They say 18% of the world’s population will suffer from at least one mental health disorder within their lifetimes. But have you ever wondered what the pen most common ones are? While you might find this list surprising in stats you might also be suffering from a mental disorder you never knew you had…
Anorexia
Anorexia is a mental disorder characterised by obsessive compulsion to lose weight, the intense fear of gaining weight and a generally negative perception of the sufferer’s own body shape. It is thought Anorexia could be as high as 1 per cent of all mental health disorders from around the world and given how many there are that is a very significant number. Signs to look out for include not eating, chewing gum while pretending to eat and wanting to eat alone.
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
While the exact numbers of people who suffer from this disorder are hard to categorise (because there are so many forms of it) it is known to be a lot more common than most people would think. Signs include excessive cleaning, having to have certain objects in particular arrangments or even repeatedly checking things over and over.
Bulimia
Much like Anorexia that I mentioned previously this mental disorder is also linked to a person’s own perceived body image. While mostly females it is thought that one in three Bulimia sufferers are men. Unlike Anorexia people who suffer from Bulimia can look a perfectly normal weight but are suffering from several mental torments mostly aimed at their own bodies.
Bipolar Disorder
Once upon a time this was called manic depression and was deemed incurable. But these days there are ways to help people with the life-crippling condition even if it means they will still have it for the rest of their lives. Signs to look out for are extreme shifts in mood and emotions. They can be overly happy one moment and feeling do down they get to the point of suicide the next.
Panic Disorder
This disorder is characterized by recurrent anxiety attacks and intense experiences of fear. It is thought to be as high as 3 per cent of all mental health sufferers all over the world and is often not caused by the person’s own mental health, in fact, it is thought to be hereditary! While there are many great therapists who can help people get over it, it is something they will have to live with their whole lives. The signs of this disorder are people making up excuses to go anywhere and do anything as well as spontaneous sweating and heavy breathing.
Anxiety Disorder
This is a mental disorder that can affect anyone at any age and can be much worse than you might think. It can be caused by just about any stressful situation even if it doesn’t seem that stressful to other people around them. Signs to look out for are spontaneous panicking, sweating, shaking and even bouts of crying.
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
If you think this is only for people who have served in the army or other war bases situations you couldn’t be further from the truth. While something may be ordinary to some people who suffer from PTSD can find it the worse thing in the world. This constant triggering of a person’s flight or fight responses can cause them to suffer terrible Anxiety and that often comes with severe panic attacks.
Depression
The causes of this mental disorder are almost as infinite as the ways people respond to it. Sometimes there are no obvious triggers and most people will go their whole lives never even knowing they have it! The signs to look out for are bouts of crying, suicidal tendencies and very low self-esteem.
Social Anxiety
It is believed 6 per cent of all mental health suffers have this and it can be something people suffer from their whole lives, never knowing they have it and never getting any help or advice for it. This is not just about feeling anxious about going outside, it can be about not wanting to be judged or failing a social interaction. This can often cause people to fail tasks in front of others and people will often avoid these situations altogether rather than risk feeling anxious. Signs include wanting to be alone most of the time and preferring their own close environments rather than going outside.
Phobias
The number of Phobias is thought to be infinite and so is the ways people react to them. This is the most comment mental health disorder in the world and it’s also the one most sufferers will never seek any help with. It could be fear of spiders, fear of the outdoors or even fear of buttons. In fact, 7% of the entire human population suffers from one sort of phobia. While to some it can be a mild nuisance to others it can be crippling and cause them to literally shut down their own bodies. So next time you see someone with a strange phobia that you don’t have, try to be a little more understanding about it because mental health is no joke no matter what disorder you have.