Mental and Emotional Problems
Coping with Difficult Emotions

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and her book on death and dying show the different stages
a person will go through.

Denial and Isolation

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

Learning to handle emotions will help you protect your physical, emotional, and
social health.
Fear and Anxiety

Fear is a normal, instinctive response to a
dangerous situation.

It triggers the response in the body that will
help it prepare to fight or flee.

Fear can be healthy in such as being
cautious in dangerous situations. Fear can
also be harmful to you if you are afraid to do
something which can lead it to become a
phobia.

Anxiety- an emotional state of high energy
that triggers the stress response.

Common symptoms include rapid heart rate,
sweating, trembling, and heavy breathing.

Anxiety may be good such as being overly
prepared for a test. While extreme anxiety
can be paralyzing to make you afraid to do
anything.
Sadness and Grief

Sadness is a normal reaction to events
that happen in your life, such a bad grade,
sports not going well, a break-up, and
death.

Sadness can be mild and brief or it can be
deep and long-lasting.

Grief-the emotional response to a major
loss, such a death of a loved one.

Remember depressed and sadness are not
the same thing.

Sadness if it lasts long enough can lead to
depression. Depression is a serious
illness.
Anger

During the teen years increased levels in
hormones that the body is producing can
lead you to become angry over small things
and stay angry for long periods.

To control anger, you must recognize it and
identify which may be difficult.

We may be angry about something right
now and expressing right now but the true
cause may have already taken place.

Give yourself time to cool off and relax. If
you confront the problem when you are
angry you may make the problem worse.

Find ways to calm down such as listening to
music, going for a walk, writing your
thoughts down, and exercising and playing
sports.
Guilt and Shame

Guilt- is the normal feeling that arises from
the conscience when a person acts against
internal values.

Feelings of guilt may prompt you to act
according to your values.

Best way to act is to admit you were wrong
and say you are sorry.

Realize that you may not be wrong and the
guilt has nothing to do with you.

Shame- is a feeling of being inherently
unworthy. It is more destructive than guilt.

Guilt may make you correct your mistake
while shame will make you think you can’t.
Mental and Emotional Disorders

Mental illness- disorders, thoughts,
emotions, or behaviors that cause distress
and reduce a person’s ability to function.

It ranges from mild and temporary
depression to anxiety and severe longterm illnesses that affect a person’s sense
of reality.

Many mental disorders stem from
physical problems. A person with
hardening of the arteries in the brain
might experience memory loss and
confusion.
Warning signs and Phobias

Sudden noticeable change in personality

Inability to cope with problems

Bizarre or unrealistic ideas

Extreme highs or lows in moods

Acrophobia- Heights

Aerophobia- Flying

Arachnophobia- Spiders

Mysophobia- Germs

Claustrophobia- Small, enclosed spaces
Anxiety Disorders

Phobias- an extreme, irrational fear of an
object or situation.

Social anxiety or social phobia, is an
extreme fear or anxiety in the presence of
other people.

Others have a more basic and general fear
of being around and speaking to people
they don’t know.

In social situations, people may blush,
sweat, tremble, and have difficulty
speaking.

People with social phobia often need
therapy or medication to overcome the
problem.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorders- people
have an uncontrollable fixation on
specific thoughts and behaviors.

Examples: dirt, germs, cleaning, and
putting things away.

People repeat behaviors over and over
again where as people without will
normally do something once or twice.

Examples- checking to make sure the
door is locked, stove is off, lights are
on/off.

Therapy and medications can be helpful
in treating OCD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD- a serious stress reaction in response
to a terrifying event.

Events that may trigger PTSD include war,
terrorist attacks, bombings, serious
accidents, violent crimes, natural disasters,
and abuse.

People with PTSD have flashbacks, reliving
the traumatic event over and over while
awake or in nightmares when they sleep.

Some people become emotionally numb,
irritable, and violent.

Not every person develops PTSD.

It may take months and years for it to
appear. It is treated with therapy and
medication.
Mood Disorders

Depression- a persistent feeling of apathy,
hopelessness, or despair.

