Behavioral Health

Considered a mood disorder in which overwhelming feelings of sadness, loss of pleasure, guilt and hopelessness interfere with daily life. People with depression also suffer from sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and low energy, changes in appetite and recurring thoughts of death or suicide.

It is a treatable illness, with many therapeutic options available including psychotherapy, antidepressants or both. In general, the treatment choice depends on the degree and type of depression and other accompanying conditions. Treatment approaches also depend on age, pregnancy status and other individual factors.

Anxiety is a general feeling of being worried. Everyone experiences anxiety once in a while. People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), however, feel anxious regardless of the situation. For them, anxiety interferes with their daily life.
Symptoms of anxiety may include:

• Muscle tension, trembling
• Feeling restless or on edge
• Fast heartbeat, tachycardia
• Fast or troubled breathing, dyspnea
• Stomach upset
• Having a hard time concentrating
• Headache
• Sweating
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

Treatment for anxiety depends on the cause. If you have an underlying physical condition, your doctor will treat it. If your anxiety has no physical cause, your doctor may recommend counseling to help you learn coping strategies and problem-solving techniques. 

A mental condition in which a person has wide or extreme swings in their mood. Periods of feeling sad and depressed may alternate with periods of being very happy and active or being cross or irritable.

The main goal of treatment is to:

• Make the episodes less frequent and severe
• Help you function well and enjoy your life at home and at work
• Prevent self-injury and suicide

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it hard to tell the difference between what is real and not real. It also makes it hard to think clearly, have normal emotional responses and act normally in social situations.

Antipsychotic drugs are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. They change the balance of chemicals in the brain and can help control symptoms.

Alzheimer's Disease affects the brain, causing memory problems and eventually severe problems with mental function. It gets worse over time, and people with Alzheimer's Disease have gradual memory loss, as well as loss of judgment, trouble concentrating, loss of language skills, personality changes and a decline in the ability to learn new tasks. In advanced stages, people with Alzheimer's Disease may lose all memory and mental abilities.

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment and behavior.