Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects about 1% of the general population. The onset of schizophrenia can be quite quick. Someone who has previously been healthy and coped well with their usual activities and relationships can develop psychosis (loss of contact with reality) over a number of weeks. That said, symptoms may also develop slowly, with the ability to function in everyday life declining over a number of years. This complex illness is characterised by ‘psychosis’. 'Psychosis' is a word used to describe the following group of symptoms: Disorder of thoughts (e.g. delusions - false beliefs held in spite of evidence that they are not real) Perceptions (e.g. hallucinations - seeing, hearing or feeling things which are not there) Disorganised speech Grossly disorganised behaviour (which is not experienced by others and which is not seen as abnormal by the sufferer). These four symptoms are often referred to as the ‘Positive Symptoms’ of schizophrenia because they are the result of the disease process. The fifth group of symptoms describes the moods of a person with developing schizophrenia. They are usually referred to as ‘Negative Symptoms’ because they represent a loss of normal functions: Loss of motivation, interest or pleasure in things. Everyday tasks such as washing up become difficult. Mood changes –You'll tell friends you're feeling great or never better. However, your ‘happy’ behaviour will be recognised as excessive by friends or family. You may also be quite unresponsive and be unable to express joy or sadness. Social withdrawal –people may notice that you become very careless in your dress and self-care, or have periods of seeming to do little and periods of being extremely active. The strongest feature of schizophrenia is loss of insight – the loss of awareness that the experiences and difficulties you have are the result of your illness. It is a particular feature of psychotic illnesses, and is the reason why the Mental Health Act (1992) has been developed to ensure people with these conditions can get the assessment and treatment they need. Schizophrenia affects different people in different ways. Some people may experience only a few short episodes and then fully recover. For others it lasts throughout their lives and needs to be treated like any other physical illness such as asthma or diabetes. It is important that schizophrenia is treated as soon as it is diagnosed by a psychiatrist to prevent long-term disability and loss of function. Treatment Schizophrenia may be treated using a number of different approaches: Talking therapies and counselling Medication Looking after physical wellbeing/ health Psychosocial education programs e.g. education, support, counselling and assistance to return to job/studies/performing daily tasks Ongoing support e.g. housing, monitoring of treatment, support groups.

Having bipolar is more than a temporary feeling of being depressed when you are stressed out, or of feeling great when something goes really well. The difference with bipolar is that these feelings are extreme and continual, and you can either feel really happy, energetic and “high” or really miserable and depressed, or “low”. People with bipolar disorder usually experience more lows than highs. Some of the extreme phases of bipolar disorder make everyday life difficult and can include a loss of touch with reality (psychosis). Bipolar (affective) disorder is also known as manic depression. These changes of mood can be very extreme and occur for no apparent reason. Different people will experience this disorder in different ways; some may have few episodes, others many, and symptoms may vary from mild to severe. There are two types of bipolar disorder. They are called type 1 and type 2. Bipolar type 1 disorder means you get bouts of mania and bouts of depression. Bipolar type 2 disorder also means you get bouts of mania and bouts of depression, but the mania is milder. It is sometimes called hypomania. It’s slightly more common than type 1. Symptoms The symptoms of bipolar affective disorder fall into three categories: symptoms of mania - feel fantastic and full of energy but others around you can see its uncharacteristic of you to be this way. Full of energy might mean less sleep, more of an appetite and bigger mood swings between happy and sad. symptoms of depression - persistent low mood or sadness, difficulty of waking up or unable to get back to sleep, always tired, sometimes you eat much more or much less than usual, loss of interest in usual activities, hard to concentrate, loss of confidence and excessively feeling guilty for minor mistakes/ wrongs, thoughts of hopelessness, death and suicide. mixed symptoms of mania and depression - a mixture of both of the above. Treatment Medication (antidepressants if depressed and mood stabilisers if depressed and manic). A combination of counselling and psychotherapy (‘talking therapy’) may hasten recovery. Education about bipolar can help people who have it communicate effectively and solve problems alleviating stress. Hospitalisation may be required for those who are very unwell and are posing a risk to themselves or to others. Looking after physical wellbeing/ health.

Depression is a mood disorder. Emotional states like sadness, ‘feeling blue’ or tearfulness are part of normal human experience. Depression is a common disorder and about 10-20 % of the population in New Zealand will suffer from depression during their lifetime. It can be seen in many different forms, linked to many stages of life with similar symptoms like: Postnatal depression – where a new mother becomes seriously depressed in the first months following the baby's birth. It can occur any time during the baby’s first year. Depression in the elderly – often linked to health problems, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Physical illness – some symptoms of physical illness are difficult to distinguish from those of depression (e.g. fatigue related to congestive heart failure). Children and adolescents – do suffer from depression, but may talk of being angry or irritated, rather than being depressed. Clinical Depression is known as Major Depression and is characterised by the presence for at least two weeks of symptoms such as: depressed mood diminished interest and pleasure in most activities change in appetite and weight (these can be increased or decreased) sleep disturbance fatigue bodily symptoms (headache, backache etc) poor concentration feelings of anxiousness, worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, suicidal ideation Treatment Once depression has been diagnosed by your GP/Psychiatrist, it can be effectively treated by: Medication Psychological interventions e.g. counselling (various types) and psychotherapy (talking therapy which is of various types). Looking after physical wellbeing/ health

We all feel some anxiety at some time or other. Anxiety may serve as an alerting signal, warning us of external /internal threats and consequently acting as a prompt to take appropriate action. When anxiety is very severe and present even when there is no threat of any kind, then it interferes with our functioning and can become an illness. In this circumstance, anxiety becomes a disorder characterised by an unpleasant emotion with feelings of fear, threat and impending danger and can be associated with numerous bodily symptoms like breathlessness, trembling, tightness in throat, dry mouth, racing heart and nausea/vomiting. There are varieties of anxiety disorders like: panic attacks (sudden and severe urge of fear in response to something (a trigger) that affects you) phobias (unhealthy fear of something) agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) social anxiety post-traumatic disorder obsessive compulsive disorder Anxiety can often be associated with a depressive episode. Signs to look for (symptoms) expect the worst worry excessively about money, health, family or work, when there are no signs of trouble be unable to relax, enjoy quiet time, or be by themselves avoid situations that make them anxious be irritable have constant worries running through their head have difficulty concentrating or focusing on things feel edgy, restless or jumpy suffer from stomach problems, nausea, diarrhoea suffer from poor sleep need to know what’s going to happen in the future Anxiety disorders are very common and if unrecognised and untreated, can cause severe disability. Treatment Self help: learning techniques like relaxation, distraction and education. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Medication. Physical exercise.