Types Of Mental Illness

 Even though the visual image of a screaming lunatic tends to raise a type of fascination for a lot of people, there are a variety of different types of mental illness around and very few of them actually resemble that stereotype. Psychiatric disorders are characterized in several different ways. They are categorized by the kinds of symptoms they have, the root causes they have, and their range of severity. Severity may be the most important category with any type of mental illness. Someone who is just neurotic will be able to function in society, hold a job, maintain a relationship, and even have some degree of happiness. On the other hand, there are other types of mental illness where this is impossible. Psychotics for example, have a very hard time holding everything together, and can occasionally be dangerous to themselves as well as others.

There is a tendency for people and even some experts to put too much significance on the type of mental illness. The main problem with this type of approach is that every mental health condition is different, and every patient is also different. It is not so much about what type of mental illness you have, it's more about how you can treat the problem and what your prospects are of getting better. This is the reason good mental health professionals take an individual approach with every patient, relying more on face-to-face interaction and the DSM-IV categorization.

Frequently, the most uncommon types of mental illness are also the most sensational. A good example of this is Multiple personality disorder. For the past five years I have been informally studying multiple personalities, and it's astounding how different a picture the Hollywood establishment portrays from that of the actual medical literature. It seem that almost nobody ever develops this particular condition. It can happen, but only under extreme cases of stress. Usually psychosis or a nervous breakdown ends up being the reaction. Developing multiple personalities is something that only a few people can achieve.

One of the most interesting things about this issue is how much of it defies expectations. For example, often the least noticeable types of mental illness are the most dangerous. Sociopaths can appear to be very charming people, and they are able to make friends quite easily. Yet these people have a dark side, which causes them to cheat, steal, or even kill because of their amoral mental temperament. Because they so fervently believe in their own superiority and their right to take whatever they please, they can be very difficult to apprehend or even recognize. They are common in most societies, and all but invisible. They suffer from one of the most serious types of mental illness, yet if you met them you would never know it.

article by David Lloyd

• Multiple Personalities
  
  Common misconceptions about multiple personalities. Multiple personality disorder is very rare. However, it does exist.