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Mental disorders and phenomena. Mental and behavioral disorders. Symptom of mental disorder Types of mental disorders

Mental disorders are a condition in which changes in a person’s psyche and behavior are observed. In this case, the behavior cannot be characterized as normal.

The term “mental disorders” itself has different interpretations in medicine, psychology, psychiatry and law. The fact is that mental disorder and mental illness are not identical concepts. The disorder characterizes a disorder in the human psyche. Mental disorders cannot always be defined as a disease. For these cases the term “mental disorder” is used.

Mental disorders are caused by changes in the structure or function of the brain, which can occur for several reasons:

  1. Exogenous factors and causes. These include external factors that can influence the human body: industrial poisons, drugs, alcohol, radiation, viruses, traumatic brain and psychological injuries, vascular diseases.
  2. Endogenous factors and causes. These are internal factors that influence at the chromosomal hereditary level. These include: gene mutations, hereditary diseases, chromosomal disorders.

Despite the clear division of the etiology of mental disorders, the causes of most of them have not yet been identified. It is completely unclear which factor from the identified groups causes certain disorders. But it is clear that almost every person has a tendency towards mental disorders.

The leading factors of mental disorders include biological, psychological and environmental.

Mental disorders can accompany a number of somatic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, vascular diseases of the brain, infectious diseases, and stroke. Disorders can be caused by alcoholism and.

Everyone knows such phenomena as autumn depression, which can “unsettle” a person. Needless to say, stress, troubles, and deep emotional experiences can also cause a number of mental disorders.

For the convenience of analyzing mental disorders, they are grouped according to etiology and clinical picture.

  • A group of disorders caused by organic brain disorders: consequences of traumatic brain injury, strokes. This group is characterized by damage to cognitive functions: memory, thinking, learning ability with the appearance of delusional ideas, hallucinations, and mood swings.
  • Persistent mental changes caused by the use of: alcohol, drugs.
  • Schizotypal disorders and various types of schizophrenia, characterized by personality changes. This group of disorders manifests itself in a sharp change in personality, illogical actions of a person, a change in hobbies and interests, and a sharp decrease in performance. Sometimes a person’s sanity and full understanding of what is happening around disappears.
  • A group of affective disorders characterized by sudden changes in mood. The best known example of this group is bipolar disorder. This group includes mania and depression.
  • The group of neuroses and phobias combines stress, phobias, and somatized deviations. Phobias can be caused by a wide variety of objects. People successfully cope with some of them or learn to avoid them, while others cause panic attacks and cannot be corrected on their own.
  • Behavioral syndromes caused by physiological disorders: food intake (overeating, anorexia), sleep disorders (hypersomnia, insomnia, etc.), sexual dysfunctions (frigidity, libido disorders, etc.).
  • Behavioral and personality disorders in adulthood. This group of disorders includes a number of violations of gender identity and sexual preferences, such as transsexualism, fetishism, sadomasochism, etc. This also includes specific disorders as a response to certain situations. Depending on the symptoms, they are divided into schizoid, paranoid, and dissocial disorders.
  • Mental retardation. This is a large group of congenital conditions characterized by intellectual impairment and (or) mental retardation. Such disorders are characterized by intellectual impairments: speech, memory, thinking, adaptation. Mental retardation can be severe, moderate or mild. It can be caused by genetic factors, pathologies of intrauterine development, birth trauma, and psychogenic factors. These conditions appear at an early age.
  • Mental development disorders. This group includes speech disorders, delays in the formation of educational skills, motor function disorders, including fine motor skills, and attention disorders.
  • Hyperkinetic disorders. This is a group of behavioral disorders that manifests itself in childhood. Children are disobedient, hyperactive, disinhibited, aggressive, etc.

This classification characterizes the main mental disorders, grouping them according to causation.

Mental disorders are surrounded by a number of myths. The main myth concerns the incurability of mental disorders. Most people tend to think that the psyche, which has once undergone a change (disorder), is incapable of recovery.

