Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms.
Symptoms include-
- hallucinations
- delusions
- muddled thoughts based on the hallucinations or delusions
- changes in behaviour
Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
Insomnia
The symptoms of insomnia depend on the type of sleeping problem that you have. A lack of sleep can affect your mood and cause tiredness and fatigue during the day.
It's thought that up to a third of people in the UK have symptoms of insomnia at some point in the year, which can include:
- lying awake for a long time at night before falling asleep
- waking up several times in the middle of the night
- waking up early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep
- feeling tired and not refreshed by sleep
- not being able to function properly during the day and finding it difficult to concentrate
- being irritable
Depression
You feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it's not a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together". It's affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms such as:
- feelings of sadness and hopelessness
- losing interest in the things you used to enjoy
- feeling very tearful
- symptoms of anxiety
- feeling constantly tired
- sleeping badly
- having no appetite or sex drive
- complaining of various aches and pains
- feel persistently low in spirit
- can make you feel suicidal and that life is no longer worth living
Paranoia
A person with a paranoid personality disorder is extremely distrustful and suspicious. Other symptoms include:
- thinking other people are lying to them or trying to manipulate them
- feeling they cannot really trust their friends and associates
- worrying any confidential information shared with others will be used against them
- thinking there are hidden meanings in remarks most would regard as innocent
- worrying their spouse or partner is unfaithful, despite a lack of evidence
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour.
OCD is an unwanted, unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters a person's mind, causing them anxiety.
A compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or mental act that someone feels they need to carry out to try to prevent an obsession coming true. For example, someone who is obsessively scared they will catch a disease may feel the need to have a shower every time they use a toilet.
OCD symptoms
OCD symptoms can range from mild to severe. For example, some people with OCD may spend an hour or so a day engaged in obsessive-compulsive thinking and behaviour. For others, the condition can completely take over their life.
Although OCD affects individuals differently, most people with the condition fall into a set pattern of thought and behaviour. The pattern has four main steps:
- obsession – your mind is overwhelmed by a constant obsessive fear or concern, such as the fear your house will be burgled
- anxiety – this obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety and distress
- compulsion – you adopt a pattern of compulsive behaviour to reduce your anxiety and distress, such as checking all your windows and doors are locked at least three times before leaving the house
- temporary relief – the compulsive behaviour brings temporary relief from anxiety but the obsession and anxiety soon return, causing the cycle to begin again.
