, manipulative and impulsive behavior.

Borderline personality disorder: pervasive pattern of abrupt mood swings, instability in relationships, self-image, identity, behavior and affect, often leading to self-harm and impulsivity.

Histrionic personality disorder: pervasive pattern of attention-seeking behavior and excessive emotions.

Narcissistic personality disorder: pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a perceived or real lack of empathy. In a more severe expression, narcissistic personality disorder may show evidence of paranoia, aggression, psychopathy, and sadism, which is known as malignant narcissism.

·        Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders)

Avoidant personality disorder: pervasive feelings of social inhibition and inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation.

Dependent personality disorder: pervasive psychological need to be cared for by other people.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: characterized by rigid conformity to rules, perfectionism, and control to the point of satisfaction and exclusion of leisurely activities and friendships (distinct from obsessive-compulsive disorder).

Ø  Other personality types

Some types of personality disorder were in previous versions of the diagnostic manuals but have been deleted. Examples include sadistic personality disorder (pervasive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior) and self-defeating personality disorder or masochistic personality disorder (characterized by behavior consequently undermining the person's pleasure and goals). They were listed in the DSM-III-R appendix as "Proposed diagnostic categories needing further study" without specific criteria. The psychologist Theodore Millon and others consider some relegated diagnoses to be equally valid disorders, and may also propose other personality disorders or subtypes, including mixtures of aspects of different categories of the officially accepted diagnoses.