In fact, this is far from the case. Properly selected drug treatment can not only eliminate the symptoms of the disorder, but also restore a person’s psyche. At the same time, psychotherapeutic intervention and behavioral therapy can cure the disorder with a high degree of effectiveness.

The modern information system tends to classify any deviations from adequate normal behavior as mental disorders. Mood swings and inappropriate reactions to stress or adaptation disorders are just that and should not be classified as disorders.

However, these manifestations may be symptoms of mental disorders, the essence of which is not in external manifestations, but in deeper mechanisms. The symptoms of mental disorders are very varied.

The most common are:

  • sensopathy: disturbance of nervous and tactile susceptibility;
  • : exacerbation of irritants;
  • hepaesthesia: decreased sensitivity;
  • senestopathy: sensations of squeezing, burning, etc.;
  • : visual, auditory, tactile;
  • (when the object is felt inside);
  • distortions in the perception of the reality of the world;
  • disturbances in thought processes: incoherence, lethargy, etc.;
  • rave;
  • obsessions and phenomena;
  • fears (phobias);
  • disorders of consciousness: confusion, ;
  • memory disorders: amnesia, dimnesia, etc.;
  • obsessions: obsessive words, melody, counting, etc.;
  • obsessive actions: wiping things, washing hands, checking the door, etc.

Mental disorders are still the object of research by scientists in the field of psychiatry and psychology. The causes of the disorders are identified, but are not absolute. Most disorders appear as a result of the interaction of a number of factors: external and internal.

The same factors can cause severe mental illness in one person and simply distress in another. The reason for this is the stability of the psyche and the receptivity of a person.

It is very important to distinguish a mental disorder from overwork or a nervous disorder. At the first signs of distress, you need to seek help from a specialist, without replacing treatment with sedatives, which will not bring any effectiveness.

Treatment of mental disorders occurs in the complex use of medications, behavioral therapy and pedagogical correction in certain types. Relatives and friends are required to strictly follow all the doctor’s instructions and be patient with an unhealthy person.

The effectiveness of treatment depends not only on the chosen methods, but also on the creation of a favorable psychological climate for the patient.

Mental disorder is a very frightening phrase that every person is afraid to hear addressed to them. In fact, this term has very wide boundaries; a mental diagnosis is not always a death sentence. In different contexts (legal, psychiatric, psychological) this concept is interpreted differently. In the ICD-10 list, mental and behavioral disorders are identified as a separate class of diseases and differ according to the clinical picture. The peculiarities of the human psyche have always aroused keen interest among doctors and scientists, especially from the point of view of the border between normality and pathology. The World Health Organization states that every fifth person on the planet suffers from various mental disorders. What types of mental disorders are there? What causes mental disorders?

Etiological differences

The human psyche and brain are so complex that it is still not possible to clearly identify all the causes of mental disorders. The most correct opinion is that such diseases develop due to the complex influence of social, personal and biological reasons. All provoking factors can be divided into two large categories: endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external). Mental disorders of an endogenous nature are largely associated with genes and heredity. The onset of such diseases usually occurs suddenly, without any obvious environmental influences. Exogenous factors include various neuroinfections, stressful situations, intoxications, and psychological trauma received in the process of personality formation. Mental disorders due to brain injuries or vascular disorders are also a consequence of the influence of external causes. Sometimes it happens that the mere tendency to certain mental illnesses does not guarantee their occurrence. However, it is various external factors and mental characteristics that can ultimately work as a trigger.

Psychiatry has traditionally dealt with the recognition and treatment of mental illnesses and disorders. We study those disorders of human mental activity that manifest themselves in thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions, and behavior in general. These violations may be obvious, strongly expressed, or may not be so obvious as to speak of “abnormality.” Unbalanced people are not always mentally ill.

The line where pathology begins behind the norm is quite blurry and has not yet been clearly defined either in psychiatry or psychology. Therefore, mental illnesses are difficult to unambiguously interpret and evaluate. If signs of mental disorder are observed in women, they may be the same in men. Obvious gender differences in the nature of the manifestation of mental illness are sometimes difficult to notice. In any case, with obvious mental disorders. But the prevalence rate by gender may vary. Signs of mental disorders in men appear with no less force, although they are not without their originality.

