A-Z Mental Health Conditions and Topics

Pandemics, disasters (e.g. hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes) and related emergencies cause incredible mental health stress.

This section lists MENTAL HEALTH organizations and services which have special services for times of pandemics, disasters and related emergencies. 

This is NOT a comprehensive listing of all the other types of organizations and services that might be found elsewhere during a disaster, e.g. Red Cross, WHO, etc., but is more focused on mental health services.

"Addictions" refers to problems using drugs or alcohol or other problem behaviours. Gambling can also be addictive and can cause severe financial, emotional, and relationship problems.

Alcohol problems result when a person drinks too much, to the point that it causes problems, such as problems with health, relationships and work. 

We all get angry from time to time. If we deal with anger in a healthy way, it helps us realize that something may be wrong and that perhaps something needs to change. But if our anger gets too severe, and we deal with it in an unhealthy way that causes problems at home, work or school, then it may be time to get some help in dealing with it.

Developmental delay is where a child has slowed or impaired development. Developmental disability where the developmental delay results in problems with intellectual or adaptive function. Many different conditions can cause developmental delay or disability. The term Intellectual Delay/Disability is often used with the same meaning.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention-deficit disorder (ADD) are conditions where individuals have extreme problems with inattention and distractibility, to the point that it causes problems with school, home or relationships. Individuals with ADHD also have hyperactivity (troubles sitting still, fidgeting) and impulsivity (acting without thinking first).

Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling of worry, unease or apprehension. The physical symptoms that accompany these feelings include heart palpitations, trembling, dry mouth, dizziness, nausea and diarrhea. Anxiety may be associated with specific situations, events or objects. In some cases, medical problems can lead to symptoms of anxiety.

Selective mutism is a severe childhood anxiety disorder where a child is ‘mute' (unable to speak) in certain situations such as school. It is ‘selective', because the mutism usually doesn't occur in all situations. In situations where the child feels relaxed, like at home or with close friends and family, the child may be able to speak normally.

Separation anxiety is a type of anxiety where people feel unsafe when separated from person(s) (typically parents or caregivers) or place(s) (typically their home) that help them feel safe. They feel unsafe or not capable of managing when separated from their safe person(s) or place(s). 

Social anxiety disorder (aka social phobia) is a condition where individuals have extreme shyness, to the point where it causes problems in a person's life. While some degree of shyness is normal, individuals with social anxiety have such extreme shyness that it actually causes problems in a person's social life, relationships, school or work. The good news is that there are many specific strategies as well as therapy that can help a person improve their social anxiety. 

Trichotillomania is a condition where individuals feel an irresistible urge to pull their hair. Fortunately, effective treatment exists. These may involve cognitive behaviour therapy and/or medications. Individuals should seek out a family physician or psychologist for help with this condition.

Many terms – including autism spectrum and pervasive developmental disorders – are used to describe a group of disorders that inhibit the development of communication and socialization skills. In some children the disorder may also affect the development of fine and gross motor ability. It may range from being severe on one end, with the severely autistic child who is developmentally delayed and who is unable to function independently, to an individual with Asperger Syndrome who has difficulties with social function but who otherwise functions well intellectually and at work.

Depression is a common yet serious condition. Symptoms include a sad or irritable mood; loss of interest or pleasure; feelings of guilt or low self-esteem; and problems with sleep, appetite, energy and concentration. Depression impairs a person's ability to function at school, work or home. At its worst, depression can lead to thoughts about ending one's life.

Being a new mother can be an overwhelming experience, thanks to sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, and other stresses such as lack of spouse and family support. Fortunately, there are many supports and treatments for overcoming post-partum depression.

Eating disorders are unfortunately all too common in a society that creates unrealistic expectations for body image. Anorexia (anorexia nervosa) is a condition where individuals eat so little that they become malnourished. Symptoms may include loss of menstrual periods, feeling cold, or troubles with mood or thinking. Bulimia is a condition where individuals maintain a somewhat normal weight, but have problems with binging (eating large quantities of food at once) and/or purging (making themselves throw up or vomit).

Trauma refers to events (typically abuse or violence) causing extreme distress and anxiety, whose after-effects can impair individuals. Types of trauma include natural disasters, as well as a range of man-made trauma: physical trauma (being hit or hurt by someone else); emotional trauma (being hurt by someone emotionally, through being bullied, put down, insulted or controlled); sexual trauma (being hurt by someone through sexual abuse or rape); war trauma (experiencing war situations).

