What are the Types of Mental Health Disorders?

Most people are familiar with mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. While these are common, there are many other types of mental illnesses that can occur. Here are some examples:

These are caused by direct damage to the brain tissue, such as from brain trauma, stroke, or intracranial tumors.

These occur when physical illnesses affect brain function, leading to secondary brain dysfunction. For example, heart, lung, liver, or kidney diseases can cause insufficient blood and oxygen supply to the brain, or imbalances in water and electrolytes.

Long-term alcohol use can lead to dependence and eventual psychotic symptoms, or acute onset after suddenly stopping drinking.

These are caused by the use of drugs such as opium.

Certain non-dependent substances, such as benzene, lead, carbon monoxide, food poisoning, or medical drug poisoning, can enter the body in large quantities over a short period or small quantities over a long period, causing acute or chronic poisoning and resulting in mental disorders.

This is a common type of severe mental illness that typically begins in young adulthood. It can be classified into subtypes such as paranoid, hebephrenic, catatonic, and simple schizophrenia. Common symptoms include delirium, mania, hallucinations, excitement, aggression, depression, and paranoia. The course of the illness is often chronic and causes significant suffering for both the patient and their family.

The main symptom is systematic delusions.

This is characterized by comprehensive intellectual disability and social adaptation difficulties from childhood.

These are common severe mental illnesses that are characterized by significant and persistent changes in mood.

These are caused by severe emotional trauma or intense stress.

Common symptoms include koro (fear of body parts shrinking and leading to death), mental disorders caused by qigong (a form of Chinese energy work) gone awry, and mental disorders related to superstition and witchcraft.

These are characterized by significant deviations from normal personality traits that affect social and occupational functioning. They cause significant distress to the individual and often begin in childhood, persisting throughout life. Types include paranoid, antisocial, impulsive, histrionic, dependent, and narcissistic personality disorders.