Cheryl BennettPhD

Depression often causes people to feel sad, empty, or hopeless, and can cause a lack of interest in life. It can also affect a person's thinking patterns and physical health.

Characterized by alternating symptoms of depression and mania. During more extreme episodes, depression may lead to the point of suicidal ideation and attempts while extreme bouts of mania are marked by impulsive behavior, lack of sleep, elevated esteem, and even psychosis.

Panic attacks are acute conditions in which one experiences an intense bout of anxiety out of seemingly nowhere. This oftentimes stems from a perceived rather than actual threat. Symptoms may include heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, and shortness of breath. Panic disorder involves regular frequency of panic attacks (two or more) with a fear of experiencing more in the future.

Fear is characterized by unpleasant feelings associated with the real or perceived threat of danger. Phobias, although they may stem from traumatic experiences, are oftentimes irrational fears of things that are unlikely to cause harm. Phobic individuals experience intense, debilitating bouts of fear that compromise overall well-being. Common phobias include social phobias, agoraphobia, acrophobia, pteromerhanophobia, and claustrophobia.

Psychotic disorders are characterized by a disconnect from reality that stems from maladaptive thinking and perceptions. Primary symptoms include delusions and hallucinations. Common psychotic disorders include brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, paraphrenia, psychotic disorder due to a medical condition, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and substance-induced psychotic disorder.