Borderline personality disorder Raising questions, finding answers Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This...

Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions Eating is controlled by many factors, including appetite, food availability, family, peer, and cultural practices, and attempts at voluntary control. Dieting to a body...

Informations for Patients About Fibrous Dysplasia What is Fibrous Dysplasia? Fibrous dysplasia is a chronic disorder of the skeleton that causes expansion of one or more bones due to abnormal development of the fibrous, or connective, tissue...

Childhood onset schizophrenia A child's stage of development must be taken into account when considering a diagnosis of mental illness. 1 Behaviors that are normal at one age may not be at another. Rarely, a healthy young child may report...

Depression Depression is a serious medical condition that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the...

Schizophrenia WHAT IS IT? Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime—more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given...

Social Phobia Introduction Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. 1 These disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety...

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-OCD "I couldn't do anything without rituals. They invaded every aspect of my life. Counting really bogged me down. I would wash my hair three times as opposed to once because three was a good luck number and one...

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Mental Health Is Important Mental health is how people think, feel, and act as they face life's situations. It affects how people handle stress, relate to one another, and make decisions. Mental health...

Comprehensive Overview of Hearing Impairments Definition The Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142), includes "hearing impairment" and "deafness" as two of the categories under which children with disabilities may be eligible for...