Abuse is an attempt to control the behaviour of another person. It is a misuse of power which manipulates the bonds of intimacy, trust and dependency to make the abused individual vulnerable. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, or a combination of any or all of these.

Adjustment disorder occurs when a person develops emotional or behavioural symptoms in response to a stressful event or situation. The stressors may include natural disasters, such as an earthquake; events or crises, such as a car accident or the diagnosis of a major illness; or interpersonal problems, such as a divorce, death of a loved one, and/or the loss of a job.

hese disorders involve persistent feelings of sadness or periods of feeling excessively happy, or fluctuations from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. The most common mood disorders are depression, mania, and bipolar disorder.

Adults with anxiety disorders respond to certain objects or situations with fear and dread, as well as with physical signs of anxiety or nervousness, such as a rapid heartbeat and sweating. An anxiety disorder is diagnosed if the person’s response is not appropriate for the situation, or if the anxiety interferes with normal functioning. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

Complicated grief is an intense and long-lasting form of grief that takes over a person’s life. People with complicated grief know their loved one is gone, but they still cannot accept the loss no matter how much time has passed. They find it hard to imagine that life without the deceased person has purpose or meaning and may have strong feelings of bitterness or anger related to the death.

Eating disorders involve extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviours involving weight and food. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are the most common eating disorders.

People with personality disorders have extreme and inflexible personality traits that are distressing to the person and/or cause problems in work, school, or social relationships. In addition, the person’s patterns of thinking and behaviour significantly differ from the expectations of society and are so rigid that they interfere with the person’s normal functioning. Examples include antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.

Psychotic disorders involve distorted awareness and thinking. Two of the most common symptoms of psychotic disorders are hallucinations — the experience of images or sounds that are not real, such as hearing voices — and delusions, which are false fixed beliefs that the ill person accepts as true, despite evidence to the contrary. Schizophrenia is an example of a psychotic disorder.

An adult with a somatoform disorder, formerly known as psychosomatic disorder, experiences physical symptoms of an illness, even though a doctor can find no medical cause for the symptoms.

Suicidal thoughts/attempts are generally associated with depression; however, it seems to have associations with other mental disorders (E.g. Borderline personality disorder and Substance abuse), traumatic life events and family events, all of which may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts/attempts. Suicide and suicidal behaviour are never normal responses to stress. A suicide attempt or suicidal thoughts must always be taken seriously. Without intervention and proper treatment, a person who has attempted suicide before or is thinking about attempting suicide, is at a greater risk of harming themselves.