A mental health condition, or mental illness, is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental health conditions are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.
Serious mental health conditions include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental health conditions is that recovery is possible and probable.
Mental health conditions can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income. Mental health conditions are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. Mental health conditions are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental health conditions can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan. Hear stories of hope from our friends at the Hope Initiative here.
Learn more about treatment and services that assist individuals in recovery.
Find out more about a specific mental health condition:
- Anxiety Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Dissociative Disorders
- Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Illness
- Eating Disorders
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Panic Disorder
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Schizoaffective Disorder
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
Find out more about conditions sometimes related to mental health conditions:
- Anosognosia (lack of insight)
- First Episodes of Psychosis
- Sleep Apnea
- Substance Use Disorder
- Tardive Dyskinesia
Treatment & Services
- Fact sheets from the AKA-NAMI partnership (focus on African Americans)
- Finding a Culturally Competent Provider
- What is Early and First-Episode Psychosis?
- Early Psychosis: What’s Going On and What Can You Do?