Common Types And Signs/Symptoms On Adolescence

Here are the common types of mental illness that usually occur on adolescence:

1. Teen Depression

Depression is the most common and serious mental illness. Depression is characterized by an extreme feeling of sadness, loss of interest in the things that once enjoyed. Depression is the point where you don't really care about anything because you feel hopeless and lose your motivation to pursue your life.Teenagers normally experience episodes of sadness and being moody for a couple of days. People often misinterpreted depression in teenagers. We should know that depression is more intense feeling of sadness, hopelessness, anger, and frustration that last much longer.

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       Symptoms and signs of Depression:

• Extreme sadness

• Emptiness

• Hopelessness

• Angry, cranky, or frustrated, at minor things

• Loss interest about things or activities you used to enjoy.

• Have weight loss when you are not dieting or weight gain from eating too much.

• Have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or sleep much more than usual.

• Move or talk more slowly.

• Feel restless even when you're not doing anything

• Feel very tired or have no energy everytime

• Feel worthless or very guilty.

• Have trouble concentrating, remembering information, or making decisions.

• Have thoughts about dying or suiciding and self harming 
  
  2. Anxiety in teenagers
  Anxiety is also one of the most common mental illness.  Anxiety is characterized by the feeling of extreme apprehension and worry that are strong enough to hamper in person's daily routine. Unlike depression, anxiety is when you care too much about everything. 
  Anxiety is a normal part of teenage years as these are some of the most stressful times in a person’s life. Typically for most individuals, anxiety is often a harmless phase that just lasts for a while. However, there are a variety of anxiety disorders that can have a huge impact on the lives of teenagers that may lead them to experience intense fear, shyness, and nervousness, and can cause them to avoid certain activities and places.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Types anxiety disorders:
  
  a. Generalize Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive irrational worry about a variety of events including past, present, and future events. Many teens with GAD find that they have difficulty controlling their extreme amounts of worry and that the anxiety interferes with their daily life. GAD is long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on only one thing or situation.
  
      Symptoms of GAD

• Restlessness

• Feeling keyed-up or on edge

• Easily fatigued

• Difficulties concentrating

• Irritability

• Muscle tension

• Sleep disturbances
  
  b. Panic disorder leads to recurrent panic attacks and a persistent anxiety that an attack may lead to more panic attacks or physical or psychological harm. Teens who have panic disorder may avoid going out and engaging in activities out of fear an attack may occur. Panic attacks include feelings of intense fear and unease composed of physical symptoms and fearful thoughts. If this can’t be treated it can lead to agoraphobia which is fear of places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.
  
  
  
  
  Symptoms of Panic Disorder:

• Tachycardia (an abnormally rapid heart rate.)

• Chest pain

• Choking feelings

• Difficulties breathing

• Sweating and trembling

• GI distress (Gastrointestinal symptoms such as heartburn, indigestion/dyspepsia, bloating and constipation)

• Body temperature changes, leading to sweating and trembling

• Dizziness

• Numbness and tingling in arms and legs

• Fear of dying

• Fear of going crazy

• Derealization
  
  c. Separation anxiety can be caused by unwillingness to separate from major attachment figures or from home.
  
  Symptoms of Separation Anxiety:

• Excessive worry about potential harm toward the teen

• Worry about primary caregivers

• Avoidance of activities that separate the adolescent from caregivers

• Nightmares

• Headaches

• Stomachaches

• Nausea and vomiting

• Sweating
  
  d. Social Anxiety is the intense fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social situations, which may lead to shyness and a fear of doing or saying something in front of others that may promote embarrassment.
  
  Symptoms of Social Anxiety:

• Ongoing fear of situations in which a teen is exposed to unfamiliar people

• Fear of situations in which a child may come under scrutiny of others

• Avoidance and fear of school-related events

• Substantial interference with most social activities
  
  
  
  3. Bipolar Disorder in adolescence
  Bipolar disorder is common and a serious brain illness. It is also called manic-depressive illness or manic depression. A person with bipolar disorder may have manic episodes, depressive episodes, or “mixed” episodes
  Bipolar disorder may cause because of family genes. Another factor that may lead to bipolar disorder is the brain structure or the brain function of the person with the disorder.
               
  Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder:
  Teens having manic episodes may:

• Feel very happy or act silly in a way that’s unusual for them and for other people their age

• Have a very short temper

• Talk really fast about a lot of different things

• Have trouble sleeping but not feel tired

• Have trouble staying focused

• Talk and think about sex more often

• Do risky things
  
  Teens having a depressive episode may:

• Feel very sad

• Complain about pain a lot, such as stomachaches and headaches

• Sleep too little or too much

• Feel guilty and worthless

• Eat too little or too much

• Have little energy and no interest in fun activities

• Think about death or suicide
  
  4. Eating Disorder in adolescence 
       Eating disorder is characterized by intense fear of weight gain . 95% of people who has eating disorder are between 12 to 15. The causes of eating disorder are usually from genetics, unpleasant experiences or trauma, physical changes, peer pressure and mostly, bullying or "fat talk"
  
  Common eating disorders among adolescence:
  a. Anorexia  
        -Teenagers with anorexia may take extreme measures to avoid eating and control the quantity and quality of the foods they do eat.  They may become abnormally thin, or thin for their body, and still talk about feeling fat.  They typically continue to diet even at very unhealthy weights because they have a distorted image of their body.
  
  Signs of anorexia:

• A distorted view of one’s body weight, size or shape; sees self as too fat, even when very underweight

• Hiding or discarding food

• Obsessively counting calories and/or grams of fat in the diet

• Denial of feelings of hunger

• Developing rituals around preparing food and eating

• Compulsive or excessive exercise

• Social withdrawal

• Pronounced emotional changes, such as irritability, depression and anxiety

• Excessive weight loss

• Thinning hair

• Absence of menstrual cycles in females
  
  b. Bulimia
         -Teenagers with bulimia nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by engaging in uncontrollable episodes of overeating (bingeing) usually followed by compensatory behavior such as: purging through vomiting, use of laxatives, enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise.  Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day but are most common in the evening and night hours.
  Signs of Bulimia:

• Eating unusually large amounts of food with no apparent change in weight

• Hiding food or discarded food containers and wrappers

• Excessive exercise or fasting

• Peculiar eating habits or rituals

• Frequent tips to the bathroom after meals

• Inappropriate use of laxatives, diuretics, or other cathartics

• Overachieving and impulsive behaviors

• Frequently clogged showers or toilets

• Discolored teeth

• Odor on the breath

• Stomach pain

• Calluses/scarring on the hands caused by self-inducing vomiting

• Irregular or absent menstrual periods, and weakness or fatigue
  
  c. Binge Eating Disorder
   - Binge eating disorder is characterized by a sense of uncontrollable excessive eating, followed by feelings of shame and guilt.  Unlike those with bulimia, however, teenagers with binge eating disorders typically do not compensate for their binges.
  
  
  
  
  Signs of Binge Eating Disorder:

• Eating unusually large amounts of food in a distinct period of time (within 2 hours)

• Eating rapidly

• Hiding food or discarded food containers and wrappers

• Eating in secret because of feeling embarassed by how much they are eating

• Eating when stressed or when feeling uncertain how to cope

• Feeling that they are unable to control how much they eat and disgusted with themselves afterwards

• Experimentation with different diets

• including weight gain (often leading to obesity)

• High blood pressure

• Diabetes

• Irregular menstrual cycle

• Skin disorders