Behavioral Disorders

Behavioral Disorders provides information on behavioral problems that tend to be pervasive and highly disruptive.

Is characterized by distractibility, impulsivity, and is often accompanied by hyperactivity. It occurs in both children and adults and interferes with the person's ability to function normally in their day-to-day activities. Diagnosing this disorder can be difficult since it is common for many people to have some of the symptoms of this disorder to some degree, such as difficulty paying attention or being easily distracted. Also, some of the symptoms of ADD can manifest themselves as anxiety or depression.

The principal characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It is hard for a child or adult with ADHD to control their behavior and/or pay attention. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) usually becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. Those adults with ADHD were probably not recognized with the disorder as children and may have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years.

Most of the time, after a stressful event, coping techniques such as talking about your problems with loved ones, taking time off, or getting extra rest, may help you feel better within a few months. But if you've recently experienced a stressful event and your usual self-care steps aren't working, you may have an adjustment disorder. A person with adjustment disorder often experiences feelings of depression and/or anxiety.  Adjustment disorders can occur at any age. People are particularly vulnerable during normal transitional periods such as adolescence, mid-life, and late life.

Sometimes individuals experience severe mood swings from periods of extreme depression to periods of exaggerated joy. This is known as bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness. The individual's mood usually swings from overly "high" and irritable (mania) to sad and hopeless (depression) and then back again, with periods of normal moods interspersed. When in the depressed stage, a person can have any or all of the symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in the manic stage, the individual may be overactive, overly talkative, and have a great deal of energy.

Is characterized by severely elevated mood.  People who experience a manic state often describe themselves as feeling high and superior. Generally, mania also provokes racing thoughts and creative ideas. However, it also pushes sufferers into agitation and poor decisions. Mania is most usually associated with bipolar disorder, where episodes of mania may alternate with episodes of depression. Not all mania can be classified as bipolar disorder, as mania may result from other diseases or causes. However, bipolar disorder is the classic manic disease.

Is characterized primarily by emotional dysregulation, extreme "black and white" thinking (believing that something is one of only two possible things, and ignoring any possible "in-betweens"), and turbulent relationships. It is also characterized by pervasive instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior, and a disturbance in the individual's sense of self.  Borderline personality disorder is often a devastating mental health condition, both for the people who have it and for those around them.

Refers to a group of behavioral and emotional problems in which a person has great difficulty following rules and behaving in a socially acceptable way, and where the rights of others or the social norms are violated.  Possible symptoms are over-aggressive behavior, bullying, physical aggression, cruel behavior toward people and pets, destructive behavior, lying, truancy, vandalism, and stealing. Conduct disorder is a disorder of childhood and adolescence; after the age of 18, a conduct disorder may develop into antisocial personality disorder.

Is an disorder characterized by explosive outbursts of behavior that are disproportional to the provocation. The condition is characterized by failure to resist aggressive impulses, resulting in serious assaults or property destruction. Examples of this behavior include threatening to or actually hurting another person and purposefully breaking or damaging an object of value. The individual may describe the episodes of explosiveness as "spells" or "attacks" in which the explosive behavior is preceded by a sense of tension or arousal and followed immediately by a sense of relief.  It is an impulse control disorder and it has been suggested as the underlying cause of road rage.

Is often characterized by irrational fears of being diseased or of dying, obsessions over minor bodily symptoms or imperfections, doubt and disbelief in doctors' diagnosis, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis and preoccupation with one's body. People with hypochondria are obsessed with bodily functions and interpret normal sensations (such as heart beats, sweating, and bowel movements) or minor abnormalities (such as a runny nose, a small sore, or slightly swollen lymph nodes) as symptoms of serious medical conditions.

Is an inability to resist impulses of stealing. A person with this disorder is compelled to steal things; many times the things they steal are of little or no value. Often a kleptomaniac steals things he/she could have bought easily or things that are not at all expensive. The objects they take are usually not needed for personal use or for their monetary value.

Or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), is the existence in an individual of two or more distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment.  At least two of these personalities are considered to routinely take control of the individual's behavior, and there is also some associated memory loss which is beyond normal forgetfulness.

Is characterized by repeated, intrusive and unwanted thoughts (obsessions) that cause anxiety.  As a result of this anxiety the person engages in ritualized behaviors (compulsions) that are designed to try to relieve this anxiety.  The obsessions and/or compulsions are usually so strong that they cause significant distress in the person’s employment, schoolwork, and/or personal and social relationships.  As a response to the OCD behavior, a person may develop depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, and feelings of worthlessness.

Develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers. It is occasionally called post-traumatic stress reaction to emphasize that it is a routine result of traumatic experience rather than a manifestation of a pre-existing psychological weakness on the part of the patient.

Is a mental disorder characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality and by significant social or occupational dysfunction. A person experiencing schizophrenia is typically characterized as demonstrating disorganized thinking (moving from one topic to another, in a nonsensical fashion, or making up new words and sounds), and as experiencing delusions (false ideas) or hallucinations ( a person sees, hears, smells, or feels that no one else can see, hear, smell, or feel). Someone with schizophrenia may have difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is imaginary; may be unresponsive or withdrawn; and may have difficulty expressing normal emotions in social situations.

Include Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, Restless Legs Syndrome, and Narcolepsy.  At least 40 million Americans each year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders each year, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems.  These disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities. They also account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year, while the indirect costs due to lost productivity and other factors are probably much greater. Doctors have described more than 70 sleep disorders, most of which can be managed effectively once they are correctly diagnosed.