Statistics about mental health problems are now becoming more increasingly alarming. The key factors in the apparent rise in mental health cases have not yet been fully determined. In fact, authorities may have released inaccurate figures since people tend to hide mental illness or ignore them. This is also the reason why many mental health problems worsen. Perhaps, the only good news to come out from this is that there are some common mental health disorders and conditions among the statistics. According to the records of a number of Washington-based psychiatric hospitals, there are four particularly common strands of mental health problems that have been recorded.
Depression
Among all the common mental health disorders, depression is stated as being the most common. Approximately 80% of the population has experienced clinical depression at one point in their lives. In the early stages, this problem can be alleviated through counseling. However, the problem lies in the fact that most people tend to see the early stages of depression as just a negative mood swing. Since it is typically difficult for most people to detect depression until it has taken full effect, the condition can often go completely unnoticed. For some people, the physical and mental changes are gradual, which only makes it harder to detect the problem.
Bi-polar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, as compared with depression, is more difficult to detect. The condition causes the person’s mood to swing, being manic one moment and depressed in the next. While this usually fits the stereotype of people with this particular strain of mental health illness, the reality is that there are periods where the person exhibits a relatively normal mood. This period of normalcy between the high and low points is often enough for casual observers to discount the possibility of a person having bi-polar disorder. Often, casual observers and the patient himself will only note the frequency of the mood swings and the possibility of a problem much later on. On occasion, a session of psychiatric counseling mandated by company policy can detect the problem. However, not all companies have such a system in place.