1. borderline personality disorder
having emotions that are up and down (for example, feeling confident one day and feeling despair another), with feelings of emptiness and often angerhttp://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/borderline_personality_disorder#causes
2. panic attack
- absolutely terrified
- that the world is going to end
- that you are going to die
- 'unreal' or cut off from the world
- that you are going mad
- a sense of impending doom
Ten tips to prevent panic
- Reduce your exposure to unnecessary stress. Find ways to express your needs and assert yourself more successfully.
- Change your lifestyle. Take regular exercise. Avoid stimulants, such as cigarettes and alcohol. Eat regular meals and avoid processed foods and drinks, to keep blood sugar levels stable.
- Don't bottle up your emotions. Find someone to confide in, such as a family member, friend or counsellor.
- Develop coping strategies. Look into cognitive behaviour therapy, or other talking treatments; consult self-help books; ask about anxiety management courses.
- Join a support group. This allows you to share feelings and discuss strategies.
- Learn to breathe from your diaphragm. With hands on stomach, slowly breathe in through your nose while counting to four. Your stomach should rise (not your chest). Breathe out, to a count of four, and your stomach should collapse. Repeat four times.
- Learn a relaxation technique. First close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply. Locate any areas of tension and imagine the tension disappearing. Then, relax each part of the body, bit by bit, from the feet upwards. Think of warmth and heaviness. After 20 minutes, take some deep breaths and stretch.
- Focus on the positive aspects of your life. If you feel an attack coming on, try to distract yourself with a pleasurable task.
- Don't depend on others for reassurance. Tell yourself you're not dying or going mad. It's better to rely on yourself and your own coping strategies.
- Accept and face your feelings during an attack. They will become less intense.
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/mind_troubleshooters_panic_attacks
What can I do to heal the past?
- Through the expressive arts, such as dance, music, sculpting, painting, creative writing and poetry. All of these can help you to tell your story, and can give tremendous pleasure and empowerment in themselves. Find a class through your local adult education service, local library or community centre.
- Learn to be assertive. Read up on it, and join a class. (See Mind's booklet How to assert yourself.) It's also worth looking online for details of classes.
- Form a support group. Perhaps you can find others seeking help with their past, through a local community centre, bookshop, religious organisation or adult education class (on assertiveness or self-esteem, for example).
- Tell your friends that you are attempting to face some old childhood wounds, and enlist their help. They may have had similar experiences, and have useful advice and suggestions.
- Keep a journal. Use it to explore your memories and relate them to difficulties you are having now.
ormation and advice › Diagnoses and conditions › Young person's introduction to mental health
Young person's introduction to mental health
If you are a young person who has had experience of mental illness or you care for someone who may have been unwell, you will probably sometimes feel confused and alone about the way it affects your life. You will also probably have many questions.
Young person's introduction to mental health has been written with you in mind. It will give you a good overview of the issues concerning mental health, such as what it is and what causes it.
Copyright note for Mind factsheets: You are welcome to print and photocopy this page of Mind's website. Organisations are free to distribute copies to service users and colleagues, but must ensure they always use the latest version, as available on the website, at the time of distribution.
Introduction
What does mental health mean?
Mental illness
Mental distress
When people become mentally ill
Describing mental illness
Signs of mental illness
What causes mental illness?
Understanding different mental health problems
Depression
Manic depression
Postnatal depression
Anxiety
Phobias
Obsessions
Eating problems
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Overeating
Schizophrenia
Questions and answers
Young carers
Fears and concerns
Developing a mental health problem
Dealing with frightening or worrying words and behaviour
Fears about the consequences of asking for help
Anxieties about a parent going into hospital
Anxieties about being placed into care
Laws which can help families
Maintaining mental health
Tips on keeping mentally healthy
Useful organisations
Introduction
What is mental health and how does a person who is mentally ill act?
Does having a mental illness mean that you are violent?
