Mental Distress

Everyone has experienced mental distress

If that distress is interfering with our life and making it very hard to do the things we want to – like spend time with friends, sleep, eat, go to school or work – then it may be described as mental health problems or mental illness

People explain mental distress in different ways

• It could be caused by traumatic, sad or frightening things happening to us

• It could be a way of expressing how hard it is to fit in with what society expects of us

• It could be caused by an illness or disorder of the brain

• It could be caused by a mixture of things

What mental health problems and illnesses are there?

Many people will experience

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Mood swings

• Panic attacks

• Phobias

Some people will experience

• Eating disorders

• Self harm

• Suicidal thoughts

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Some people will experiencepsychosis

• A person’s sense of reality is changed – it may include hearing voices, seeing things or believing things not shared by most people

• It can happen once or many times

• Sometimes it’s connected with taking drugs

• It can be very frightening

One in Four

A quarter of people will experience mental health problems severe

enough to ask for professional help

People recover

• People who have any of these mental health problems can and do get better

• There is support available to help people recover

• Talking and listening can really help