A mental illness or disorder is a pattern which has potentially been reflected on behavior. It is generally associated with disability or distress, and is not considered part of normal development. A combination of a person’s feelings, perceptions, actions and thinking, constitute a mental disorder.
Certain regions of the brain and how they function, are associated with these combinations. In some social contexts, it can be related to the nervous system. Mental disorders amount to about a third of the problems related to the nervous system, which people report annually in many countries.
This is according to World Health Organization (WHO). A report released by the World Health Organization clearly indicated that worldwide, many people report problems related to mental disorders. This has prompted many medical specialists and psychologists, to give more emphasis on how to treat or control the mental disorders. As a result of this increased emphasis, many people in this and related fields have started specializing in mental disorders.
In the 18th century, the causes of mental disorders were not well known because there was very little research on this aspect at that time. Increased research and evolution of technology in the modern world, has made treatment and control of mental disorders easier since the causes of these disorders have been identified through research. This paper will focus on mental disorders, where it will extensively explore the topic.
Causes of mental disorders are not clear. Defining and classifying mental disorders has been a major challenge to researchers, service providers and also those diagnosed with the disorders. Neurological disorders, learning disabilities and mental retardation, all constitute to mental disorders.
Dichotomous symptoms profiles are used to separate the normal from the abnormal. Many scientists have come up with varying arguments regarding mental disorders, where one group argues that the disorders are due to value judgment. The other group postulate that the disorders may be due to scientific and objective reasons (Coverdate, 2001).
Scholars from each of the schools of thought have come up with various arguments to support their side. Each side has its own arguments, and this has created a long debate on which side is right. The debate on this issue has led to emergence of new information regarding the issue, and this has greatly widened the knowledge on the issue.
Mental disorders are of many different categories. There are also many facets of human behavior that can also become disorders. If a person develops anxiety or fear easily, he may be suffering from anxiety disorder, which partially interferes with the brain.
The common categories of dysfunction disorders include phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Affective emotion processes can also become a disorder. A mood disorder known as major depression includes unusual intense, sustained sadness, melancholia or despair. This is also referred to as clinical depression.
A prolonged milder depression is diagnosed as dysthimia. Bipolar disorder, which is also referred to as manic depression, is associated with abnormal moods, which scientists refer to as hypomania. According to scholars in this field, these moods alternate mostly with depressed moods (Erskine, 1991).
Judgment of personality determines whether it is a disorder or not. If judged as maladaptive, then it is considered as a disorder. Despite it being treated separately, it is in most cases categorized as a mental disorder. These disorders can emerge at any time in one’s life. Adjustment disorders occur normally when someone experiences an inability to adjust to life circumstances in a situation, and then stops later when the stressor is stopped.
Other common types of disorders are the eating disorders, which are related to weight and food. Binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, exercise bulimia and bulimia nervosa, are the various categories of eating disorders. Disorders which disrupt normal patterns of sleeping, are called sleeping disorders, and they include disorders such as insomnia among others (Hassan, 2006).
Dyspareunia, ego-dystonic homosexuality and gender identity disorders, are diagnosed as sexual and gender identity disorders. Illegal and legal drugs consumption, may also be termed as a mental disorder, if they negatively affect the body. According to DSM, this condition is classified under the category of substance use disorders. These substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. When the use is stopped or reduced, it may result to withdrawal symptoms (Taylor, 1999).
A situation where people suffer memory disturbance and severe self-identity is referred to as a dissociative identity disorder. Developmental disorders include attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, oppositional defiant disorders, conduct disorders and autism spectrum disorders.
These disorders many start when one is a child and go through to adulthood. When conduct disorder is continued to adulthood, it may be referred to as antisocial personality disorder. Conversion disorders and summarization disorders are the other ones. Body dimorphic disorder is a disorder on how one perceives her own body. There are those disorders that are officially recognized by the diagnostic committee. These disorders are the ones which the committee has agreed upon, to recognize them as mental disorders.
These disorders are the officially recognized ones, where scholars have come into an agreement on them. There are many other disorders, but they have not been approved by the committee and they are still subject to debate. Once their debate has been finalized, they will now be approved by the committee. These debates are however healthy, because they facilitate more research, which widens the knowledge of mental disorders and related conditions.
