Human psychological disorders. Types of psychological disorders and their signs

Content

Mental disorders are invisible to the naked eye, and therefore very insidious. They significantly complicate a person’s life when he does not even suspect there is a problem. Experts who study this aspect of the boundless human essence claim that many of us have mental disorders, but does this mean that every second inhabitant of our planet needs treatment? How to understand that a person is truly sick and needs qualified assistance? You will receive answers to these and many other questions by reading the subsequent sections of the article.

What is a mental disorder

The concept of “mental disorder” covers a wide range of deviations of a person’s mental state from the norm. Problems with internal health, in question, should not be perceived as a negative manifestation of the negative side of the human personality. Like any physical illness, a mental disorder is a violation of the processes and mechanisms of perception of reality, which creates certain difficulties. People faced with such problems do not adapt well to real life conditions and do not always correctly interpret what is happening.

Symptoms and signs of mental disorders

Characteristic manifestations of mental deviation include disturbances in behavior/mood/thinking that go beyond generally accepted cultural norms and beliefs. As a rule, all symptoms are dictated by a depressed state of mind. In this case, the person loses the ability to fully perform the usual social functions. General spectrum symptoms can be divided into several groups:

• physical – pain in various parts of the body, insomnia;
• cognitive – difficulties in clear thinking, memory impairment, unjustified pathological beliefs;
• perceptual - states in which the patient notices phenomena that other people do not notice (sounds, movement of objects, etc.);
• emotional – sudden feeling of anxiety, sadness, fear;
• behavioral – unjustified aggression, inability to perform basic self-care activities, abuse of psychoactive drugs.

Main causes of diseases in women and men

The etiology aspect of this category of diseases has not been fully studied, therefore modern medicine cannot clearly describe the mechanisms causing mental disorders. Nevertheless, a number of reasons can be identified, the connection of which with mental disorders has been scientifically proven:

• stressful life conditions;
• difficult family circumstances;
• brain diseases;
• hereditary factors;
• genetic predisposition;
• medical problems.

In addition, experts identify a number of special cases that represent specific deviations, conditions or incidents against the background of which serious mental disorders develop. Factors about which we'll talk, are common in everyday life and can therefore lead to worsening mental health people in the most unexpected situations.

Alcoholism

Systematic abuse of alcoholic beverages often leads to mental disorders in humans. The body of a person suffering from chronic alcoholism constantly contains a large amount of breakdown products ethyl alcohol, which cause serious changes in thinking, behavior and mood. In this regard, there are dangerous violations psychics, including:

1. Psychosis. Mental disorder due to impairment metabolic processes in the brain. The toxic effect of ethyl alcohol overshadows the patient’s judgment, but the consequences appear only a few days after stopping use. A person is overcome by a feeling of fear or even a mania of persecution. In addition, the patient may have all sorts of obsessions related to the fact that someone wants to cause him physical or moral harm.
2. Delirium tremens. A common post-alcohol mental disorder that occurs due to deep violations metabolic processes in all organs and systems human body. Delirium tremens manifests itself in sleep disorders and seizures. The listed phenomena, as a rule, appear 70-90 hours after stopping alcohol consumption. The patient exhibits sudden mood swings from carefree fun to terrible anxiety.
3. Rave. A mental disorder called delusion is expressed in the patient’s development of unshakable judgments and conclusions that do not correspond to objective reality. In a state of delirium, a person's sleep is disturbed and photophobia appears. The boundaries between sleep and reality become blurred, and the patient begins to confuse one with the other.
4. Hallucinations are vivid ideas, pathologically brought to the level of perception of real-life objects. The patient begins to feel as if the people and objects around him are swaying, rotating, or even falling. The sense of the passage of time is distorted.

Brain injuries

Upon receipt mechanical injuries brain in a person can develop a whole complex of serious mental disorders. As a result of damage nerve centers complex processes are launched, leading to clouding of consciousness. After such cases, the following disorders/conditions/diseases often occur:

1. Twilight states. Celebrated, as a rule, in the evening hours. The victim becomes drowsy and becomes delirious. In some cases, a person may plunge into a state similar to stupor. The patient’s consciousness is filled with all sorts of pictures of excitement, which can cause corresponding reactions: from psychomotor disorder to the point of brutal emotion.
2. Delirium. A serious mental disorder in which a person experiences visual hallucinations. For example, a person injured in a car accident can see moving vehicles, groups of people and other objects associated with the roadway. Mental disorders plunge the patient into a state of fear or anxiety.
3. Oneiroid. A rare form of mental disorder in which the nerve centers of the brain are damaged. Expressed in immobility and slight drowsiness. For some time, the patient may become chaotically excited, and then freeze again without moving.

Somatic diseases

Against the background of somatic diseases, the human psyche suffers very, very seriously. Violations appear that are almost impossible to get rid of. Below is a list of mental disorders that medicine considers the most common in somatic disorders:

1. Asthenic neurosis-like state. A mental disorder in which a person exhibits hyperactivity and talkativeness. The patient systematically experiences phobic disorders and often falls into short-term depression. Fears, as a rule, have clear outlines and do not change.
2. Korsakov's syndrome. A disease that is a combination of memory impairment regarding current events, impaired orientation in space/terrain, and the appearance false memories. A serious mental disorder that cannot be treated with known medical methods. The patient constantly forgets about the events that just happened and often repeats the same questions.
3. Dementia. Terrible diagnosis, which stands for acquired dementia. This mental disorder often occurs in people aged 50-70 years who have somatic problems. The diagnosis of dementia is given to people with reduced cognitive function. Somatic disorders lead to irreparable abnormalities in the brain. The mental sanity of a person does not suffer. Find out more about how treatment is carried out, what is the life expectancy with this diagnosis.

