50 Signs of Mental Illness: A Guide to Understanding Mental Health is a 2005 book by psychiatrist James Whitney Hicks published by Yale University Press. The book is designed as an accessible psychiatric reference for non-professionals that describes symptoms, treatments and strategies for understanding mental health.
List of signs
The 50 signs covered in the book are:
Anger
Antisocial Behavior
Anxiety
Appetite disturbances
Avoidance
Body image problems
Compulsions
Confusion
Craving
Deceitfulness
Delusions
Denial
Depression
Dissociation
Euphoria
Fatigue
Fears
Flashbacks
Grandiosity
Grief
Hallucinations
Histrionics
Hyperactivity
Identity confusion
Impulsiveness
Intoxication
Jealousy
Learning difficulties
Mania
Memory loss
Mood swings
Movement problems
Nonsense
Obsessions
Oddness
Panic
Paranoia
Physical complaints and pain
Psychosis
Religious preoccupations
Self-esteem problems
Self-mutilation
Sexual performance problems
Sexual preoccupations
Sleep problems
Sloppiness
Speech difficulties
Stress
Suicidal thoughts
Psychological trauma
Reception
A review in the American Journal of Psychiatry commended Hicks's phrasing of acceptable ways to speak about mental illness.
A review in The National Medical Journal of India likewise applauded the book's accessibility to non-experts, though it criticized Hicks's choice of symptoms and suggested "It would be difficult for an Indian to relate to the book" due to the examples he uses.
The book also received attention from Health, Library Journal, The Baltimore Sun, and The Washington Post.
References
Further reading
Bardi, C. A. (2005). The Promise And Perils Of Psychological Self-Help. PsycCRITIQUES, 50(51). American Psychiatric Association (July, 2018)