The cause and outcome of all the mental disorders varies depending on several factors related either to the individual, the disorder itself and the individual’s social environment. Though some disorders are chronic, others are transient. A study carried out on schizophrenia, clearly indicated that many people who recover from the condition, do so in terms of the functioning and symptoms.
Half of the people that are diagnosed with the bipolar disorder achieve syndrome recovery within six weeks. Even after one recovers from this condition, he or she continues to experience depression or mania for some time, which is in most cases about two years.
The normal functioning of an individual may be affected by the stress of trying to hide a certain condition, either in school or at work. While mental disorders are often characterized with negativity, some mental states may involve some creativity which is above average, goal-striving, meticulousness and non-conformity.
Equal or greater commonly occurring mental conditions and disabilities, have been reported internationally, than the physical conditions. There are no many professionals to deal with mental disorders and so, the access to professional treatment and care is partially limited. Mental disorders are normally ranked among the disabling conditions that cause premature death. Worldwide, unipolar is known to be the third leading disability cause.
The most found disabling mental disorder is schizophrenia, though less common. There are also disorders related to the consumption of alcohol. Alcoholic disorders are responsible for 23.7 million DALYs globally. Other drugs related disorders apart from those caused by excessive alcohol consumption, also account for 8.4 million DALYs globally. Statically, half of 10 to 24 years old youths globally, had disabilities resulting from mental and neurological conditions. This includes disorders related to substance use and self -harm related conditions (Wahl, 2003).
About 12 % of the injuries observed were associated with accidents, hence creating a need to work hard so as to prevent the accidents. Communicable diseases were also found to account for 10 percent of the mental disorders.
Unipolar major depression accounted for 12 percent in the eastern Mediterranean. Infarct, unipolar major depression accounted for 7 percent while bipolar disorder accounted for 5 percent. The rate at which people are killing themselves, mostly the youth, has been on the increase in the modern world, and this problem has also been categorized by scholars as a mental disorder.
Many governments have come up with programs aimed at reducing this vice, because it has become a big problem in the modern world. Some of these programs have been designed to give hope to people, mostly the young people, because they are the majority of people committing suicide. Non-governmental organizations have also come up with similar programs, and this has greatly helped in tackling the suicide problem.
Mental disorders arise from different sources in many different ways. However, there is no exact established cause of mental disorders. In some cases where other methods of examining disorders fail, mix models that are pluralistic are used. Developmental processes cause mental disorders such as brain circuit disorders, and they negatively affect the proper functioning of the brain. These developmental processes however, are shaped by a complex interplay of genetics and one’s experience.
Though it is widely believed that most disorders are due to developmental and genetic vulnerabilities, some disorders are neurodevelopment disorders. An overall theory that is used to explain the causes of mental disorders is the evolutionary psychology theory. The attachment theory is another approach which may be applied in the mental disorders context. Along the systematic family and cognitive behavioral approaches, psychoanalytical theories have also continued to evolve.
Many studies have shown clearly that variations of genes, can also play a big part, in the development of the disorders associated with the brain. This is despite the fact that identifying connections of specific genes to specific disorders have proved to be a difficult task.
Environment related events during pregnancy can also cause the disorders related to the brain. Development of a brain injury related to trauma in a child, may cause a mental disorder. Some other causes suspected to cause mental disorders may be substance misuse, general physical health of an individual and various viral infections. Another important thing in the mental disorders developmental is the social influences.
These social influences include abuse, being neglected, experiencing bullying which is common in colleges and in high schools, and social stresses. Negative or overwhelming life experiences have also been indicated to be part of the social influences that may lead to development of certain mental disorders. However, there are no specific risks and pathways to mental disorders.
Other causes related to development of mental disorders are the aspects of the wider community, like problems related to unemployment, inequality in social economic status, migration related problems, and lack of social cohesion in the society. When the neurotransmitter systems function abnormally, they may also lead to development of several mental disorders, including epinephrine, glutamate, serotonin and dopamine systems. The functioning and size of the brain has also been found to be different in some cases.