Depression is one of the most common
mental disorders affecting nearly 1 out of
10 people each year.

Depression can be difficult to diagnose,
because some of the symptoms can also
result from common illnesses such as the
flu.

People who experience depression-like
symptoms for more than a couple weeks
should seek professional help. People are
treated with therapy and medication.
Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder- involves extreme highs
and lows of emotion.

They will usually bounce between
depression with all of its symptoms and
an emotional high known as mania.

During the manic phase, the person’s
energy level will shoot way up. They will
do everything at top speed and sleep less.

Their moods will swing from euphoric
happiness to extreme irritability or
aggression.

They also tend to have difficulty
concentrating and display poor judgment
and reckless behavior.
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia- a severe mental disorder that
cause people to lose touch with reality.

People who have schizophrenia often have
hallucinations, meaning they are seeing and
hearing things others are unable to perceive.

The people with it will become fearful,
anxious, and withdrawn. They have
difficulty holding a job and caring for
themselves.

It is partly hereditary and part faulty brain
chemistry. They tend not to be violent and if
they are it is usually to themselves.
Increased risk of suicide.

Drugs can relieve the symptoms but they
cannot cure the disease.
Eating Disorders

Eating disorders- extreme, unhealthy eating
habits, often related to an obsession with
weight or appearance.

Eating disorders tend to show up for the first
time during adolescence or young
adulthood.

Anorexia nervosa- extreme fear of gaining
weight. They tend to starve themselves and
exercise excessively. They maybe thin but
they see themselves as fat.

Bulimia nervosa- condition where people
will eat large amounts of food and then
purge through vomiting or taking laxatives.

Binge eating disorder- people regularly go
on eating binges, but without purging later.
Addiction

Addiction- a physical or psychological
dependence on a particular substance,
habit, and/or behavior.

A person who abuses drugs and alcohol
may not be addicted to them.

However if people keep up the use and
abuse of these substances, they may
become addicted.

Gambling, credit cards, internet usage,
even sweets can become addicting to a
person.

A person who has an addiction may not
be able to stop without help.
Teens and Suicide

During one average day in the United States, about 12 young people between ages
15-24 end their lives.

Of theses 12, 10 are male and 2 are female.

Far more teens attempt to kill themselves but fail. Only accidents and homicides
kill more teens than suicides do.

Most teens who attempt suicide suffer symptoms of depression, whether they
receive a diagnosis of the disease.

Deep relentless feelings of despair may lead them to believe that death offers their
only escape from their problems.

Receiving help and appropriate treatment, usually depression lifts and thoughts of
suicide decrease.
Teens and Suicide

Factors that put teens at risk are:

Substance abuse
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A family history of mental illness or suicide
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Abuse or violence within the family
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Living in a home where guns are present
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Spending time in prison
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Facts and Myths:

Only happens to young people: Largest group is people 65 and older.

They aren’t serious: Anyone who talks about it, should be taken seriously.

There’s no way to stop them: Most people who talk about it are looking to end their pain or
looking for someone to do something.

Its dangerous to talk about suicide with them: Some people are afraid to mention suicide to those
who are depressed.
Emotional Healing

Therapy- any activity or treatment that helps a person cope with mental and
emotional problems.

Seeking help doesn’t mean you are crazy, sick, and/or weak, it just means that you
could use a little assistance.

Examples for seeking help: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, schoolwork,
painful events, substance abuse, everyday problems.

Therapy is completely private and confidential. The only time they are allowed to
discuss sessions if and only if the person say’s they will harm themselves or
someone else.

Psychotherapy- a type of therapy in which a patient discusses problems with a
trained therapist.
Emotional Healing

Behavior therapy- therapy in which the therapist helps a person break unhealthy
pattern of behavior through a system of rewards and desensitization.

When looking for a therapist: How long have they been practicing, What are their
office hours, does insurance cover it, therapists gender, age, language, cultural
background.

Codependent- focused on the needs of others to the extent that the person’s own
needs are neglected.

Enabling- misguided “helping” because it allows the problems to continue.