Epilepsy

Almost all people suffering from epilepsy experience mental disorders. Disorders that occur against the background of this disease can be paroxysmal (single) and permanent (constant). The cases of mental disorders listed below are found in medical practice more often than others:

1. Mental seizures. Medicine identifies several types of this disorder. All of them are expressed in sudden changes in the patient’s mood and behavior. A mental seizure in a person suffering from epilepsy is accompanied by aggressive movements and loud screams.
2. Transitory mental disorder. Long-term deviations of the patient's condition from normal. Transient mental disorder is a prolonged mental attack (described above), aggravated by a state of delirium. It can last from two to three hours to a whole day.
3. Epileptic mood disorders. As a rule, such mental disorders are expressed in the form of dysphoria, which is characterized by a simultaneous combination of anger, melancholy, causeless fear and many other sensations.

Malignant tumors

Development malignant tumors often leads to change psychological state person. As the formations on the brain grow, the pressure increases, causing serious abnormalities. In this state, patients experience unreasonable fears, delusions, melancholy and many others. focal symptoms. All this may indicate the presence of the following psychological disorders:

1. Hallucinations. They can be tactile, olfactory, auditory and gustatory. Such abnormalities are usually found in the presence of tumors in the temporal lobes of the brain. Vegetovisceral disorders are often detected along with them.
2. Affective disorders. Such mental disorders in most cases are observed with tumors localized in the right hemisphere. In this regard, attacks of horror, fear and melancholy develop. Emotions caused by a violation of the structure of the brain are displayed on the patient’s face: facial expression and skin color change, the pupils narrow and dilate.
3. Memory disorders. With the appearance of this deviation, signs of Korsakov's syndrome appear. The patient gets confused about the events that just happened, asks the same questions, loses the logic of events, etc. In addition, in this state a person’s mood often changes. Within a few seconds, the patient's emotions can switch from euphoric to dysphoric, and vice versa.

Vascular diseases of the brain

Operational disruptions circulatory system and blood vessels instantly affect a person’s mental state. When diseases associated with an increase or decrease in blood pressure, brain functions deviate from normal. Serious chronic disorders can lead to the development of extremely dangerous mental disorders, among which:

1. Vascular dementia. This diagnosis means dementia. In their symptoms, vascular dementias resemble the consequences of some somatic disorders that manifest themselves in old age. Creative thought processes in this state almost completely fade away. The person withdraws into himself and loses the desire to maintain contact with anyone.
2. Cerebrovascular psychoses. The genesis of mental disorders of this type is not fully understood. At the same time, medicine confidently names two types of cerebrovascular psychosis: acute and prolonged. Acute form expressed by episodes of confusion, twilight stupefaction, delirium. A protracted form of psychosis is characterized by a state of stupefaction.

What are the types of mental disorders?

Mental disorders can occur in people regardless of gender, age and ethnicity. The mechanisms of development of mental illness are not fully understood, so medicine refrains from making specific statements. However, on this moment The relationship between some mental illnesses and age has been clearly established. Each age has its own common deviations.

In older people

In old age, against the background of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, heart/renal failure and bronchial asthma many deviations develop mental nature. Senile mental illnesses include:

• paranoia;
• dementia;
• Alzheimer's disease;
• marasmus;
• Pick's disease.

Types of mental disorders in adolescents

Adolescent mental illness is often associated with adverse circumstances in the past. Over the past 10 years, the following mental disorders have often been recorded among young people:

• prolonged depression;
• bulimia nervosa;
• anorexia nervosa;
• drankorexia.

Features of diseases in children

IN childhood Serious mental disorders may also occur. This is usually due to problems in the family, wrong methods education and conflicts with peers. The list below contains mental disorders that are most often recorded in children:

• autism;
• Down syndrome;
• attention deficit disorder;
• mental retardation;
• developmental delays.

Which doctor should I contact for treatment?

Psychical deviations are not treated independently, therefore, if there is the slightest suspicion of mental disorders An urgent visit to a psychotherapist is required. A conversation between the patient and a specialist will help quickly identify the diagnosis and choose effective treatment tactics. Almost all mental illness curable if treated in time. Remember this and do not delay!

Video about mental health treatment

The video attached below contains a lot of information about modern methods of combating mental disorders. The information received will be useful for everyone who is ready to take care of mental health their loved ones. Listen to the words of experts to destroy stereotypes about inadequate approaches to combating mental disorders and learn the real medical truth.

Types of mental disorders

The term "mental disorder" refers to a huge number of different illness conditions. In order to learn to navigate them, to understand their essence, we will use the experience of presenting the doctrine of these disorders, that is, psychiatry, in textbooks intended for specialists.

The study of psychiatry (Greek psyche - soul, iateria - treatment) traditionally begins with the introduction general psychopathology and only then move on to private psychiatry. General psychopathology includes the study of symptoms and syndromes (signs) of mental illness, since any disease, including mental illness, is, first of all, a set of its specific manifestations. Private psychiatry provides a description of specific mental illnesses - the causes of their occurrence, mechanisms of development, clinical manifestations, treatment, and preventive measures.

Let's consider the main symptoms and syndromes of mental disorders in order of their severity - from mild to more profound.

Asthenic syndrome.

