5 Common Mental Disorders
A mental disorder or mental illness is any mental health condition that affects your thinking, mood, and behaviors.
Here are some common examples of mental illnesses;
- Depression
- Schizophrenia and other psychoses
- Developmental disorders, e.g.,autism
- Bipolar disease
- dementia
1.Depression
Major characteristics of this disorder are loss of interest in activities and persistent sadness feelings. All these cause significant changes in your daily life. Depression is the most common mental disorder.
Depression can last long or recur and therefore impair your ability to function and perform at school, work or affect the quality of your life. If a depressed person isn’t given the necessary mental health care, their condition could worsen, and they may end up committing suicide.
Signs
These are the common warning signs for depression:
- Prolonged sadness
- Lack of interest
- Guilt
- Low self-esteem
- increased fatigue
- difficulty sleeping
- Tiredness and poor concentration.
- Loss of appetite.
- anxiety
You can manage depression by considering psychological aspects that include;
- Identifying stress factors. They could be work-related problems, money problems, or abuse.
- Having a reliable support system
2.Dementia
This is a progressive chronic mental disorder characterized by deterioration of one’s cognitive function. Dementia affects your thinking, memory, calculation, comprehension, and even your judgment and concentration. Diseases such as stroke and Alzheimers cause this condition
Signs
The most common symptoms may include;
- Memory loss (The patient doesn’t notice)
- Communication difficulties
- Difficulty with spatial or visual activities
- Confusion and disorientation.
- Hallucinations, paranoia, and agitation.
- Easily agitated.
Dementia affects your body system impairing its functionality. It may lead to:
- Pneumonia
- Poor nutrition
- Inability to take care of self
- Death
3.Bipolar Disorder
People who are bipolar experience extreme mood swings highlighted with emotional highs and lows spaced by normal mood. Their manic episodes are characterized by irritable or elevated mood, rapid speech over-activity, and shortened sleeping hours. The mood swings adversely affect judgment, thinking, behaviors, energy, sleep, and activity.
Signs
People with bipolar may experience these signs:
- Abnormally upbeat
- Jumpiness
- Lesser sleeping hours
- Increased activity, agitation, or energy
- Over-confidence
4.Schizophrenia and other Psychoses
People with schizophreniaare usually disconnected from reality. This is a serious mental disorder punctuated by distortion in emotions, language, thinking, and behavior.
Signs
Here are some of the warning signs for schizophrenia:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Disorganized thinking
- Extremely disorganized behavior
- Peculiar motor behavior.
- Neglect of self-care
- Lack of interest in day to day activities.
While schizophrenia symptoms in men start showing in their early to mid-20s, in women, they are noticeable in their late 20s. The condition is rare in kids and people aged 45 years and above.
5.Development Disorders
It is a group of psychiatric conditions that starts during childhood and progresses into adulthood. Development disorders cause slow development of the centralnervous system, therefore impairing functions related to its maturation
Impairment of skills in areas like adaptive behavior and cognitive functioning causes intellectual disability. Resultantly, people with lower intelligence experience a reduced ability to adapt according to changes.
These disorders might include;
- Develop language disorder
- Learning disorder
- Motor disorder
- Autism.
Pervasive developmental disorders like autism have the following signs:
- Impaired social behavior
- Poor communication and
- Loss of interests
Another mental disorder is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).People suffering from OCD are often bombarded by fears that make them develop routines. They are compelled to follow these routines and the smallest inconveniences disorient their mind.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is also a mental illness that you develop after undergoing or witnessing a traumatic and terrifying event. It could be sexual abuse, a painful death, or a natural disaster. For people with PTSD, the memories of that event do not fade. Most of them are emotionally numb.
Risk Factors
The following factors increase a person’s odds of developing mental illnesses:
- Genetics: If your family has a history of mental illnesses, you are likely to follow the same path
- Stress: Stressed people are more likely to develop mental illnesses. Life situations such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or financial problems could be triggers.
- Chronic medical conditions like diabetes
- Drug and substance use
- Few friends
- Toxic relationships
- Abuse or neglect during childhood.
Finding the Right Mental Health Urgent Care Center
Are you looking for mental health care near you? Texas Psychiatry Associates might be the perfect place to go. For years, Dr. Syed Quadri has offered mental health Care in Richardson, TX. We understand the importance of mental awareness, which is why we value patient education. Call us today and book an appointment.