If a person believes, for example, that he is Napoleon or has superpowers, or he has sudden mood swings for no reason, or melancholy begins or he falls into despair because of the most trivial everyday problems, then we can assume that he has signs of mental illness. diseases. There may also be perverted attractions or his actions will be clearly different from normal. Manifestations of painful mental states are very different. But what will be common is that, first of all, a person’s personality and his perception of the world will undergo change.

Personality is the totality of a person’s mental and spiritual properties, his way of thinking, responding to changes in the environment, and his character. The personality traits of different people have the same differences as physical ones - the shape of the nose, lips, eye color, height, etc. That is, the individuality of a person has the same meaning as physical individuality.

By the manifestations of personality traits, we can recognize a person. Personality traits do not exist separately from each other. They are closely interconnected, both in their functions and in the nature of their manifestation. That is, they are organized into a kind of integral system, just as all our organs, tissues, muscles, bones form the bodily shell, the body.

Just as the body undergoes changes with age or under the influence of external factors, personality does not remain unchanged, it develops and changes. Personality changes can be physiological, normal (especially with age) and pathological. Personality changes (normal) with age, under the influence of external and internal factors, occur gradually. The mental appearance of a person gradually also changes. At the same time, personality properties change so that the harmony and integrity of the personality are not violated.

What happens when there is a sharp change in personality traits?

But sometimes, personality can change dramatically (or at least it will seem so to others). People I know suddenly turn from modest to boastful, too harsh in their judgments; they were calm and balanced, but they became aggressive and hot-tempered. They turn from being thorough into frivolous and superficial. Such changes are hard to miss. Personal harmony has already been disrupted. Such changes are already obvious pathological, are mental disorders. It is obvious that mental illness can cause such changes. Both doctors and psychologists talk about this. After all, mentally ill people often behave inappropriately to the situation. And this becomes obvious to others over time.

Factors provoking the emergence and development of mental illness:

  • Traumatic injuries to the head and brain. At the same time, mental activity changes dramatically, obviously not for the better. Sometimes it stops altogether when a person falls into an unconscious state.
  • Organic diseases, congenital brain pathologies. In this case, both individual mental properties and the entire activity of the human psyche as a whole may be disrupted or “drop out.”
  • General infectious diseases (typhoid, septecemia or blood poisoning, meningitis, encephalitis, etc.). They can cause irreversible changes in the psyche.
  • Intoxication of the body under the influence of alcohol, drugs, gases, medicines, household chemicals (such as glue), poisonous plants. These substances can cause profound changes in the psyche and disruption of the central nervous system (CNS).
  • Stress, psychological trauma. In this case, signs of mental abnormalities may be temporary.
  • Burdened heredity. If a person has a history of close relatives with chronic mental illnesses, then the likelihood of manifestation of such a disease among subsequent generations increases (although this point is sometimes disputed).

There may be other reasons among the above factors. There may be many of them, but not all of them are known to medicine and science. Usually, a clearly mentally unbalanced person is immediately noticeable, even to ordinary people. And yet, the human psyche is perhaps the most poorly understood system of the human body. That is why its changes are so difficult to analyze clearly and unambiguously.

Each case of pathological changes in the psyche must be studied individually. Mental disorder or illness may be acquired or congenital. If they are acquired, it means that a certain moment has come in a person’s life when pathological personality traits came to the fore. Unfortunately, it is impossible to trace the moment of transition from normal to pathology, and it is difficult to know when the first signs appeared. As well as preventing this transition.

Where and when does the “abnormality” begin?

Where is the line beyond which mental illness immediately begins? If there was no obvious interference from the outside in the psyche (head injury, intoxication, illness, etc.), in any case, there was no, in the opinion of both the sick person himself and his environment, then why did he get sick or did mental disorders arise? even if not psychogenic? What went wrong, at what point? Doctors have not yet answered these questions. One can only make assumptions, carefully study the anamnesis, try to find at least something that could provoke the changes.

