Mental Illness

If you are in crisis, please call the local crisis line 519-973-4435, 911, or go to your closest hospital emergency department.

What is Mental Illness?

Mental illness can be defined as a condition that is characterized by alterations in mood, thinking, and/or behaviour, and associated with symptoms of significant distress and decreased functioning. There are a wide variety of mental illnesses, ranging from mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, problem gambling, and substance use disorders.

Symptoms of mental illness reduce a person’s ability to cope with everyday life. These symptoms may be psychological, emotional, or behavioural and can range from mild to severe. For some, mental illness may arise from genetic or biological conditions in the brain. Other times, it may be impacted by a wide range of individual, family, social, economic, or environmental factors, such as medical or physical illnesses, family conflict, social isolation, unemployment, or poverty.

To learn more about varying mental illnesses, please click on the icons below. Please note that this web page contains general information and facts about common mental illnesses and should not be used to diagnose oneself or others with a mental illness or condition. Mental illnesses are diagnosed by a medical professional, including primary care providers (e.g., family doctor), psychologists, and psychiatrists. If you are experiencing signs and symptoms of a mental health issue, please contact your primary care provider or visit the “Where to Get Help” section of this website for a list of local organizations that can help with an official diagnosis and treatment. Taking steps to recognize and address mental illness early can help to minimize the impact of the illness.

Mood is tied to a person’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Everyone goes through changes in their emotions or thoughts over time. For people who have mood disorders, these changes in emotion and thinking are experienced with a greater intensity and for longer periods of time than most people. Mood disorders can be characterized by prolonged and intense states of elevated mood, such as happiness and joy, and/or prolonged and intense states of decreased mood, such as sadness, irritability, or anger. There are many different types of mood disorders, but a few common ones are depression and bipolar disorder. For more information on signs and symptoms and diagnosis/treatment, please visit CAMH’s Mental Illness & Addiction Index by clicking on the links below for each disorder.

  • Depression – Characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, despair, and loss of interest, which can decrease a person’s ability to function in everyday life.
  • Bipolar Disorder – Characterized by periods of intense depression, followed or preceded by intense periods of elevated mood or “mania”. 

Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety or worry over the course of their lives, but these feelings are generally occasional and do not have a long-term impact on daily functioning. For people with anxiety disorders, these feelings of anxiety, worry, or distress are persistent and severe, and impact one’s ability to manage their every day lives, responsibilities, and relationships. There are many different types of anxiety disorders, but a few common ones are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety disorder (SAD). For more information on signs and symptoms and diagnosis/treatment, please visit CAMH’s Mental Illness & Addiction Index by clicking on the links below for each disorder.

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – Characterized by persistent, prolonged, and excessive feelings of anxiety and worry.
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – Characterized by intrusive and persistent thoughts, urges, worries, and images (obsessions), followed or preceded by compulsive or “ritualistic” behaviours to reduce or suppress them.
  • Panic Disorder – Characterized by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks.
  • Phobias – Characterized by intense fears and anxious reactions to a particular object or situation, such as animal types (e.g., spiders), natural environment types (e.g., storms), blood, injection, or injury types, situational types (e.g., public spaces), and other types of objects/situations.
  • Social Anxiety Disorder - Characterized by intense fears, anxiety, and stress about being humiliated or scrutinized in social situations or social interactions.

Every individual has a unique personality that represents who they are and how they socially interact and engage with other people. Personality consists of a unique pattern of behaviours, emotions, and cognitions that are specific to each individual. For people with personality disorders, these patterns in behaviour, emotion, and cognition cause significant distress and create challenges and disturbances in a person’s life. People with personality disorders often have difficulties in maintaining healthy relationships, managing their behaviours and emotions, establishing or understanding their sense of self/identity, and coping with stressful life events.

There are currently 10 diagnosable personality disorders that have been grouped together into three different clusters based on similar characteristics. Each disorder has their own distinct signs and symptoms, but also have characteristics that are similar to others included in the same cluster. For more information on signs and symptoms and diagnosis/treatment, please visit CAMH’s Mental Illness & Addiction Index by clicking on the links below for each disorder.

