Types Of Mental Health Disorders
Various factors cause several mental disorders. These can range from genes and family history, past life experiences such as stress, a history of psychological and mental abuse, especially in early childhood years, imbalances in your body functioning and vital systems, traumatic brain injuries, and exposure to toxic chemicals, dependency on recreational drugs and abuse, serious medical conditions, and isolation from people. The main forms of mental disorders include:
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is the body’s physical response to a real or perceived threat. It results in physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shallow breathing, stomach butterflies, a surge of energy, and mental reactions like exaggerated anxieties, fears, or obsessive thoughts. Everybody occasionally experiences anxiety. By supplying us with the strength and alertness to flee, anxiety aidsin avoiding danger. However, some people’s anxiety symptoms never go away. They may see circumstances as significantly worse than they are, and their worry interferes with their ability to focus, sleep, and perform daily duties. Anxiety disorders may be the root cause of these emotions, and suffering from anxiety disorders may lead to emotional imbalances. If you frequently feel terrified, anxious, or tense, or if you constantly worry that something horrible will happen, you may have an anxiety disorder. Breathing difficulties, racing heartbeats, and shaky hands are typical physical signs. Generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia or anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and claustrophobia are the most prevalent forms of anxiety disorders. Particular phobias are irrational phobias that only apply to a single circumstance, such as a fear of people, locations, animals, or insects. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes unwanted thoughts and impulses; it causes repetitive, habitual activities to cope with worry. Claustrophobia is a specific dread of enclosed or confined environments. PTSD: Posttraumatic stress disorder is when emotions of fear or avoiding people or events do not go away after experiencing a traumatic life event.
Depression
At least twenty-three million children and adolescents are living with depression worldwide. In addition, at least two hundred million adults were diagnosed with depression or depressive behavior in 2019. Sadness and a loss of interest in previous hobbies are key symptoms of depression. It can impair your ability to perform at work and home and cause several mental and physical issues. From mild to severe, depression symptoms can range from sadness or having a depressed mood to losing interest in or enjoyment of once-enjoyed activities, changes in appetite leading to weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, decreased energy or increased fatigue, an increase in pointless physical activity such as pacing, hand-wringing, or slowed movements or speech, and feelings of worthlessness or guilt. After at least two weeks of experiencing depressive symptoms, you should be diagnosed with the condition. It’s crucial to rule out general medical causes because certain medical diseases, such as thyroid issues, brain tumors, or vitamin deficiencies can mirror the symptoms of depression. Depression and grief can coexist. Some people experience depression due to a loved one passing away, losing their job, becoming the victim of physical violence, or experiencing a catastrophic tragedy. When depression coexists with grief, the grief is more severe and lasts longer than grief alone. It’s crucial to distinguish between grieving and depression because doing so can help people get the support, care, and treatment they require.
Bipolar Disorder
Changes in a person’s mood, energy level, and capacity to operate are brought on by a brain condition known as bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder patients go through severe emotional bouts, or mood episodes, that normally last a few days to a few weeks. Manic/hypomanic, unusually cheerful or irritated mood, or depressive, sad mood are the several classifications for these mood episodes. Most people with bipolar disorder also have times of neutral mood. Bipolar disorder causes mood swings that might alternate between manic and depressed episodes. The symptoms of a manic phase may include feeling high, extremely happy or irritable, inflated self-esteem or grandiose ideas, increased energy, activity, and creativity, along with a reduced need for sleep, racing thoughts and speech, jumping from topic to topic, and being very easily distracted by any stimuli (such as noises or other people). Impulsive or risky behaviors with spending may also be present. Low mood, lack of motivation, loss of interest in typical hobbies or leisure activities, changes in sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, withdrawal from social interactions and activities, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness, which may include suicidal thoughts, are some symptoms that may appear during a depressive phase. Bipolar disorder is mainly categorized into bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder. Both of these variations can be treated if identified early enough.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Emotional moment: man sitting holding head in hands, stressed sad young male having mental problems, feeling bad, depressed, disappointed, hopeless. Desperate man in the dark corner needing help.
People who have gone through or observed a traumatic incident, such as a natural disaster, a catastrophic accident, a terrorist attack, battle, or rape, or who have been threatened with death, sexual assault, or significant injury, may develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a form of mental illness. After experiencing a terrifying event, or a succession of such experiences, PTSD may manifest. Reliving the traumatic event or events in the present (intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares); avoiding thoughts and memories of the events; avoiding behaviors, circumstances, or people that bring back the events; and persistent perceptions of increased present danger are all characteristics of this condition. PTSD symptoms can be categorized into the following four groups. The severity of particular symptoms can vary.
Inability to recall significant details of the trauma, negative thoughts, and feelings that lead to persistent and distorted beliefs about oneself or others, distorted thoughts about the cause or consequences of the event that lead to blaming oneself or others, ongoing fear, horror, anger or guilt/shame or a significant decline in interest in once-enjoyed activities. It’s crucial to remember that not everyone who encounters trauma goes on to acquire posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and not everyone with PTSD needs psychiatric care. Some people experience PTSD symptoms that gradually get better or go away. Others improve with the assistance of their support network (family, friends, or clergy). However, many people with PTSD require medical attention to overcome their psychological discomfort, which can be severe and incapacitating. It’s critical to keep in mind that trauma can cause serious distress. PTSD is treatable, and the distress is not the person’s fault. A person has a better chance of recovering if they receive treatment sooner.
Conclusion
Mental illnesses, also known as mental disorders, are a group of mental health issues that can change how one thinks and feels emotional and affect how one behaves. These disorders are characterized by a change in an emotional state, having manic and depressive episodes, being in a depressive state, feeling loneliness, avoiding certain event settings, and episodes of hyperactivity, among others. These symptoms vary and can sometimes be confused with certain medical issues such as cancer and thyroid problems. Support and care are vital to the well-being of an individual undergoing mental health issues. More so, one must get diagnosed with a medical practitioner for proper diagnosis.