Asthenic syndrome (asthenia) is a widespread condition that is manifested by increased fatigue, exhaustion, and decreased performance. People with asthenic disorders experience weakness, mood instability, and are characterized by impressionability, sentimentality, and tearfulness; They are easily moved, they are easily irritated, they lose their composure over any little thing. Asthenic conditions are also characterized by frequent headaches and sleep disturbances (it becomes superficial, does not bring rest, and increased sleepiness is noted during the day).

Asthenia is a nonspecific disorder, i.e. can be observed in almost any mental illness, as well as in somatic diseases, in particular after operations, severe infectious diseases, or overwork.

Obsessiveness.

Obsessions are experiences in which a person, against his will, has any special thoughts, fears, or doubts. At the same time, a person recognizes them as his own, they visit him again and again, it is impossible to get rid of them, despite a critical attitude towards them. Obsessive disorders can manifest themselves in the emergence of painful doubts, completely unjustified, and sometimes simply ridiculous thoughts, in an irresistible desire to count everything in a row. A person with such disorders may check several times whether the lights in the apartment have been turned off, whether front door, and as soon as he moves away from the house, doubts take possession of him again.

This same group of disorders includes obsessive fears - fear of heights, enclosed spaces, open spaces, traveling in public transport and many others. Sometimes, to relieve anxiety, internal tension, calm down a little, people experiencing obsessive fears and doubts perform certain obsessive actions or movements (rituals). For example, a person with an obsessive fear of pollution may spend hours in the bathroom, repeatedly wash his hands with soap, and if he is distracted by something, start the whole procedure again and again.

Affective syndromes.

These mental disorders are the most common. Affective syndromes are manifested by persistent changes in mood, more often by a decrease in mood - depression, or an increase in mood - mania. Affective syndromes often occur at the very beginning of mental illness. They may remain predominant throughout, but may become more complex and coexist for a long time with other, more severe mental disorders. As the disease progresses, depression and mania are often the last to disappear.

When we talk about depression, we primarily mean its following manifestations.

1. Decreased mood, feeling of depression, depression, melancholy, in severe cases physically felt as heaviness or chest pain. This is an extremely painful condition for a person.
2. Decreased mental activity (thoughts become poorer, shorter, more vague). A person in this state does not answer questions immediately - after a pause, gives short, monosyllabic answers, speaks slowly, in a quiet voice. Quite often, patients with depression note that they find it difficult to understand the meaning of the question asked of them, the essence of what they read, and complain of memory loss. Such patients have difficulty making decisions and cannot switch to new activities.
3. Motor inhibition - patients experience weakness, lethargy, muscle relaxation, talk about fatigue, their movements are slow and constrained.

In addition to the above, characteristic manifestations of depression are:

• feelings of guilt, ideas of self-blame, sinfulness;
• a feeling of despair, hopelessness, impasse, which is very often accompanied by thoughts of death and suicide attempts;
• daily fluctuations in condition, often with some relief of well-being in the evening;
• sleep disorders night sleep superficial, intermittent, with early awakenings, disturbing dreams, sleep does not bring rest).

Depression may also be accompanied by sweating, tachycardia, fluctuations blood pressure, sensations of heat, cold, chilliness, loss of appetite, weight loss, constipation (sometimes from the side digestive system Symptoms such as heartburn, nausea, belching occur).
Depressions are characterized high risk committing suicide!

Read the text below carefully - this will help you to notice in time the appearance of suicidal thoughts and intentions in a person with depression.

If you have depression, the possibility of a suicide attempt is indicated by:

• statements of a sick person about his uselessness, guilt, sin;
• a feeling of hopelessness, meaninglessness of life, reluctance to make plans for the future;
• sudden calm after a long period of anxiety and melancholy;
• accumulation of medications;
• a sudden desire to meet old friends, ask forgiveness from loved ones, put your affairs in order, make a will.

The appearance of suicidal thoughts and intentions is an indication to immediately consult a doctor and decide on hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital!

Manias (manic states) are characterized by the following symptoms.

1. Increased mood (fun, carefree, rosy, unshakable optimism).
2. Speeding up the pace mental activity(the appearance of many thoughts, various plans and desires, ideas of overestimating one’s own personality).
3. Motor excitement (excessive liveliness, mobility, talkativeness, feeling of excess energy, desire for activity).

Manic states, like depression, are characterized by sleep disturbances: usually people with these disorders sleep little, but short nap It’s enough for them to feel cheerful and rested. With a soft option manic state(so-called hypomania) a person experiences an increase in creative powers, an increase in intellectual productivity, vitality, and efficiency. He can work a lot and sleep little. He perceives all events with optimism.

If hypomia turns into mania, that is, the condition becomes more severe, the listed manifestations are accompanied by increased distractibility, extreme instability of attention and, as a consequence, loss of productivity. Often people in a state of mania look lightweight, braggarts, their speech is replete with jokes, witticisms, quotes, their facial expressions are animated, their faces are flushed. When talking, they often change their position, cannot sit still, and actively gesticulate.

Characteristic symptoms of mania are increased appetite and increased sexuality. The behavior of patients can be unrestrained, they can establish multiple sexual relationships, and commit thoughtless and sometimes ridiculous actions. A cheerful and joyful mood can be replaced by irritability and anger. As a rule, with mania, the understanding of the painfulness of one’s condition is lost.

Senestopathies.