Talking about congenital, it is assumed that human spiritual properties have never been in harmony. A person was born with a damaged personality. Mental disorders in children and their symptoms represent a separate area for study. Children have their own mental characteristics that differ from adults. And it should be borne in mind that signs of a mental disorder can be obvious and obvious, or they can appear as if gradually and by chance, occasionally. Moreover, anatomical changes (most often this means changes in the brain, first of all) in diseases and mental disorders can be visible and obvious, but sometimes it is impossible to trace them. Or their changes are so subtle that they cannot be traced at this level of medical development. That is, from a purely physiological point of view, there are no violations, but the person is mentally ill and needs treatment.

The pathophysiological basis of mental illness should be considered, first of all, dysfunction of the central nervous system - a violation of the basic processes of higher nervous activity (according to I.P. Pavlov).

If we talk directly about the signs of mental disorders, then we should take into account the peculiarities of the classification of mental illnesses. In each historical period of development of psychiatry, classifications have undergone various changes. Over time, it became obvious that there is a need for consistent diagnosis of the same patients by different psychiatrists, regardless of their theoretical orientation and practical experience. Although even now this can be difficult to achieve, due to conceptual disagreements in understanding the essence of mental disorders and diseases.

Another difficulty is that there are different national taxonomies of diseases. They may differ from each other according to various criteria. At the moment, from the point of view of the significance of reproducibility, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD 10) and the American DSM-IV are used.

Types of mental pathology (according to the domestic classification) depending on the main causes that cause them:

  • Endogenous (under the influence of external factors) mental illnesses, but with the participation of exogenous factors. These include schizophrenia, epilepsy, affective disorders, etc.
  • Exogenous (under the influence of internal factors) mental illnesses, but with the participation of endogenous factors. These include somatogenic, infectious, traumatic diseases, etc.
  • Diseases caused by developmental disorders, as well as due to dysfunctions or disruptions in the functioning of mature body systems. These types of diseases include various personality disorders, etc.
  • Psychogenics. These are diseases with signs of psychosis, neuroses.

It is worth considering that all classifications not perfect and are open to criticism and improvement.

What is a mental disorder and how can it be diagnosed?

Patients with mental disorders may visit doctors frequently. They may be in the hospital many times and undergo numerous examinations. Although, first of all, mentally ill people more often complain about their physical condition.

The World Health Organization has identified the main signs of a mental disorder or illness:

  1. Clearly expressed psychological discomfort.
  2. Impaired ability to perform normal work or school responsibilities.
  3. Increased risk of death. Suicidal thoughts, attempts to commit suicide. General disturbance of mental activity.

You should be wary if, even after a thorough examination, no somatic disorders are revealed (and the complaints do not stop), the patient has been “treated” for a long time and unsuccessfully by different doctors, and his condition does not improve. Mental illnesses or mental illnesses can be expressed not only by signs of mental disorders, but in the clinical picture of the disease there may also be somatic disorders.

Somatization symptoms caused by anxiety


Anxiety disorders occur 2 times more often in women than in men. With anxiety disorders, patients more often present somatic complaints than complaints about changes in the general mental state. Somatic disorders are often observed with various types of depression. It is also a very common mental disorder among women.

Somatization symptoms caused by depression

Anxiety and depressive disorders often occur together. ICD 10 even has a separate category for anxiety-depressive disorder.

Currently, in the practice of a psychiatrist, a comprehensive psychological examination is actively used, which includes a whole group of tests (but their results are not a sufficient basis for making a diagnosis, but only play a clarifying role).

When diagnosing a mental disorder, a comprehensive personality examination is carried out and various factors are taken into account:

  • The level of development of higher mental functions (or their changes) - perception, memory, thinking, speech, imagination. What is the level of his thinking, how adequate are his judgments and conclusions? Are there any memory impairments, is attention depleted? How well do thoughts correspond to mood and behavior? For example, some people can tell sad stories and still laugh. They evaluate the pace of speech - whether it is slow or, on the contrary, the person speaks quickly and incoherently.
  • They evaluate the general background of the mood (depressed or unreasonably high, for example). How adequate are his emotions to the surrounding environment, to changes in the world around him?
  • They monitor his level of contact and willingness to discuss his condition.
  • Assess the level of social and professional productivity.
  • The nature of sleep, its duration,
  • Eating behavior. Does a person suffer from overeating or, on the contrary, does he eat too little, rarely, unsystematically?
  • The ability to experience pleasure and joy is assessed.
  • Can the patient plan his activities, control his actions, behavior, are there any violations of volitional activity.
  • The degree of adequacy of orientation in themselves, other people, in time, place - do patients know their name, do they recognize themselves as who they are (or consider themselves a superman, for example), do they recognize relatives, friends, can build a chronology of events in their lives and lives of loved ones.
  • The presence or absence of interests, desires, inclinations.
  • Level of sexual activity.
  • The most important thing is how critical a person is of his condition.

These are only the most general criteria, the list is far from complete. In each specific case, age, social status, health status, and individual personality characteristics will also be taken into account. In fact, signs of mental disorders can be ordinary behavioral reactions, but in an exaggerated or distorted form. Of particular interest to many researchers is the creativity of mentally ill people and its influence on the course of the disease. Mental illness is not such a rare companion even for great people.

It is believed that “Mental illnesses have the ability to sometimes suddenly open up the springs of the creative process, the results of which are ahead of ordinary life, sometimes for a very long time.” Creativity can serve as a means of calm and have a beneficial effect on the patient. (P.I. Karpov, “Creativity of the mentally ill and its influence on the development of art, science and technology,” 1926). They also help the doctor penetrate deeper into the patient’s soul and understand him better. It is also believed that creators in the fields of science, technology and art often suffer from nervous imbalance. According to these views, the creativity of mentally ill people often has no less value than the creativity of healthy people. Then what should mentally healthy people be like? This is also an ambiguous wording and the signs are approximate.

Signs of mental health:

  • Behavior and actions adequate to external and internal changes.
  • Healthy self-esteem not only of yourself, but also of your capabilities.
  • Normal orientation in one's personality, time, space.
  • Ability to work normally (physically, mentally).
  • Ability to think critically.

A mentally healthy person is a person who wants to live, develop, knows how to be happy or sad (shows a large number of emotions), does not threaten himself and others with his behavior, is generally balanced, in any case, this is how he should be assessed by the people around him. These characteristics are not exhaustive.

Mental disorders most common in women:

  • Anxiety disorders
  • Depressive disorders
  • Anxiety and depressive disorders
  • Panic disorders
  • Eating disorders
  • Phobias
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Adjustment disorder
  • Histrionic personality disorder
  • Dependent personality disorder
  • Pain disorder, etc.

Often, signs of a mental disorder are observed in women after the birth of a child. Especially, signs of neuroses and depression of varying nature and severity may be observed.

In any case, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders should be carried out by doctors. The success of treatment strongly depends on the timeliness of therapy. The support of loved ones and family is very important. In the treatment of mental disorders, combined methods of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy are usually used.

"Crazy people live behind a high fence, and idiots walk along the street in crowds"
"The Unlucky" directed by Francis Weber

We live in times when hysterics and prolonged have become commonplace for many. Each of us is familiar with the condition when loved ones behave inappropriately or we ourselves suffer from insomnia, twisting the same obsessive thought in our heads all night. But these are signs of a prepsychotic state: anxiety, insomnia, unwillingness to live, hysteria, attacks on others, attempted suicide and sudden mood swings. In order to identify abnormalities in the psyche, it is necessary to observe a person in a hospital setting for 30 days, and in some cases, to make a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the patient must be examined for 6 months.

Mental illness- This is not only schizophrenia, they also include neuroses, psychoses, mania, panic attacks, paranoia, dementia and bipolar disorder. In turn, each mental disorder is divided into several more types. It is believed that if situations that cause acute stress reactions in people: hysteria, crying, attack, nervous tremors and other aggressive actions directed at others or at themselves, are episodic in nature and pass after some time, then they do not interfere with life and are not deviation from the norm.