  • Cluster A – Characterized by feelings of paranoia, distrust, and suspicion (paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorder)
  • Cluster B – Characterized by impulsiveness and difficulties in controlling emotions, fears, and desires (borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, and anti-social personality disorder) 
  • Cluster C – Characterized by compulsion and anxiety (obsessive compulsive, dependent, and avoidant personality disorder)

Eating disorders are complex conditions that involve fixations on weight, food, body image, and appearance. Eating disorders are characterized by distressful psychological disturbances associated with body image/weight and are accompanied by disordered eating patterns, such as under-eating or over-eating. The three main types of eating disorders are anorexia-nervosa, bulimia-nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. For more information on signs and symptoms and diagnosis/treatment, please visit CAMH’s Mental Illness & Addiction Index by clicking on the links below for each disorder.

  • Anorexia-Nervosa – Characterized by intense fears of gaining weight or having body fat. People with anorexia nervosa often have distorted perceptions about their weight (i.e., believe that they are overweight regardless of their actual weight) and eat very restricted amounts of food and/or exercise excessively in an effort to lose weight or maintain/achieve a more desired physical appearance.
  • Bulimia Nervosa – Characterized by unmanageable cycles of binge-eating (eating excessive amounts of food very quickly) and purging (e.g., vomiting or using laxatives to eliminate food). People with bulimia nervosa often have distorted perceptions about their weight (i.e., believe that they are overweight regardless of their actual weight) and engage in binging and purging activities in an effort to lose weight or maintain/achieve a more desired physical appearance.
  • Binge-Eating Disorder – Characterized by periods of compulsive over-eating. People with binge-eating disorder often feel that their over-eating is uncontrollable and may experience intense feelings of distress, depression, or guilt after binging.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental health condition that affects a person’s ability to differentiate between what is real and what is not. People with schizophrenia experience a series of delusions (fixed and false beliefs that contradict with reality and cause significant distress/fear) and hallucinations (sensations, such as hearing or seeing things, that appear to be real, but are actually not there) that distort and reduce their usual functioning. These symptoms are defined as psychosis, which is one of the main characteristics of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is also characterized by cognitive symptoms, which include difficulties with attention, memory, and concentration. To learn more about schizophrenia, signs and symptoms, and diagnosis/treatment, please visit CAMH’s web index on schizophrenia.

Gambling is risking something of value (e.g. money, time, possessions) in hopes of gaining something of greater value.

Gambling includes

  • Lotteries and instant lotteries
  • Sports and E-Sports betting
  • Horse/Dog Race betting
  • Poker and other card games
  • Casino games
  • Bingo
  • Electronic Gaming Machines (i.e. Slots, Tap Tics, VLTs)

If gambling has stopped being a source of fun and more a source of problems, ConnexOntario can help. 1-866-531-2600 or visit www.ConnexOntario.ca

Set money limits before you play
Don’t gamble with your finances. Decide on the amount that you can afford to lose before you start to play. Only spend the money that you have set aside for your entertainment budget, not money that you need for bills, rent, groceries, etc. Only take out your set amount and leave your ATM cards at home. If you spend that money, quit. Don’t chase your losses. Gambling activities are designed to take in more money than the players win. If you win, enjoy, but remember it is not the norm.

Don’t gamble when under the influence of drugs or alcohol or upset
Betting while under the influence of alcohol or other substances can lead to risky decision making and regret. It can also be hard to make good choices about betting when you are feeling low.

Balance gambling with other activities.
Balance gambling with other leisure activities, such as playing sports, hanging out with friends or traveling, so that gambling doesn’t become too consuming and interfere with other aspects of your life, such as your work or relationships. Before you play, set a time limit and choose to quit when the allotted time is over. Betting is a form of entertainment and a way to have fun; not a source of income.

If gambling has stopped being a source of fun and more a source of problems, ConnexOntario can help. 1-866-531-2600 or visit www.ConnexOntario.ca

Betting becomes a problem when it is done excessively and negatively impacts your relationships, finances, physical or mental health, school or work performances, and/or other areas of your life. This problem can affect anyone regardless of your age, gender, race, or social status.