Senestopathies (Latin sensus - feeling, sensation, pathos - illness, suffering) are symptoms of mental disorders, manifested by extremely diverse unusual sensations in the body in the form of tingling, burning, twisting, tightening, transfusion, etc., not associated with any disease internal organ. Senestopathies are always unique, unlike anything else. The vague nature of these disorders causes serious difficulties when trying to characterize them. To describe such sensations, patients sometimes use their own definitions (“rustling under the ribs,” “squelching in the spleen,” “it seems like the head is coming off”). Senestopathy is often accompanied by thoughts about the presence of some kind of somatic disease, and then we are talking about hypochondriacal syndrome.

Hypochondriacal syndrome.

This syndrome is characterized by persistent preoccupation with one's own health, constant thoughts about the presence of a serious, progressive and possibly incurable somatic disease. People with this disorder present persistent physical complaints, often interpreting normal or routine sensations as manifestations of illness. Despite the negative results of examinations and the dissuading specialists, they regularly visit different doctors, insisting on additional serious examinations and repeated consultations. Hypochondriacal disorders often develop against the background of depression.

Illusions.

When illusions arise, real-life objects are perceived by a person in a changed - erroneous form. Illusory perception can also occur against the background of complete mental health, when it is a manifestation of one of the laws of physics: if, for example, you look at an object under water, it will seem much larger than in reality.

Illusions can also appear under the influence of strong feelings - anxiety, fear. So, at night in the forest, trees can be perceived as some kind of monster. In pathological conditions, real images and objects can be perceived in a bizarre and fantastic form: a wallpaper pattern as a “tangle of worms”, a shadow from a floor lamp as a “head of a terrible lizard”, a pattern on a carpet as a “beautiful unprecedented landscape”.

Hallucinations.

This is the name for disorders in which a person with a disturbed psyche sees, hears, feels something that does not exist in reality.

Hallucinations are divided into auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and general sense hallucinations (visceral, muscular). However, their combination is also possible (for example, a sick person can see a group of strangers in his room and hear them talking).

Auditory hallucinations manifest themselves in the patient’s pathological perception of certain words, speeches, conversations (verbal hallucinations), as well as individual sounds or noises. Verbal hallucinations can be very different in content - from so-called calls, when a sick person hears a voice calling him by name or surname, to entire phrases and conversations involving one or more voices. Patients call verbal hallucinations “voices.”

Sometimes the “voices” are of an imperative nature - these are the so-called imperative hallucinations, when a person hears an order to remain silent, to hit, to kill someone, or to harm himself. Such conditions are very dangerous both for the patients themselves and for those around them, and therefore are an indication for serious drug treatment as well as special supervision and care.

Visual hallucinations can be elementary (in the form of sparks, smoke) or objective. Sometimes the patient sees entire scenes (battlefield, hell). Olfactory hallucinations most often represent an imaginary sensation of unpleasant odors (rotting, decay, poisons, some kind of food), less often unfamiliar or pleasant ones.

Tactile hallucinations occur predominantly in late age, while patients experience burning, itching, bites, pain, other sensations, touching the body. The text below lists signs by which one can determine or at least suspect the presence of auditory and visual hallucinatory disorders in a sick person.

Signs of auditory and visual hallucinations.

• conversations with oneself that resemble a conversation (for example, emotional answers to some questions);
• unexpected laughter for no reason;
• anxious and preoccupied look;
• difficulty concentrating on a topic of conversation or a specific task;
• a person listens to something or sees something that you cannot see.

Delusional disorders.

According to experts, such disorders are among the main signs of psychosis. Defining what delirium is is not an easy task. With these disorders, even psychiatrists often disagree in their assessment of the patient’s condition.

The following signs of delirium are distinguished:

1. It is based on incorrect conclusions, erroneous judgments, and false convictions.
2. Delirium always occurs on a painful basis - it is always a symptom of a disease.
3. Delusion cannot be corrected or dissuaded from the outside, despite the obvious contradiction with reality, a person with delusional disorder completely convinced of the validity of his erroneous ideas.
4. Delusional beliefs are of extreme significance for the patient; one way or another, they determine his actions and behavior.

Delusional ideas are extremely diverse in their content. These ideas could be:

• persecution, poisoning, influence, material damage, witchcraft, damage, accusations, jealousy;
• self-deprecation, self-blame, hypochondriacal, denial;
• invention, high birth, wealth, greatness;
• love, erotic delirium.

Delusional disorders are also ambiguous in their form. There is a so-called interpretative delusion, in which the evidence of the main delusional idea is one-sided interpretation of everyday events and facts. This is a fairly persistent disorder when a sick person is disrupted in reflecting cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena. Such nonsense is always logically justified in its own way. A person suffering from this form of delusion can endlessly prove that he is right, give a lot of arguments, and debate. The content of interpretative delirium can reflect everything human feelings and experiences.

Another form of delirium is sensory or figurative delirium, which occurs against a background of anxiety, fear, confusion, severe mood disorders, hallucinations, and disturbances of consciousness. Such delirium is observed in acutely developed painful conditions. In this case, during the formation of delusions, there is no evidence or logical premises, and everything around is perceived in a special “delusional” way.

Often the development of acute sensory delirium syndrome is preceded by such phenomena as derealization and depersonalization. Derealization is a feeling of change in the surrounding world, when everything around is perceived as “unreal”, “rigged”, “artificial”; depersonalization is a feeling of change in one’s own personality. Patients with depersonalization characterize themselves as having “lost their own face,” “becoming stupid,” and “losing the fullness of their feelings.”

Catatonic syndromes.