However, it often happens that after the examination the doctor does not mental disorders in the patient does not reveal it, and after some time he commits a brutal, planned murder or harms the health of himself or others. This is a clear deviation in the psyche and in order not to become a victim of such a patient, it is very important to have some ideas about how signs of mental deviations manifest themselves and how to behave when communicating or even living with them.

Nowadays, many people are forced to live together or next door with alcoholics, drug addicts, neurasthenics and elderly parents with dementia. If you delve into the intricacies of their daily life, you can easily come to the conclusion that there are simply no absolutely mentally healthy people, but only those who have been underexamined.

Permanent scandals, accusations, threats, assault, reluctance to live and even suicide attempts are the first signs that the mental health of the participants in such conflicts is not okay. If such behavior of a person is repeated over and over again and begins to affect the personal lives of other people, then we are talking about a mental illness and requires examination by a specialist.

Deviations in psyche First of all, they manifest themselves in the fact that a person’s perception of the world changes and his attitude towards the people around him changes. Unlike healthy people, people with mental disorders strive to satisfy only their physical and physiological needs; they do not care how their inappropriate behavior will affect the health and mood of others. They are cunning and attentive, selfish and hypocritical, unemotional and resourceful.

It's very hard to know when close a person shows excessive anger, aggression and unfounded accusations against you. Few are able to remain calm and accept the inappropriate behavior of a loved one associated with mental disorders. In most cases, people think that a person is mocking them and try to apply “educational measures” in the form of moral teachings, demands and evidence of innocence.

With time mental illness progress and can combine delusional, hallucinatory and emotional disorders. Manifestations of visual, auditory and delusional hallucinations include the following:
- a person talks to himself, laughs for no apparent reason.
- cannot concentrate on the topic of conversation, always looks preoccupied and alarmed.
- hears extraneous voices and sees someone that you cannot perceive.
- is hostile towards family members, especially those who serve him. In later stages of the development of mental illness, the patient becomes aggressive, attacks others, and deliberately breaks dishes, furniture and other objects.
- tells stories of implausible or dubious content about oneself and loved ones.
- fears for his life, refuses food, accusing his loved ones of trying to poison him.
- writes statements to the police and letters to various organizations with complaints about relatives, neighbors and just acquaintances.
- hides money and things, quickly forgets where he put them and accuses others of stealing.
- does not wash or shave for a long time, there is sloppiness and uncleanliness in behavior and appearance.

Knowing the general signs mental disorders, it is very important to understand that mental illness brings suffering, first of all, to the patient himself, and only then to his loved ones and society. Therefore, it is completely wrong to prove to the patient that he is behaving immorally, to blame or reproach him for not loving you and making your life worse. Of course, a mentally ill person is a problem in the family. However, he must be treated as a sick person and react to their inappropriate behavior with understanding.

It is forbidden argue with the patient, trying to prove to him that his accusations against you are wrong. Listen carefully, reassure him and offer help. Do not try to clarify the details of his delusional accusations and statements, do not ask him questions that may aggravate his mental disorders. Any mental illness requires attention from loved ones and treatment by specialists. It should not cause criticism or accusations of selfishness towards the sick person.

Alas, from the development of mental disorders no one is insured. This is especially true for those who have a hereditary predisposition to the disease or care for elderly parents with dementia. Set an example for your children to treat them well so that they do not repeat the mistakes of their parents.

  • Closedness
  • Slow thinking
  • Hysterical laughter
  • Impaired concentration
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Uncontrollable overeating
  • Refusal to eat
  • Alcohol addiction
  • Problems with adaptation in society
  • Conversations with yourself
  • Decreased performance
  • Learning difficulties
  • Feeling of fear
  • Mental disorder is a wide range of illnesses that are characterized by changes in the psyche that affect habits, performance, behavior and position in society. In the international classification of diseases, such pathologies have several meanings. ICD 10 code – F00 - F99.

    A wide range of predisposing factors can cause the appearance of one or another psychological pathology, ranging from traumatic brain injuries and family history to addiction to bad habits and toxin poisoning.

    There are a lot of clinical manifestations of diseases associated with personality disorder, and they are extremely diverse, which is why we can conclude that they are individual in nature.

