the Symptoms of Mental Illness

The symptoms of many different mental illnesses are vastly different, as the conditions themselves are. It is impossible to give a set of criteria which all mental disorders follow, because they have such different implications with each disorder. There are some signs however that can tend to present themselves with the onset of a lot of mental illnesses that can be looked out for. They are also common with other problems however, so a better diagnosis is usually needed to establish mental illness.

The general signs that you can look out for include someone isolating themselves away from things that they usually like to do, as well as friends and family. Another sign is that often weight gain or loss, as well as changes in appetite in general are shown in the patient. Some disorders also give the sufferer confused speech or jumbled thoughts. They may jump from one topic to another with no explanation, or might seem to be deep in thought and see things you say from strange perspectives. Trouble getting any sleep or oversleeping are often signs of many illnesses as well.

There are also a lot of symptoms of mental disorder that tend to be relevant to only one illness in particular. Depression is perhaps the most common, and although most people go through mild depression at some time in their life, for others it can be a constant struggle to function normally. Depression tends to display increased or decreased sleeping, as well as weight gain or loss. Also apathy towards things that you previously enjoyed doing, as well as difficulty in a multitude of relationships are also symptoms.

Bi-Polar disorder is more difficult as it shows two sets of symptoms, dependent on what phase of the illness the sufferer is in. It is also sometimes referred to as manic depression, although this is an older term not in use as much these days. Bi-Polar sufferers go through two phases, one being mania and the other depression. They are totally opposite to each other and can make you seem like a different person from one phase to the next.