This is how conditions are defined in which disturbances in the motor sphere predominate: retardation, stupor (Latin stupor - numbness, immobility) or, on the contrary, excitement. With catatonic stupor, muscle tone is often increased. This condition is characterized by complete immobility, as well as complete silence and refusal to speak. A person can freeze in the most unusual, uncomfortable position - with his arm extended, one leg raised, with his head raised above the pillow.

The state of catatonic excitation is characterized by chaoticity, lack of purpose, and repetition of individual movements, which can be accompanied by either complete silence or shouting of individual phrases or words. Catatonic syndromes can be observed even with clear consciousness, which indicates a great severity of disorders, and be accompanied by confusion. In the latter case, we are talking about a more favorable course of the disease.

Syndromes of confusion.

These conditions occur not only in mental disorders, but also in severe somatic patients. When consciousness is clouded, perception of the environment becomes difficult, contact with outside world.

There are several syndromes of stupefaction. They are characterized by a number of common features.

1. Detachment from the outside world. Patients are unable to comprehend what is happening, as a result of which their contact with others is disrupted.
2. Disorientation in time, place, situation and in one’s own personality.
3. Thinking disorder is the loss of the ability to think correctly and logically. Sometimes there is incoherence in thinking.
4. Memory impairment. During the period of clouding of consciousness, the assimilation of new information and reproduction of the existing one. After emerging from the state of impaired consciousness, the patient may experience partial or complete amnesia (forgetting) of the transferred state.

Each of the listed symptoms can occur in different mental disorders, and only their combination allows us to talk about clouding of consciousness. These symptoms are reversible. When consciousness is restored, they disappear.

Dementia (dementia).

Dementia is a deep impoverishment of a person’s entire mental activity, a persistent decline in all intellectual functions. With dementia, the ability to acquire new knowledge and their practical use deteriorates (and sometimes is completely lost), and adaptability to the outside world is impaired.

Experts distinguish between acquired pathology of intelligence (dementia, or dementia), which develops as a result of the progression of certain mental illnesses, and congenital pathology (oligophrenia, or dementia).

To summarize the above, we note that this lecture provides information about the most common symptoms and syndromes of mental disorders. It will help the reader better understand what specific mental illnesses are, such as schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, and neuroses.

E.G. Rytik, E.S. Akimkina
"Main symptoms and syndromes of mental disorders."

The human brain is the most complex mechanism in the world. The psyche as its component has not been fully studied to date. This means that the causes and treatment of many mental illnesses are still unknown to psychiatrists. The tendency for the formation of new syndromes is growing, and accordingly, blurred boundaries between normality and pathology appear. After reading this article to the end, you will know about the most terrible mental illnesses, their formation, symptoms, possible correction options, treatment, and how patients with such disorders are dangerous to others.

Mental illness is...

Mental illnesses mean disorders of the psyche (soul). That is, a person who has such characteristics as: impaired thinking, frequent changes in mood and behavior that go beyond moral standards. The course of the disease can be mild, which allows the sick person to live the same way as other people, start relationships and go to work. But if a person has been diagnosed with a serious or dangerous mental illness, then he will be constantly under the supervision of psychiatrists and must take the strongest medications so that his personality can somehow exist.

Types of mental disorders

Mental illnesses are classified based on their origin and divided into two large groups.

Endogenous - mental illnesses caused by internal factors in the brain, most often due to heredity, these include:

• schizophrenia;
• epilepsy;
• age-related mental disorders (dementia, Parkinson's disease).

Exogenous - mental disorders caused by external factors (brain damage, infection, intoxication), such diseases include:

• neuroses;
• psychoses,
• addiction;
• alcoholism.

Top most terrible and dangerous mental disorders

Patients who are unable to control themselves and their actions in society are automatically considered dangerous to others. A person with such a disease can become a maniac, murderer or pedophile. Below you will learn about the most terrible and dangerous mental illnesses for others:

1. Delirium tremens - included in the classification of psychoses, occurs due to frequent and long-term use alcohol. The signs of this illness are varied: all kinds of hallucinations, delusions, sharp drop moods up to and including unreasonable aggression. People around you should be wary, since such a person in a fit of aggression is capable of causing injury.
2. Idiocy - the level of intelligence of such patients is exactly the same as that of small children 2-3 years old. They live instinctively and cannot learn any skills or acquire moral principles. Accordingly, an idiot poses a threat to the people around him. Therefore, he requires round-the-clock monitoring.
3. Hysteria - women most often suffer from this disorder, and this manifests itself in violent reactions, emotions, whims, and spontaneous actions. At such moments, a person does not control himself and can cause harm to loved ones and other people.
4. Misanthropy is a mental illness manifested by hatred and hostility towards other people. In a severe form of the disease, the misanthrope often creates a philosophical society of misanthropes, calling for numerous murders and cruel wars.
5. Obsessive states. They manifest themselves as obsessive thoughts, ideas, actions, and a person cannot get rid of it. This disease is typical for people with high mental abilities. There are people with harmless obsessions, but sometimes crimes are committed due to persistent obsessive thoughts.
6. Narcissistic personality disorder is a behavioral change in personality, manifested by inappropriately inflated self-esteem, arrogance and at first glance seems completely harmless. But due to the severe form of the disease, such people can substitute, interfere, disrupt plans, interfere and in every possible way poison the lives of others.
7. Paranoia - this disorder is diagnosed in patients who are preoccupied with persecution mania, delusions of grandeur, etc. This disease has exacerbations and moments of calm. It is dangerous because during a relapse, a paranoid person may not even recognize his relative, mistaking him for some kind of enemy. It is believed that such disorders are the most terrible mental illnesses.
8. Pyromania - a disease of this kind is very dangerous for surrounding people and their property. Patients with this diagnosis have a pathological love of watching fire. During such observations, they are genuinely happy and satisfied with their lives, but as soon as the fire stops burning, they become sad and aggressive. Pyromaniacs set fire to everything - their things, the things of loved ones and other strangers.
9. Stress usually occurs after stressful situation(death of loved ones, shock, violence, disaster, etc.), has a stable course of the disease. During this period, the patient is especially dangerous, since his adaptation of behavior and moral standards is impaired.