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neurologic condition where individuals have problems with obsessions (distressing, repetitive thoughts or images), and/or compulsions (habits that someone is compelled to do over and over again in order to relieve distress).  

An operational stress injury (OSI) is any persistent psychological difficulty resulting from operational duties performed while serving in the Armed Forces or through policing and law enforcement duties.

OSI is used to describe a broad range of issues that include diagnosed medical conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, depression, and other conditions that may interfere with daily functioning.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness where individuals have troubles with perceiving reality, causing severe problems functioning. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms of psychosis, which include delusions (strong beliefs that persist despite lack of evidence or evidence to the contrary) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others do not). Note that symptoms of psychosis may be seen in other conditions other than schizophrenia, such as severe depression, bipolar disorder, and various medical conditions.

Suicide is when someone tries to end his or her life on purpose. People think about suicide in an attempt to deal with some problem or stress. Most people who attempt or complete suicide don’t necessarily want to die; rather, they want to escape their overwhelming emotional pain.Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The good news is that there are always other options.

If you are thinking about suicide, and things have reached a crisis point where you don't think you can keep yourself safe:  

• Call a crisis line
• If you have a doctor, then make an appointment to see him/her.
• Call your local mental health agency in order to see a counselor/therapist 
• Reach out to a family member or friend. Call them and let them know that you have been feeling overwhelmed, and that you could use their support, whether it is just listening or spending some time together. 
• Go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Remember: Although your situation may have tricked you into feeling that you are alone, you are NOT alone. Help is a phone call away... 

If you know know someone who is feeling suicidal, there are many ways to support and get them help

• Help your friend make that telephone call to a crisis line
• Help your friend book an appointment with their doctor, or counselor/therapist 
• Go with your friend to the nearest hospital emergency department 
• Let other trusted friends and family know so that they can be supportive.

Stress is the physical and emotional "wear and tear" that people experience as they cope with their environment, whether at home, work or school. When people's coping abilities are able to meet the expectations or demands placed on them, stress is minimized. When the expectations or demands are too heavy, individuals may become  “stressed out.” The key is to either reduce those expectations or to improve one's coping abilities.

Medications may be helpful for certain mental health conditions. For some conditions, such as mild to moderate anxiety and depression, it is usually best to start with non-medication interventions such as lifestyle strategies and/or psychotherapy. However, if those interventions haven't worked, or if symptoms of anxiety or depression are moderate to severe, then medications could be helpful. For other conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, however,  medications play a much more important role in treatment. 

Abuse is when one person is harmed physically, emotionally or sexually by another person.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a serious medical condition defined as having an infection from the HIV virus as well as problems with one's immune system as a result. Living with AIDS can mean living with a wide range of emotions and psychological stresses that can have an impact on mental health and well-being.

See Eating Disorders including Anorexia and Bulimia

Conduct disorder is a disorder of childhood and adolescence that involves chronic behaviour problems such as defiant, impulsive or antisocial behaviour; drug use; or criminal activity.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASD) is when severe problems with antisocial behaviours are seen in adults.

Psychopathy is used to described those with impaired sense of empathy and remorse, often associated with antisocial behaviours. 

Asperger Syndrome, sometimes referred to as Asperger's disorder, is a neurological condition that affects social and communication skills, and is one of the autism spectrum conditions.

Attachment is the special, close and unique relationship that a child has with parent(s) or caregiver(s), and is the foundation for trust and mental health. Attachment problems can occur for many reasons, and can lead to numerous behavioural and emotional problems. Fortunately, it is never too late to help a child (or adult) with attachment problems, and there are many ways to improve and strengthen a person's attachments.

Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), is a condition where a person has normal hearing but the person's brain becomes easily overwhelmed when trying to process sounds, particularly if there is background noise. This can lead to problems with mood, frustration and anxiety.

Misophonia is a condition where people are exquisitely sensitive to certain sounds, reacting with extreme distress, anger and even rage. Misophonia is also known as Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (“4S”).

Behaviour and conduct problems refer to individuals having troubles with their behaviour, to the point where normal rules or norms are breached and their behaviour causes distress to others. These problems may occur for a variety of reasons, ranging from medical conditions to learning conditions to mood disorders such as depression.

In the classic bipolar disorder, individuals have severe swings in mood, alternating from intense high-energy periods to extreme low periods. Mood swings, particularly in children and youth, may be seen along with many conditions, including mood disorders, attention-deficit disorders, learning disorders, autistic spectrum disorders, and sensory processing and self-regulatory conditions.