    Establishing a correct diagnosis is a rather lengthy process, which, in addition to laboratory and instrumental diagnostic measures, includes the study of life history, as well as analysis of handwriting and other individual characteristics.

    Treatment of a particular mental disorder can be carried out in several ways - from the work of appropriate clinicians with the patient to the use of traditional medicine recipes.

    Etiology

    Personality disorder means a disease of the soul and a state of mental activity that differs from a healthy one. The opposite of this condition is mental health, which is characteristic of those individuals who can quickly adapt to daily life changes, solve various daily issues or problems, and achieve their goals and objectives. When such abilities are limited or completely lost, one can suspect that a person has some kind of mental pathology.

    Diseases of this group are caused by a wide variety and multiple etiological factors. However, it is worth noting that absolutely all of them are predetermined by impaired functioning of the brain.

    Pathological reasons against which mental disorders can develop include:

    • the course of various infectious diseases, which can either themselves negatively affect the brain or appear in the background;
    • damage to other systems, for example, leaking or previously suffered, can cause the development of psychoses and other mental pathologies. Often they lead to the appearance of one or another disease in older people;
    • traumatic brain injuries;
    • brain oncology;
    • congenital defects and anomalies.

    Among the external etiological factors it is worth highlighting:

    • effects on the body of chemical compounds. This includes poisoning with toxic substances or poisons, indiscriminate use of medications or harmful food components, as well as abuse of addictions;
    • prolonged influence of stressful situations or nervous strains that can haunt a person both at work and at home;
    • improper upbringing of a child or frequent conflicts between peers lead to the appearance of a mental disorder in adolescents or children.

    Separately, it is worth highlighting burdened heredity - mental disorders, like no other pathologies, are closely related to the presence of similar deviations in relatives. Knowing this, you can prevent the development of a particular disease.

    In addition, mental disorders in women can be caused by labor.

    Classification

    There is a division of personality disorders that groups all diseases of a similar nature according to the predisposing factor and clinical manifestation. This enables clinicians to quickly make a diagnosis and prescribe the most effective therapy.

    Thus, the classification of mental disorders includes:

    • mental changes caused by drinking alcohol or using drugs;
    • organic mental disorders - caused by disruption of normal brain function;
    • affective pathologies – the main clinical manifestation is frequent mood swings;
    • and schizotypal diseases - such conditions have specific symptoms, which include a sharp change in personality and lack of adequate actions;
    • phobias and Signs of such disorders may arise in relation to an object, phenomenon or person;
    • behavioral syndromes associated with disturbances in eating, sleeping or sexual relations;
    • . This disorder refers to borderline mental disorders, since they often arise against the background of intrauterine pathologies, heredity and childbirth;
    • disorders of psychological development;
    • Disorders of activity and concentration are the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents. It is expressed in disobedience and hyperactivity of the child.

    Varieties of such pathologies in representatives of the teenage age category:

    • prolonged depression;
    • and nervous character;
    • drankorexia.

    Types of mental disorders in children are presented:

    • mental retardation;

    Varieties of such deviations in elderly people:

    • marasmus;
    • Pick's disease.

    The most common mental disorders associated with epilepsy are:

    • epileptic mood disorder;
    • transient mental disorders;
    • mental seizures.

    Long-term drinking of alcohol-containing drinks leads to the development of the following psychological personality disorders:

    • delirium;
    • hallucinations.

    Brain injury can be a factor in the development of:

    • twilight state;
    • delirium;
    • oneiroid.

    The classification of mental disorders that arise against the background of somatic illnesses includes:

    • asthenic neurosis-like state;
    • Korsakov's syndrome;
    • dementia.

    Malignant neoplasms can cause:

    • various hallucinations;
    • affective disorders;
    • memory impairment.

    Types of personality disorder formed due to vascular pathologies of the brain:

    • vascular dementia;
    • cerebrovascular psychosis.

    Some clinicians believe that selfie is a mental disorder, which is expressed in the tendency to very often take photographs of oneself on the phone and post them on social networks. Several degrees of severity of such a violation were compiled:

    • episodic - a person takes photographs more than three times a day, but does not post the resulting images to the public;
    • medium-heavy – differs from the previous one in that the person posts photos on social networks;
    • chronic – photographs are taken throughout the day, and the number of photographs posted on the Internet exceeds six.