Severe mental illness

Below is a list of a group of mental illnesses that are severe and also difficult to treat. It is generally accepted that these are the most severe and most terrible mental illnesses of a person:

1. Allotriophagy - this diagnosis is given to those individuals who excessively consume inedible objects, such as soil, hair, iron, glass, plastic and much more. The cause of this disease is considered to be stress, shock, excitement or irritation. Inedible food most often leads to death for the patient.
2. Bipolar personality disorder manifests itself in a patient with a change in mood from the deepest depression to a state of euphoria. Such phases can alternate with each other several times a month. In this state, the patient cannot think sensibly, so he is prescribed treatment.
3. Schizophrenia is one of the most serious illnesses psyche. The patient believes that his thoughts do not belong to him, as if someone has taken over his head and thinking. The patient's speech is illogical and incoherent. The schizophrenic is alienated from the outside world and lives only in his own distorted reality. His personality is ambiguous, for example, he can experience love and hatred for a person at the same time, sit or stand in one position motionless for several hours, and then move non-stop.
4. Clinical depression. This mental disorder is typical for patients who are pessimistic, unable to work and socialize, lack energy, low self-esteem, constant feelings of guilt, and disrupted diet and sleep. With clinical depression, a person cannot recover on his own.
5. Epilepsy is a disease accompanied by convulsions, which manifests itself either unnoticed (twitching of the eye for a long time), or a full-fledged attack, when a person loses consciousness and undergoes convulsive seizures, while he releases
6. Dissociative identity disorder is a division of personality into two or more that can exist as a separate individual. From Billy Milligan - a mental hospital patient had 24 personalities.

Causes

All of the above most terrible mental illnesses have the main causes of development:

• heredity;
• negative environment;
• unhealthy pregnancy;
• intoxication and infection;
• brain damage;
• violent acts suffered in childhood;
• severe mental trauma.

Symptoms

Only a specialist can tell whether a person is really sick or whether he is faking it. In order to determine it yourself, you need to take into account all the signs of the disease together. Below are the main symptoms of terrible mental illnesses, from which we can conclude that a person is mentally ill:

• rave;
• excessive emotionality;
• vindictiveness and anger;
• absent-mindedness;
• withdrawal;
• madness;
• alcoholism and drug addiction;
• hallucinations;
• apathy.

What are the worst mental illnesses that are inherited?

A predisposition to mental illness exists only when relatives have had or have similar disorders. The following diseases are inherited:

• epilepsy;
• schizophrenia;
• bipolar disorder personalities;
• depression;
• Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Treatment

Mental deviations and various kinds of dangerous psychosis. diseases also require medication support, like other common ailments of the human body. The drugs help patients preserve the remaining parts of their personality, thereby preventing it from further deteriorating. Depending on the diagnosis, patients are prescribed the following therapy:

• antidepressants - these drugs are prescribed for clinical depression, bipolar disorder or neuroses, they correct mental processes and help improve overall well-being and mood;
• neuroleptics - this group of drugs is prescribed for the treatment of mental disorders (hallucinations, delusions, psychoses, aggression, etc.) using inhibition nervous system person;
• tranquilizers are psychotropic drugs that relieve a person of anxiety, reduce emotionality, and also help against hypochondria and obsessive thoughts.

Prevention

In order to prevent the occurrence of terrible mental illnesses, you need to take timely measures to monitor your mental hygiene. These include:

• responsible pregnancy planning;
• identify stress, anxiety, neurosis and the causes of their occurrence in a timely manner;
• rational organization of work and rest;
• knowledge of the family tree.

Mental illnesses in famous people

Not only ordinary people have the most dangerous mental illnesses, but celebrities also have disorders. Top 9 famous people who suffered or are suffering from mental illness:

1. Britney Spears (singer) suffers from bipolar disorder.
2. JK Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) underwent psychotherapy due to prolonged depression.
3. Angelina Jolie (actress) has faced depression since childhood.
4. Abraham Lincoln ( ex-president USA) - fell into clinical depression and apathy.
5. Amanda Bynes (actress) has bipolar personality disorder and is suffering from and being treated for schizophrenia.
6. Mel Gibson (actor) suffers from manic-depressive psychosis.
7. Winston Churchill (former Prime Minister of Great Britain) - periodically suffered from severe depression.
8. Catherine Zeta-Jones (actress) - she has been diagnosed with two diseases: bipolar disorder and manic-depressive psychosis.
9. Mary-Kate Olsen (actress) - successfully recovered from anorexia nervosa.

Asthenia is a whole complex of disorders that characterize the initial stage of a mental disorder. The patient begins to quickly get tired and exhausted. Performance decreases. There is general lethargy, weakness, and mood becomes unstable. Frequent headaches, sleep disturbances and a constant feeling of fatigue require detailed consideration. It is worth noting that asthenia is not always the main sign of a mental disorder and rather refers to a nonspecific symptom, as it can also occur with somatic diseases.

