What a time to be alive! How amazing is it that there’s actually finally a day devoted to reminding the world about how important mental health is. There’s no doubt that even during the past recent years, mental health wasn’t regarded as something of alarming importance.

Some people have belittled mental illness despite knowing how several have been experiencing some sort of mental illness and are suffering so much. Mental illnesses can go from mild to severe.

What’s so troublesome about mental health is that it’s most usually overlooked and set aside because symptoms can either be unusual or don’t even show at all until the situation gets worse.

This World Mental Health Day, let’s get to know some of the common mental illnesses and issues that people actually suffer from. Do note that some of our explanations here may come from common knowledge and feedback from our peers. For more information on these illnesses, please feel free to ask an expert or read on reliable sources on the internet.

1. Anxiety Disorders

With the rise of pressure and stress in today’s world, anxiety disorders have become one of the most common mental illnesses suffered from by today’s people. Usually accommodated by panic and certain phobias, people with anxiety disorders experience fear, rapid heartbeat, and sweating to the point that they cannot control a response and function well.

There are several different kinds of anxiety disorders and the level of effect varies from one person to another. Although occasional anxiety is a part of everyday normal life, if you’re experiencing excessive worrying and fear that doesn’t go away and get worse over time, you might want to visit a doctor.

2. Mood Disorders

Also called affective disorders, mood disorders are persistent feelings of sadness or feelings of suddenly being overly happy, or fluctuations of moods. We’re sure you’ve been hearing about some types of these disorders because similar to anxiety disorders, mood disorders have been pretty common in today’s society perhaps additionally because of the effects of different kinds of pressures expectations from a person’s environment.

Depression (or major depressive disorder) and bipolar are two of the most diagnosed mood disorders. If you feel like you may have a mood disorder or if you think someone could have a mood disorder, do not be afraid to talk and consult with an expert.

3. Eating Disorders

We’re happy that a lot of global brands and influential people talk and do something about society’s traditional body standards. However, we still cannot ignore the fact that there remains so much social pressure on women, especially, to achieve photoshopped-looking, thin bodies. We can’t help but be saddened by the fact that there are actually a number of women who end up having eating disorders just to look “pleasing to society”.

However, anorexia and bulimia aren’t the only eating disorders. Food addiction and binge eating are also major issues where a person eats excessively.

4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

This disorder is characterized by constant thoughts of fear or worry that cause a person certain rituals or routines. A common example is a person with an unreasonable fear of germs so they constantly wash their hands or brush their teeth.

The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can go from a mild case to a pretty severe one. It is a chronic and long-lasting disorder because a person who suffers from it could end up on a loop of doing the same routine over and over and over again to avoid their usually unreasonable worries.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is an acquired mental illness as it is triggered by a terrifying event where a person either experiences it or witnesses it. Most people end up suffering PTSD when the event took such a heavy toll on them that they end up having recurring memories of that circumstance and can no longer control a positive mental reaction.

Some of the most common PTSDs are caused by sexual or physical assault, violence, deaths, and natural disasters.

6. Personality Disorders

Anti-social Personality Disorder and Paranoia are only some examples of personality disorders. These are when a person has extremely inflexible personality traits that eventually affects their personal and social relationships.

7. Psychotic Disorders

Schizophrenia is an example of a psychotic disorder. This type of mental illness is usually involves distorted awareness of reality and thinking. People suffering from psychotic disorders usually experience hallucinations where they see unreal images and hear different sounds and delusions, which are false fixed beliefs that the person thinks is actually true.

Now, these are already illnesses that experts can diagnose. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to wait until you get an expert to diagnose that you have a mental illness.

Do not be shy or embarrassed to talk about what you’re thinking about to a close relative, close friend, or heck, even to us! We don’t judge here and if you feel like you need a friend to listen to you, our email, Facebook inbox, and Instagram DMs are always open to hear you out and maybe even give you some advice if you need some.

The Philippines may be a bit late in tackling mental health but hey, at least we’re getting there slowly. Organizations that are super eager to discuss mental health and are open to anyone to talk about what they’re going through are slowly popping up too.

In the meantime, always remember that as much as we love to do skincare every morning and evening, we should also pay attention to our mental health. Find stuff that can help your mind relax, recharge, and be ready for a new day.