Types of mental health issues

People with anorexia try to stop eating and lose a lot of weight. They often feel or think they look fat, even when they're very thin.

People with bulimia binge (eat lots of food at once) and then get rid of the food (usually by making themselves sick).

Anorexia and bulimia are types of eating disorders and can affect both girls and boys. Get help with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. 

Anxiety is a really normal emotion. It can make you feel tired, upset, worried, shaky and light-headed. It can also cause panic attacks. If you have a panic attack, you get a sudden rush of fear that makes you feel like your heart is beating really fast.

A panic attack is scary but they're not dangerous. It's normal to feel anxious or stressed sometimes. If anxiety stops you from being happy and living your normal life, a doctor might diagnose it as anxiety disorder.

Read more about controlling your anxiety.

Someone with ADHD has a lot of energy and might find it hard to concentrate on something for a long time. They'll also find it difficult to control their behaviour. ADHD affects around 1 in 100 young people and is more common in boys than girls.

Visit the YoungMinds website for more information on ADHD.

Bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic depression) is an illness which leads to somebody changing from being really hyper or manic to feeling very low and depressed. You could feel extremely up or extremely down for days or even weeks. It affects 1 in 100 people but is rare in young people.

Visit the YoungMinds website for more information on bipolar disorder.

It’s normal to feel sad or down sometimes. If your sad thoughts and feelings are stopping you from ever enjoying your life, or you feel that life isn’t worth living, it may be diagnosed as depression.

Depression:

• affects 80,000 children and young people in the UK
• can start because of lots of things including stress and the death of someone you love.

Speaking to somebody about how you feel is the first step in getting help with depression. You could ask an adult you trust for help or see your doctor.

Read more about depression and the help available.

Someone with OCD may worry that something bad will happen. For example, they might think they'll catch a disease. This causes them a lot of anxiety and they feel they have to carry out a ritual to make things better. For example, they might want to shower every time they use the toilet.

OCD:

• leads to people getting anxious about certain things
• affects 1 in 50 people
• can affect someone's everyday life and relationships.

Visit YoungMinds and OCD Youth for more information and support.

PTSD can start when someone experiences a really distressing event. For example, they may have been in an accident, experienced abuse or witnessed something that made them feel really frightened.

PTSD:

• can cause flashbacks, problems sleeping and nightmares
• affects 1 in 3 people who have experienced a stressful event.

Visit the YoungMinds website for more information on PTSD.

Somebody with schizophrenia may find it hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. That doesn't mean someone with schizophrenia is violent. It's also wrong to think that schizophrenia means you have '2 personalities'.

Schizophrenia:

• can make someone hear or see things that other people don’t (hallucinations)
• can make someone have muddled or strange thoughts (delusions)
• can make someone feel paranoid, or like people are against them or trying to hurt them
• affects 1% of people.

Visit the YoungMinds website for more information on schizophrenia.