Suicidal thoughts or actions are a reason for emergency hospitalization of the patient in a psychiatric clinic.

A state of obsession. The patient begins to have special thoughts that cannot be gotten rid of. Feelings of fear, depression, uncertainty and doubt increase. The state of obsession may be accompanied by certain rhythmic actions, movements and rituals. Some patients wash their hands thoroughly and for a long time, others repeatedly check whether the door is closed, the lights are turned off, the iron is turned off, etc.

Affective syndrome is the most common first sign of mental disorder, which is accompanied by persistent change moods. Most often, the patient has a depressed mood with a depressive episode, much less often - mania, accompanied by an elevated mood. At effective treatment mental disorder depression or mania disappears last. Against the background of affective disorder, a decrease is observed. The patient has difficulty making decisions. In addition, depression is accompanied by a number of somatic symptoms: indigestion, feeling hot or cold, nausea, heartburn, belching.

If affective syndrome accompanied by mania, the patient has an elevated mood. The pace of mental activity accelerates many times over, and you spend minimal time on sleep. Excess energy can be replaced by severe apathy and drowsiness.

Dementia – last stage mental disorder, which is accompanied by a persistent decline in intellectual functions and dementia.

Hypochondria, tactile and visual hallucinations, delusions, substance abuse, etc. all accompany a mental disorder. Close relatives of the patient do not always immediately understand what is happening, so psychiatric help are addressed when the disorder becomes pronounced.

Timely treatment of mental disorders is a guarantee of success

Modern medicine has in its arsenal enough effective means for the treatment of mental disorders. The sooner treatment is started, the higher the chance of success.

Refers to a large number of different pathological conditions. The appearance, course and outcome of a particular disorder largely depends on the influence of internal and external factors. To understand the essence of the disease - a mental disorder, it is necessary to consider the main signs of pathologies. Further in the article the most popular syndromes will be presented, their description will be described. clinical picture, a characteristic is given.

General information

Psychiatry studies this category. Diagnoses are made based on various factors. Studying, as a rule, begins with an introduction to the general pathological condition. Private psychiatry is then explored. Diagnoses are made after a thorough examination of the patient and identification of the causes that provoked the condition. Based on these data, the necessary treatment method is selected.

Pathology groups

The importance of endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external) factors is important. It is different for certain violations. On the basis of this, in fact, the classification of mental disorders is carried out. Thus, two broad groups of pathologies are distinguished - endogenous and exogenous. The latter should include disorders provoked by psychogenic factors, exogenous organic brain (vascular, traumatic, infectious) damage, and somatic pathologies. Schizophrenia and mental retardation are endogenous mental disorders. The list of these pathologies can also be continued with affective states, senesopathies, and hypochondria.

Separation by etiology

Division by clinical manifestations

Depending on the nature of a particular symptom of a mental disorder, it is classified into one of the existing categories. In particular, neuroses are distinguished. Neurotic is a mental disorder that does not exclude sanity. They are closer to normal states and sensations. They are also referred to as borderline mental disorders. This means that their manifestations can be controlled without the use of radical methods. There is also a group of psychoses. These include pathologies accompanied by severe thinking disorders, delusions, changes in perception, severe inhibition or agitation, hallucinations, inappropriate behavior, and so on. In this case, the patient is not able to distinguish his experiences from reality. Next, we will consider some features of mental disorders of various types.

Asthenic syndrome

This is a fairly common condition. The main symptom of a mental disorder is increased fatigue. A person feels a decrease in performance, internal exhaustion. People with mental disorders may behave differently. With asthenia, for example, they are characterized by impressionability, instability of mood, tearfulness, and sentimentality. Such people are very easily moved, they can quickly lose their composure over little things. Asthenia itself can act as a symptom of a mental disorder, which, in turn, accompanies conditions after severe infectious lesions, operations, and so on.

Obsessions

These include conditions in which, against the will, some fears, thoughts, doubts appear. People with mental disorders of this type accept all these manifestations as their own. Patients cannot get rid of them, despite a rather critical attitude towards them. Doubt is the most common symptom of this type of mental disorder. So, a person can check several times whether he has turned off the light or closed the door. At the same time, moving away from home, he again feels these doubts. As for obsessive fears - phobias, these are quite common fears of heights, open space or enclosed spaces. In some cases, in order to calm down a little, relieve internal tension and anxiety, people perform certain actions - “rituals”. For example, a person who is afraid of all kinds of pollution may wash his hands several times or sit in the bathroom for hours. If something distracts him during the process, he will start the procedure again.

Affective states

They are quite common. Such conditions manifest themselves in a persistent change in mood, usually a decrease in mood - depression. Often, affective states are noted in the initial stages of mental illness. Their manifestations can be observed throughout the pathology. At the same time, they often become more complicated, accompanying acute mental disorders.

Depression

The main symptoms of this condition are considered to be deterioration in mood, the appearance of a feeling of depression, melancholy, and oppression. In some cases, a person may physically feel chest pain or heaviness. This condition is extremely painful. It is accompanied by a decrease in mental activity. A person in this state does not immediately answer questions and gives monosyllabic, short answers. He speaks quietly and slowly. Very often, people with depression note that it is somewhat difficult for them to understand the essence of a question or text, and complain of memory deterioration. They have difficulty making decisions and have difficulty switching from one type of activity to another. People may experience lethargy, weakness, and talk about fatigue. Their movements are constrained and slow. In addition to the listed symptoms, depression is accompanied by feelings of guilt, sinfulness, despair, and hopelessness. This is quite often accompanied by suicide attempts. Some relief of well-being may occur in the evening. As for sleep, with depression it is superficial, with early awakening, with disturbing dreams, and intermittent. The state of depression may be accompanied by tachycardia, sweating, feelings of cold, heat, constipation, and weight loss.

