These illnesses can be more complicated when drugs and alcohol are used to self-medicate instead of proper professional help necessary to ease the underlying problem. On top of that, many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a time. They even affect eating and sleeping. These disorders have different forms, as do other physical illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Major depression and bipolar disorder are two of the more common types.
Major depression has an array of symptoms that can vary in severity over time.
These mood changes can be rapid and dramatic, but most often they are gradual. When in the depressed state, the person can have any or all of the symptoms of depression. In many people, mania affects thinking and social behavior in ways that cause embarrassment and serious problems. For example, the individual in a manic state may feel elated, high on life, and full of grand schemes that might range from out of control gambling to romantic sprees. Left untreated, mania may worsen to a psychotic state.