Borderline personality disorder describes individuals who have severe difficulties with relationships and severe problems in regulating their moods, which results in dramatic mood swings. This particular diagnosis is not without controversy, but there is no question that individuals with this label endure great distress.

See Eating Disorders including Anorexia and Bulimia

Bullying is a form of aggression where a person is deliberately hurtful to another person. There are many forms, including physical (shoving, hitting, kicking); verbal (put-downs, spreading rumors or gossip); emotional (excluding, tormenting, ridiculing); and social (excluding someone from activities or telling rumors behind someone’s back). Bullying can occur to people of all ages but is particularly harmful to children.

Living with cancer can mean living with a wide range of emotions and psychological stresses that can have an impact on mental health and well-being.

Delirium is a sudden disturbance in a person's thinking that can result in confusion, lack of awareness of one's environment, and disorganized thinking. Delirium is caused by medical issues, and requires prompt treatment by a doctor. 

Dementia is a group of conditions, all of which involve progressive impairment of brain function, with symptoms that include loss of memory and loss of judgment. Alzheimer's dementia is the most common form of dementia.

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) (formerly called dyspraxia) is a condition where individuals have problems with coordination (appearing clumsy and awkward) to the point where it causes them problems at home, at school and everywhere else.  It is important to identify this disorder because there are interventions (i.e. seeing a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, making adjustments at school) that can help.  Children and young people who have this disorder but are not properly identified are at risk of future problems at school, in relationships, and of developing depression and emotional difficulties.

Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV)) is a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, or between friends or family members.

Down syndrome is a developmental condition with varying degrees of learning and physical disabilities. Children with Down syndrome generally have a very happy, amiable temperament. They are usually able to learn everyday life skills and can be raised at home. Special education and training allow many individuals with Down syndrome to lead happy, useful, and love-filled lives.

Elimination disorders are problems with urine or bowel control, such as encopresis and enuresis.

Encopresis (fecal incontinence) is a problem with having involuntary bowel movements, in a person who should be old enough to have voluntary bowel control. 

Enuresis (urinary incontinence or bedwetting) is a problem with urinating into inappropriate places, either during the day or at night. It can happen voluntarily or involuntarily.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) refers to the whole range of disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol (when a mother drinks alcohol while pregnant). Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) refers to a specific group of defects to the fetus that result from prenatal alcohol exposure. The usual first step if one suspects fetal alcohol problems is to speak to one's family physician or to the child's pediatrician.

Fire-setting is the deliberate setting of fires. In children and youth who set fires, fire-setting usually occurs due to 1) curiosity and the desire to experiment with fire; or 2) other reasons, such as a cry for help, with the fire-setting as a symptom of an underlying problem such as depression or interpersonal troubles Pathological fire-setting in adults may be due to pyromania, defined as the deliberate setting of fires for pleasure or satisfaction from the relief of tension experienced before the fire-setting.

Gender identity refers to the basic sense of self as being either male or female. Gender dysphoria is when someone is unhappy about their gender. Gender identity disorder is a condition where a person has been assigned one gender (on the basis of their sex), but perceives himself or herself as belonging to another gender.

Grief and bereavement refers to the sadness and loneliness that result from the loss of a loved one.

Compulsive hoarding (aka pathological hoarding) is acquiring possessions along with the failure to discard them, even if the items are worthless, no longer useful. Hoarded items fill the person's home, and can cause severe problems with day-to-day activities and relationships, and even pose a danger to life through being a fire and safety hazard.

Infants and young children can have mental health issues just like older children, youth and adults. Infants and young children with mental health challenges grow up into older children, youth and adults with mental health challenges. For this reason, it is essential (and cost-effective) to start early on by supporting infants and young children with what they need for mental health. Perhaps one of the most important factors is to support parents and caregivers, so that they can have a healthy relationship with their infant, based on being able to consistently  and gently meet their infant's needs. 

A person with a learning difficulty is a person of normal intelligence (or above) who has a brain difference that interferes with his or her learning in one or more of the following areas: listening, speaking, reading, written expression, mathematics, and reasoning. Sources of help include speaking to teachers, seeing a psychologist for psychoeducational testing, and various support/advocacy groups.

Mood disorders are problems with mood such as anxiety, bipolar disorder and depression.

Oppositional behaviours are when a child/youth has troubles following expectations from others (i.e. being disobedient) and can be hostile at adults. While some oppositionality and independence is normal for all children, when it is severe and causes problems, it may be a sign of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

Many sorts of health problems can occur if one is overweight. 