Mania

Manic states are manifested by an acceleration of the pace of mental activity. A person develops great amount thoughts, desires, various plans, ideas of increased self-esteem. In this condition, as during depression, sleep disturbances are noted. People with manic mental disorders sleep very little, but a short period of time is enough for them to feel rested and alert. With a mild course of mania, a person feels an increase in creative power, increased intellectual productivity, increased tone and efficiency. He can sleep very little and work a lot. If the condition progresses and becomes more severe, then indicated symptoms poor concentration, distractibility and, as a result, decreased productivity.

Synestopathies

These conditions are characterized by very different and unusual sensations in the body. In particular, it may be burning, tingling, tightening, twisting, and so on. All these manifestations are in no way related to pathologies internal organs. When describing such sensations, patients often use their own definitions: “there was a rustling under the ribs,” “it seemed like the head was coming off,” and so on.

Hypochondriacal syndrome

It is characterized by a persistent preoccupation with one's own health. A person is haunted by thoughts of having a very serious, progressive and probably incurable disease. Patients present somatic complaints, presenting ordinary or normal sensations as manifestations of pathology. Despite doctors’ dissuadings and negative test results, people regularly visit specialists and insist on conducting additional, more in-depth studies. Often, hypochondriacal conditions appear against the background of depression.

Illusions

When they appear, a person begins to perceive objects in an erroneous - altered form. Illusions can accompany a person with normal mental state. For example, a change in an object can be observed if it is placed in water. As for the pathological condition, illusions can appear under the influence of fear or anxiety. For example, in a forest at night, a person may perceive trees as monsters.

Hallucinations

They act as a persistent symptom of many mental disorders. Hallucinations can be auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, visual, muscular, and so on. Often there is a combination of them. For example, a person can not only see strangers in a room, but also hear their conversation. Patients call verbal hallucinations “voices.” They may have different content. For example, it could be simply calling a person by name or entire sentences, dialogues or monologues. In some cases, the “voices” are imperative. They are called A person can hear orders to kill, remain silent, or harm himself. Such conditions are dangerous not only for the patient himself, but also for those around him. Visual hallucinations can be objective or elementary (in the form of sparks, for example). In some cases, the patient can see entire scenes. Olfactory hallucinations are the sensation unpleasant odor(rotting, some kind of food, decay), less often pleasant or unfamiliar.

Rave

This disorder, according to many experts, is one of the main signs of psychosis. It is quite difficult to define what nonsense is. The conclusions of doctors when assessing the patient’s condition are quite contradictory. There are a number of signs of a delusional state. First of all, it always appears on a painful basis. Delusion cannot be dissuaded or corrected from the outside, despite a fairly clear contradiction with reality. A person is absolutely convinced of the truthfulness of his thoughts. Delusions are based on erroneous judgments, incorrect conclusions, and false beliefs. These thoughts are of great significance for the patient, and therefore, to one degree or another, determine his behavior and actions. Delusions may be associated with:

Delusional disorders are different various shapes. Thus, interpretive nonsense stands out. In this case, a person uses one-sided interpretations of daily facts and events as evidence. This disorder is considered quite persistent. In this case, the patient’s reflection of the cause-and-effect relationship between events and phenomena is disrupted. This form of delirium always has a logical basis. The patient can endlessly prove something, debate, give reasons. The content of interpretive delirium can reflect all of a person’s experiences and feelings. Another form of this disorder can be figurative or sensory conviction. Such delirium appears due to anxiety or fear, hallucinations. In this case, there are no logical premises or evidence; a person perceives everything around him in a “delusional” way.

Derealization and depersonalization

These phenomena often precede the development of sensory delirium. Derealization is a feeling that the world has changed. Everything that is around a person is perceived by him as “unreal”, “rigged”, “artificial”. Depersonalization manifests itself in a feeling of change in one’s personality. Patients characterize themselves as having “lost face,” “lost the fullness of sensations,” and “become stupid.”

Catatonic syndromes

These conditions are characteristic of motor disorders: or, on the contrary, agitation. In the latter case, there is repetition, lack of purpose, and randomness of some movements. Moreover, they may be accompanied by shouting of individual words or remarks or silence. The patient may freeze in an awkward, unusual position, such as raising a leg, extending an arm, or raising the head above a pillow. Catatonic syndromes are also observed against the background of clear consciousness. This indicates a greater severity of the disorder. If they are accompanied by confusion, then we can talk about a favorable outcome of the pathology.

Dementia

I also call it dementia. Dementia manifests itself in a deep impoverishment of all mental activity and a persistent decrease in intellectual functions. Against the background of dementia, the ability to learn new knowledge worsens, and in many cases is completely lost. In this case, a person’s adaptability to life is disrupted.

Blackout

Such disorders can occur not only in mental disorders, but also in patients with severe somatic pathologies. Confusion of consciousness is characterized by difficulty in perceiving the environment and a severance of connections with the outside world. Patients are detached and cannot realize what is happening. As a result, their contact with other people is disrupted. In addition, patients have poor orientation in time, in their own personality, in a specific situation. People are not able to think logically and correctly. In some cases, there is incoherent thinking.