Mental Disorders

A mental illness makes the things you do in life hard, like: work, school, and socializing with other people. If you think you (or someone you know) might have a mental disorder, it is best to consult a professional. Early identification and effective intervention is the key to successfully treating the disorder and preventing future disability. A health care professional (doctor, mental health specialist, etc) will connect the symptoms and experiences the patient is having with recognized diagnostic criteria (DSM or ICD) to help formulate a diagnosis.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. It is most commonly used by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers in North America.

The ICD-10 Chapter V: Mental and behavioural disorders, part of the International Classification of Diseases produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), is another commonly-used guide, more so in Europe and other parts of the world. The coding system used in the DSM-IV is designed to correspond with the codes used in the ICD, although not all codes may match at all times because the two publications are not revised at the same time.

These guides separate mental disorders into a number of categories. We've listed some of the most common mental disorders below. This list is not comprehensive, but is reflective of the most common diagnoses.

Anxiety Disorders: disturbances in mechanisms designed to protect you from harm

• Specific Phobias
• General Anxiety Disorders
• Social Anxiety Disorders
• Panic Disorder
• Agoraphobia
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Mood Disorders: disturbances in usual mood states

• Major Depressive Disorder (Clinical Depression)
• Bipolar Disorder

Psychotic Disorders: disturbance of thinking perception and behaviour

• Schizophrenia
• Delusion Disorder

Personality Disorders: maladaptive personal characteristics

• Eccentric: Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal
• Dramatic/Emotional: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
• Fear-Related: Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Eating Disorders: disturbances of weight and feeding behaviour

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Exercise Bulimia
• Binge-Eating disorder

Developmental Disorders: early disturbances in usual brain development

• Autism Spectrum disorders
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Learning Disorders

Behavioural Disorders: persistent disturbances in expected behaviours

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Conduct Disorder

Addictions: disorders of craving

• Substance Abuse/Dependence
• Behavioural Addiction: ie.Gambling

This website provides information on many, however not all, mental disorders. We are continuing to add to this site and work with organizations around the globe to further develop this site. If there is information that you are looking for and can't find, please send us and email and we'll do our best to connect you with someone that can help.