113 How often have you said I am/feel depressed ? What did you really mean? Schizophrenia very often includes hallucinations which reflect a distortion in the perception and interpretation of reality. What is the difference between fear, anxiety, and paranoia? Look up in a dictionary. MENTAL ILLNESSES There are many mental illnesses that can affect the serenity of human mind. Clinical depression Clinical depression is also called the blues or major depression . People feel sad and depressed for weeks or months and do not enjoy things that used to give them joy in the past. They cannot react and feel completely unmotivated to do anything. Even simple things like getting dressed in the morning or eating become large obstacles in daily life. Bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental disorder with serious mood swings. A person with bipolar disorder experiences alternating highs, called mania, and lows, called depression. People with bipolar disorder may have quite long periods of normal mood between episodes of mania or depression. Panic disorder People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly, most often with no warning. They usually cannot predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. distrust: diffidenza mood swing: sbalzo d umore to plot: tramare split: divisa, multipla to strike: colpire withdrawn: ritirato, introverso 232 diFFicUlties Schizophrenia Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia is not a split (or multiple) personality. It involves a psychosis, a type of mental illness in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined . People with schizophrenia often have behavioural problems in society, at work, at school, and in relationships. They might feel frightened and withdrawn and could appear to have lost touch with reality. This lifelong disease cannot be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment. Dissociative identity disorder People affected by dissociative identity disorder present two or more distinct identities or personality states, each with its own pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and self. At least two of these identities or personality states regularly take control of the person s behaviour. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder The obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is characterised by an extreme preoccupation with order, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency. Paranoid personality disorder People with paranoid personality disorder are generally characterised as having a long-standing pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others and they live with the constant fear that others are plotting to harm or threaten them.