How to detect mental illness in yourself

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If fear, fun, sadness began to prevail too often and there is no strength to overcome emotions, you should think about your mental health and seek help.

According to medical institutions, almost all over the world suffer from some kind of mental illness. According to other sources, one in five people in the world has a mental or behavioral disorder.

In total, there are about 200 clinically diagnosed diseases, which can be conditionally divided into five types: mood disorders, anxiety conditions, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, eating disorders, and dementia.

Depression is the most common mental illness. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020, depression will become worldwide after cardiovascular disease. Slightly less common are general anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anorexia, and eating inedible items.

How to recognize the first signs of the disease

Emotions are normal. But, as soon as emotions begin to spoil life, they become a problem that indicates a possible mental disorder.

Signs of mental illness are fairly easy to spot. When we feel so anxious that we cannot go to the store, make a phone call, or speak without panic attacks. When we are so sad that our appetite is lost, there is no desire to get out of bed, it is impossible to concentrate on the simplest tasks.

Simon Wessely President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Lecturer at King's College London

Too long gazing at yourself in the mirror, obsession with your appearance can also talk about. No less serious signal should be changes in appetite (both an increase and a decrease), sleep patterns, indifference to an interesting pastime. All this may indicate depression.

Voices in your head are signs of much more serious problems. And, of course, not everyone with mental illness hears them. Not everyone who is depressed will cry. Symptoms are always variable and can vary according to age and gender. Some people may not notice changes in themselves. But, if the changes that speak of the disease are obvious to the people around them, then it is worth contacting a psychiatrist.

What causes mental illness

The causes of mental illness are a combination of natural and social factors. However, some diseases, for example, can appear due to a genetic predisposition.

Mental illness occurs twice as often after natural disasters and catastrophes. It is also influenced by changes in human life and physical health. However, the unambiguous reasons for the appearance of the disorders are currently unknown.

How to make a diagnosis

Of course, you can do self-diagnostics and look for a description of the problems on the Internet. This can be useful, but you should be very careful about such results. It is best to contact a specialist for qualified assistance.

Medical diagnostics can take a very long time, maybe years. Making a diagnosis is the beginning, not the end. Each case proceeds individually.

How to be treated

The concept of mental illness changes over time. Today, electrotherapy is banned, like many other forms of treatment, so people try to help patients with drugs and psychotherapy. However, therapy is not a panacea, and drugs are often insufficiently studied due to low funding and the inability to conduct mass research. It is impossible to treat such diseases according to the template.

Is it possible to cure

Yes. People can fully recover from acute illness and learn to overcome chronic conditions. The diagnosis can change, and life can improve. After all, the main goal of treatment is to give a person the opportunity to live the life he wants.