This factsheet has been written to answer questions you may be asking and to help put aside some of the misconceptions people often have about mental illness. It discusses some of the feelings and experiences you may be having and also looks at some of the different ways mental illness may affect your life.
The information contained here will also help you to think about different types of mental illness and the kind of help that is available.
What does mental health mean?
The word 'mental' means 'of the mind'. It describes your thoughts, feelings and understanding of yourself and the world around you.
The word 'health' generally describes the working order of your body and mind. So when we talk about 'mental health' we are referring to the working order of your mind.
Mental illness
Sometimes things go wrong with our bodies. We may catch a bug and become ill or we might get hurt in an accident. In the same way, we can have problems with our mental health. There are different types of mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. We will look at these in more detail in a little while.
Mental distress
If we have problems with our mental health we might feel:
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In addition we might think that we are:
- unlovable
- guilty
- bad
- evil.
These feelings can become so strong that they start to overwhelm us. We feel they are too much to cope with and we become distressed by them.
When people become mentally ill
Describing mental illness
People use different words to explain that they have had problems with their mental health. Some say they had a mental illness. Others say they were mentally distressed, or they may say they had mental health problems.
Signs of mental illness
You come out in spots when you have chicken pox, or if you have a cold your nose runs. But with mental health problems it can be different. Sometimes you cannot tell if someone has a mental health problem.
You may notice that someone close to you has changed. Perhaps they want to be alone all the time and do not want to go out, whereas before they were always chatting and enjoyed going to see different people and places.
These are some other things you may notice about someone who has a mental health problem:
- Some people may do or say strange things.
- They may hear or see things that nobody else can.
- They may seem sad or cross all the time.
- They may seem tired or have amazing amounts of energy.
- They may hold strange beliefs.
- They may believe someone or something is trying to harm them and so seem scared all the time.
What causes mental illness?
We do not fully understand the causes of mental health problems, but some possible reasons include:
- Stress - too much can make it hard to cope with problems. Changes can be stressful, such as when a loved one dies, getting divorce or moving house. Pressure from school, work, or other people can be stressful too.
- Genes - these are codes that contain information about what hair colour we are going to have and how big our feet will be. Some scientists think some people have genes that tell their brains to develop a mental health problem. These mental illness (or mental distress) genes may need stress or upset to make them work.
- Biochemistry - the mixture of natural chemicals in our bodies - can affect how we think or feel. What we eat and drink, illness, hormones, our environment and stress can affect bichemistry.
- Upbringing can cause mental health problems. For example, growing up in a family where you never felt loved or cared for can be difficult. Or perhaps there has been abuse. Not being encouraged to say how you feel can also affect mental health. Sometimes parents themselves felt unloved or had problems growing up and therefore may not know how to show love or care to their own children.
Mental distress may be caused by a combination of different factors such as these.
Fact zone
One in four people will develop a mental health problem during their lifetime.
Understanding different mental health problems
Depression
Most people know what it feels like to be sad or unhappy. If you feel depressed you feel very down. Everything is too much effort. You may think you are useless and no good. Activities you used to enjoy are not interesting any more, and things that used to make you laugh are no longer funny. You may feel tired all the time, have trouble sleeping and don't feel like eating. However, sometimes people eat and sleep more than usual when they feel depressed.
Things that can help include:
- talking about how you feel to someone you can trust, including parents, teachers, youth leaders, counsellors, or your GP
- prescribed medication such as antidepressants
- herbal remedies, such as St John's wort (talk to your family doctor first if you would like to take this herbal remedy as it can cause complications if taken with other prescriptions, such as birth control pills).
Fact zone
Famous people who have been depressed include Winston Churchill, Janet Jackson, Patsy Kensit and Caroline Aherne (Mrs Merton).
Manic depression
If you have manic depression then you can have times when you are very high or 'manic', and times when you are depressed.
When you are manic you can feel very good. You can have boundless energy; you move and talk quickly, you have lots of ideas, all things are possible, you may need very little sleep and you can feel very creative. You may also spend too much money, not be able to concentrate and feel irritable. I
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