Assessment of signs and symptoms by many psychiatrists, has been used as a method of diagnosis for mental disorders. They do this by associating the signs and symptoms with specific mental disorders.
Different specialists apply different diagnosis techniques. For example, the method of diagnosis which clinical psychologists apply is not the same as that applied by medical doctors. It’s always advisable for one to go for regular checkups, so that he/she knows his status. However, in chronic or acute cases, the patient is referred to a specialist for diagnosis.
In mental health services, a routine diagnostic practice is carried out, which involves a mental status examination interview. Accommodation of views from other people must be done to ensure that the examination is perfect. The physical health of an individual is also checked, to ensure that everything is okay. This is because if an individual is not okay, other problems may arise, which may affect adversely, the treatment of the condition.
Psychological tests are also carried out using computerized questionnaires or using a paper and a pen. These methods however, are common in research studies than in clinical practices. Practices by psychiatrists, are however limited by time and budgetary constraints. A restriction is made to ensure that there are no more thorough evaluations done. The open-ended method is mostly used by clinicians, who have limited knowledge in assessment methods that are evidence based.
The approach is not very accurate and this brings in accuracy problems. In psychiatric diagnosis, co-morbidity is common. This is when one person meets the criteria for more than one disorder. The criterion for diagnosis is not easy to meet and therefore, only few meet the requirements for the diagnosis. However, in some developing countries, there are some specific problems which are easily diagnosed.
Mental disorders treatment and support are given in clinics, community mental health services and in psychiatric hospitals. In the modern world however, several specialists have emerged in this field, and they have greatly helped in the treatment of the mental disorders.
Modern technology has also facilitated treatment of the mental disorders, because new ways of dealing with the disorders have come up. Researchers in this field are still carrying out further research on the subject and soon, more new methods will emerge. Other professionals include the psychotherapists, councilors and the public health professionals.
The type of disorder in most cases, determines the most efficient treatment method. A variety of things have been found to be effective to many people diagnosed with different disorders. Treatment of a patient against his/her will, which happens in some cases, may result to serious problems. Doctors and psychologists should therefore be very careful when dealing with mental related illnesses.
Psychotherapy is a major option for many mental disorders. The most widely used is the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The basis of behavior and patterns of thoughts, are also related to certain disorders. Sometimes, systematic therapy which is also known as family therapy is used. It addresses a network of significant others as well as the individual himself. Psychotherapies are also partially based on an approach which is humanistic.
An eclectic or integrative approach is mostly used by mental health professionals. Psychiatric medication is the major option for most mental disorders. Clinical depressions are treated using antidepressants. Many mental disorders can also be treated using the antidepressants, and they are also useful in treating anxiety. Insomnia and anxiety can also be treated using anxiolytics. In bipolar disorders, mood stabilizers are normally used.
Antipsychotics are used to treat psychotic disorders, and they are also used for identifying positive symptom for schizophrenia. When other interventions for severe intractable depressions fail, electroconvulsive therapy is used. However, in some rare cases of neurologists, psychosurgery is used as a form of cure. Sometimes, counseling and co-counseling is used to help people deal with their problems. Psychoeducation is also used sometimes to inform people on how to deal with their problems.
Art therapy, drama therapy and music therapy, are creative therapies, which are also useful in treating mental disorders. An individual’s lifestyle can also be adjusted when it comes to mental disorders related to one’s social life. Worldwide, mental disorders are very common. As per the survey, anxiety disorders constitute the largest percentage in many countries. The survey also shows that, substance disorders and impulse control related disorders were less prevalent worldwide.
References
Coverdate, J. N. R. (2001). Depictions of mental illness in print media. Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 697-700.
Erskine, P. (1991). Violence and mental illness. Chicago: Adventure Works Press.
Hassan, N. S. (2006). Prejudice and schizophrenia. New York: Taylor and Francis.
Taylor, P. G. (1999). Homicides by people with mental illness; myth and reality. London: Adventure Works Press.
Wahl, O. (2003). News media betrayal of mental illness. New York: Oxford University Press.