    Symptoms

    The appearance of clinical signs of a mental disorder is of a purely individual nature, however, all of them can be divided into disturbances of mood, thinking abilities and behavioral reactions.

    The most obvious manifestations of such violations are:

    • causeless changes in mood or the appearance of hysterical laughter;
    • difficulty concentrating, even when performing simple tasks;
    • conversations when no one is around;
    • hallucinations, auditory, visual or combined;
    • decreased or, conversely, increased sensitivity to stimuli;
    • lapses or lack of memory;
    • learning disabilities;
    • misunderstanding of events happening around;
    • decreased performance and adaptation in society;
    • depression and apathy;
    • feeling of pain and discomfort in various areas of the body, which in reality may not exist;
    • the emergence of unjustified beliefs;
    • sudden feeling of fear, etc.;
    • alternation of euphoria and dysphoria;
    • acceleration or inhibition of the thought process.

    Such manifestations are characteristic of psychological disorders in children and adults. However, several of the most specific symptoms are identified, depending on the gender of the patient.

    Representatives of the fairer sex may experience:

    • sleep disorders such as insomnia;
    • frequent overeating or, conversely, refusal to eat;
    • addiction to alcohol abuse;
    • sexual dysfunction;
    • irritability;
    • severe headaches;
    • unreasonable fears and phobias.

    In men, unlike women, mental disorders are diagnosed several times more often. The most common symptoms of a particular disorder include:

    • sloppy appearance;
    • avoidance of hygiene procedures;
    • isolation and touchiness;
    • blaming everyone except yourself for your own problems;
    • sudden changes in mood;
    • humiliation and insult of interlocutors.

    Diagnostics

    Establishing a correct diagnosis is a rather lengthy process that requires an integrated approach. First of all, the clinician needs to:

    • study the life history and medical history of not only the patient, but also his immediate relatives - to determine borderline mental disorder;
    • a detailed survey of the patient, which is aimed not only at clarifying complaints regarding the presence of certain symptoms, but also at assessing the patient’s behavior.

    In addition, a person’s ability to tell or describe his illness is of great importance in diagnosis.

    To identify pathologies of other organs and systems, laboratory tests of blood, urine, feces and cerebrospinal fluid are indicated.

    Instrumental methods include:


    Psychological diagnostics are necessary to identify the nature of changes in individual processes of mental activity.

    In cases of death, a pathological diagnostic examination is carried out. This is necessary to confirm the diagnosis, identify the causes of the disease and death of a person.

    Treatment

    Treatment tactics for mental disorders will be drawn up individually for each patient.

    Drug therapy in most cases involves the use of:

    • sedatives;
    • tranquilizers - to relieve anxiety and restlessness;
    • neuroleptics - to suppress acute psychosis;
    • antidepressants - to combat depression;
    • mood stabilizers - to stabilize mood;
    • nootropics.

    In addition, it is widely used:

    • auto-training;
    • hypnosis;
    • suggestion;
    • neurolinguistic programming.

    All procedures are carried out by a psychiatrist. Good results can be achieved with the help of traditional medicine, but only if they are approved by the attending physician. The list of the most effective substances is:

    • poplar bark and gentian root;
    • burdock and centaury;
    • lemon balm and valerian root;
    • St. John's wort and kava-kava;
    • cardamom and ginseng;
    • mint and sage;
    • cloves and licorice root;

    Such treatment of mental disorders should be part of complex therapy.

    Prevention

    In addition, it is necessary to follow several simple rules for the prevention of mental disorders:

    • completely give up bad habits;
    • take medications only as prescribed by the clinician and strictly adhere to the dosage;
    • If possible, avoid stress and nervous tension;
    • follow all safety rules when working with toxic substances;
    • undergo a full medical examination several times a year, especially for those people whose relatives have mental disorders.

    Only by following all the above recommendations can a favorable prognosis be achieved.