Overweight is typically defined as having a body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2 for men and women. (Note that an overweight person does not necessarily have too much fat nor increased health risk if the excess weight is due to an above-average amount of muscle.)

If you are concerned that you or a loved one may be overweight, start by seeing a health professional such as:

• Your primary care provider, or 
• A dietician. 

A physical disability is any health condition, disease or disorder that prevents or inhibits a person from being able to complete daily tasks or activities. There are many causes of physical disabilities, including medical conditions, accidents, and conditions that are present from birth.

Resiliency is the ability to withstand, cope and recover from difficulties in life. 

School refusal is when a child refuses to go to school. This can happen for various reasons: the child may be having problems with anxiety (such as separation anxiety from parents) or may be actively trying to avoid some stress about school (experiencing problems with peers such as bullying or conflict or having a having a learning condition that makes schoolwork stressful). The usual first steps in dealing with school refusal include speaking with the school and/or taking the child to see his/her family physician or pediatrician for additional suggestions. More specialized help may include seeing a psychologist, counselor or other mental health professional.

Deliberate self-harm refers to deliberately injuring one's own body. Means of self-harm include cutting (known as self-cutting or self-mutilation), burning, scratching and head-banging. Self-harm behaviours may occur for a variety of reasons such as autism, depression, or eating disorders. Solutions including helping the individual 1) figure out what their stresses are, and 2) find a healthier means to cope and deal with his or her stress.

Sensory processing disorders (SPDs) are problems with misinterpreting everyday sensory information such as touch, sound, taste, movement and smells. At the hypersensitivity end, this can lead to the person becoming easily overwhelmed by seemingly normal sensations of touch, sound or other senses. Behaviours like rage, tantrums, anxiety or avoidance may result. At the other extreme, hyposensitive or under-sensitive individuals may inappropriately seek out excess sensory stimuli such as movement, touch and sound.

Interactive Metronome® (IM) is a therapeutic brain training program that helps people with timing, attention, impulse control, coordination and regulation.

The Safe and Sound Protocol, developed by Dr. Porges, is a five-day intervention designed to reduce stress and auditory sensitivity while enhancing capacity for social engagement and emotional resilience. It is an auditory intervention (distinct from auditory integration training) where the person wears headphones that play specially formulated music for up to one hour on five consecutive days. It can be done in the office of a trained clinician (e.g. occupational therapist) or in the comfort of the person's home.  

Visual stress is a visual perceptual processing condition that affects how visual information is interpreted by the brain and interferes with reading, attention, coordination, general health and behaviour. This is different from problems involving sight or sharpness of vision and can occur despite normal vision. Classic symptoms include light sensitivity, headaches from reading, and problems reading because the white “page appears too bright” or the words appear to be "moving, flashing, or jumping on the page". As reading is such a key skill for school and life in general, problems with reading can thus lead to significant impairment. The good news is that appropriate intervention can make a significant improvement and for many individuals, one of the interventions is as simple as specific colour filters.

Separation and divorce commonly occurs. Separation is when a couple lives separately from one another. Divorce is when their legal marriage is ended. Separation and divorce typically cause emotional stress on the separating couple and on any involved children and youth. The more that a couple can resolve their differences in a calm fashion, without hostility and without the children/youth feeling blamed or neglected, the better the outcome is for everyone.

Getting good sleep is important for mental health. Unfortunately, there are many things that can interfere with sleep, like poor sleep hygiene, stress in our environment, or medical conditions such as sleep disorders. Everyone has problems sleeping from time to time. However, if problems like constant drowsiness or mood changes are common, sleep problems may be more serious and need attention.

Social skills (and life skills) refers to the skills necessary to interact in a health way with other people. This includes skills required to initiate contact with others, making friends, and keeping friends. It includes communication skills as well as conflict resolution skills. Social skills don't always come naturally, and there are many conditions that can impair social skills, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), learning conditions such as Non-Verbal Learning Disability, and even Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Somatoform disorders are conditions where patients have persistent, trouble medical complaints, which remain medically unexplained despite appropriate assessment and investigations by health care professionals.

Language is how people communicate with one another, whereas speech is what is spoken. Speech and language disorders are problems which, in some cases, can result in a negative impact on a person’s social or emotional well-being. Seeing a family physician or a speech and language pathologist can help with these difficulties.

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disorder involving facial and other body tics, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence. Tics are involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way. The first step in getting help for possible Tourette's or tics is to see a physician, who may also consider a referral to a neurologist if necessary.