The Toronto Branch of the CMHA focuses on serving people with schizophrenia and mood disorders.

But there are other mental health issues that can affect people. Here are a few of them.

1. Anxiety Disorders
2. Eating Disorders
3. Personality Disorders
4. Organic Brain Disorders

1. Anxiety Disorders: These disorders include:

• Generalized Anxiety
• Phobias (unreasonable fear of objects, animals or situations)
• Panic Disorder (repeated episodes of intense, sudden fear and physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (inability to control the repetition of unwanted thoughts or actions)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (the re-experiencing of extremely traumatic events in nightmares, flashbacks or intrusive memories; avoidance of situations and experiences that might bring back the memories of the traumatic experience; emotional numbing and increased arousal such as sleeplessness or hyperarousal)

Successful treatment for anxiety disorders may include psychotherapy and medication.

Helpful Links

The New York University of Medicine: Psychiatry's Anxiety Screening Test
http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/screens/anx.html

The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments

The Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Association
http://www.socialphobia.org/whatis.html

National Institute of Mental Health on Anxiety
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/anxietymenu.cfm

PTSD Sanctuary
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/ptsd/

These disorders are most common in men and women under the age of 30. One of the most common eating disorders is anorexia nervosa, a very serious illness that involves drastic weight loss due to fasting and excessive exercise. Without treatment, you can die from it. Another eating disorder is bulimia. It involves binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting, and laxative abuse. The main treatment for eating disorders is psychotherapy. Medication may also be prescribed.

Sheena's Place
www.sheenasplace.org

The National Eating Disorder Information Centre
www.nedic.ca

These are disorders in which people's patterns of experience and behavior are out of the norm and cause disruption in their lives by affecting their thinking, their mood, their personal relations, and their impulse control.

Treatment may consist of intensive psychotherapy, sometimes supplemented with medication.

The New York University of Medicine: Psychiatry's Screening Test for Personality Disorders
http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/screens/pds.html

Fact Sheet on Borderline Personality Disorder, National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bpd.cfm

Borderline Personality Disorder Sanctuary
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/borderline/index.html

Organic brain disorders are the result of physical disease or injury to the brain. They include Alzheimer's disease, AIDS dementia complex (caused by damage to brain cells by the HIV virus), and damage from strokes or accidents. Treatment usually consists of rehabilitation programs.

The Alzheimer Society Canada
http://www.alzheimer.ca/

The AIDS Committee of Toronto
http://www.actoronto.org/

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
http://ww1.heartandstroke.ca/

Ontario Brain Injury Association
http://www.obia.on.ca/