Gambling can have harmful effects on
Finances: Gambling can cause a loss of money for food, rent, or other essentials. This loss of money can lead to loosing major personal belongings, such as a car, house, business, savings and retirement funds.

Relationships: Gambling can add additional stress on relationships between family, friends, or community. This stress can leads to loss of relationships, family role changing (children needed to take care of the parent), social isolation, or increased risk for family violence.

Stress: Gambling can cause emotional, or psychological and financial. This stress can be brought on by other harms (e.g. relationship problems, financial strain, thoughts of self harm, due to gambling. This stress can cause feelings of shame, self-doubt, hopelessness, fear, and suicidal ideation.

Culture/ Community: Gambling can create shame leading to secrecy and isolation. This in turn results in lost connections in a community or culture.

Work or School: Gambling can lead to a loss of a job, suspension, or expulsion related to poor performance , using too many sick days, hours missed, or frequent tardiness.

If gambling has stopped being a source of fun and more a source of problems, ConnexOntario can help. 1-866-531-2600 or visit www.ConnexOntario.ca

Problem Gambling

  • Gambling Quiz
  • Monitor Your Gambling Urges (MYGU) Mobile App
  • Community Forum
  • Self Help for those who gamble
  • Self-Help for family and Friends

YMCA Youth Gambling Awareness Program (YGAP)
The YGAP is a free, bilingual service funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care offering educational prevention programs designed to raise youth awareness with regards to gambling, healthy and active living, and making informed decisions. YGAP workshops are developmentally appropriate and target youth based on age (8-10 years, 11-14 years, and 15-18 years) and the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum requirements. YGAP has developed a series of curriculum-based workshops for elementary, middle and high schools. Some of the topics discussed in our gambling awareness workshops include probability and randomness, mental health and addictions, financial literacy, media literacy, online safety, and harm reduction strategies.

For more information: http://ymcawo.ca/ygap or call 519-256-7330 ext .238

Responsible Gambling Council (RGC)

PlaySmart Centre is the go-to place for facts, tools, and advice about gambling for all levels of players. The Centres can be found at gambling venues across Ontario. Some of the things the Centres offer: Learn how gambling works, take a break from gambling, test your knowledge using their interactive kiosk, and find ways to get help. PlaySmart Centre is managed by the Responsible Gambling Council, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to problem gambling prevention.

For more information: playsmart.ca or call 519-977-0440 or toll-free 1-866-799-5292

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s (HDGH) Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency (CPGDD)

The Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency provides free, confidential, and professional treatment services to individuals and their family and friends impacted by gambling, gaming, and/or problematic internet use related concerns. Their Canadian board certified counsellors and inter-disciplinary team understand Digital Dependencies and Problem Gambling and are equipped to meet your needs and recovery goals. Their outpatient and education services are available to residents of Windsor and Essex County, while their residential treatment services are available to all residents across Ontario. Their team of qualified professionals embraces a client-centered approach while providing education and harm reduction strategies to help attain a healthy balance and establish boundaries between reality and the cyber world. The Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency offers a full range of treatment options for those experiencing problems due to their own gambling and/or digital dependency. Services offered include individual counselling, group counselling, day treatment, residential treatment and aftercare services. At the Centre for Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency they understand how difficult it can be when someone you love gambles. Their services for family and friends are designed to offer support and education through individual and group counselling programs for those interested in developing a better understanding of gambling addiction or digital dependency.

For more information: www.hdgh.org/problemgamblingservices or call (519) 254-2112

Substance use disorders are characterized by the recurrent use of alcohol/drugs in ways that cause clinically significant impairment. People who have substance use disorders often experience cravings for a particular substance, followed by persistent compulsions to use. These behaviours can have several harmful effects on the physical, emotional, and social health of the individual. To learn more about substance use disorders and addiction, signs and symptoms, and diagnosis and treatment, please visit CAMH’s web index on addiction.

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