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Behavioral health:  Comprises mental/emotional well-being and the choices people make that affect their well-being. Issues in behavioral health include substance abuse and addiction, mental disorders and psychological distress, and self-harm and suicide. 

Intervention: Action intended to interfere with and stop or modify a process, as in treatment undertaken to halt, manage, or alter the course of the pathological process of a disease or disorder.

Mental disorder: Any condition characterized by cognitive and emotional disturbances, abnormal behaviors, impaired functioning, or any combination of these. Such disorders cannot be accounted for solely by environmental circumstances and may involve physiological, genetic, chemical, social, and other factors.

Mental illness: A term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders.

Mental health: A state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity. Mental health is indispensable to personal well-being, family and interpersonal relationships, and contribution to community or society.

Positive mental health: High levels of life satisfaction and positive affect (emotional well-being) and psychosocial functioning (psychological and social well-being).

RecoveryA process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness from mental disorders and substance use disorders, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. The four major dimensions that support a life in recovery are health, home, purpose, and community.

Self-Harm: When a person hurts his or her own body on purpose.

Suicide: The act of taking one's own life on purpose.

Suicidal behavior:  Any action that could cause a person to die, such as taking a drug overdose or crashing a car on purpose.

These are some of the most common mental disorders with links to Medline Plus for additional information to get you started on your research:

Anxiety disorder:  People with anxiety disorders respond to certain objects or situations with fear and dread. They have physical reactions to those objects, such as a rapid heartbeat and sweating

Bipolar Disorder: A disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs.

Compulsive Gambling Unable to resist impulses to gamble with can lead to severe money problems, job loss, crime or fraud, and damage to family relationships.

Depression: A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.

Eating Disorders: Extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors involving weight and food. The most common eating disorders include Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating and Bulimia

Mood Disorders: Also called affective disorders, they may involve feeling sad all the time, losing interest in important parts of life, and fluctuating between extreme happiness and extreme sadness. The most common mood disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Excessive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions).

Panic Disorder: An anxiety disorder that causes panic attacks, which are sudden feelings of terror for no reason.

Personality Disorders: Long-term patterns of thoughts and behaviors that are unhealthy and inflexible that cause serious problems with relationships and work. Ten types of personality disorders have been identified grouped into 3 clusters.

Phobias: A type of anxiety disorder associated with a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event.

Psychotic Disorders: Losing contact with reality and experiencing a range of extreme symptoms that usually includes hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not real, such as voices) and delusions (believing things that are not true). Schizophrenia is the most common example.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): A type of depression that occurs during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight.

Schizophrenia: A disorder that affects a person's ability to think, feel, and behave clearly.

A Sampling of Scholarly Peer Reviewed Articles

Eating Disorders

Mood Disorders

Psychotic Disorders

Personality Disorders