How not to go crazy in a metropolis: 7 mental disorders faced by residents of large cities

Most common disorders

1. Neurasthenia

It arises from the depletion of the nervous system during long-term mental overload. Inhabitants of megalopolises, as a rule, have a lot of work, they sleep and rest a little, and they regularly find themselves in stressful and conflict situations.

How to recognize

Neurasthenia is often accompanied by headaches and weakness, sleep disturbances, indigestion, and fatigue. And also the feeling that every day is groundhog day, which causes outbursts of anger and irritability. Often, neurasthenia is accompanied by professional burnout, psychosomatic illnesses and a state similar to depression: everything is tired, you want to lie down and do nothing.

Maria Babushkina is a clinical psychologist, consultant psychologist, performer of the YouDo.com online service.

A person "leaves" in illness or malaise. This is the manifestation of the protective mechanism of the psyche. She tries to turn off emotions and reduce activity in order to accumulate resources for recovery.

2. Chronic fatigue syndrome

Residents of large cities are at risk of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is facilitated by an unbalanced emotional and intellectual load, stress, increased responsibility, irregular working hours, and a disruption in sleep and nutrition.

How to recognize

A person cannot fully rest. Strength does not return, even when it seems that you have finally slept off. This is the difference between CFS and ordinary fatigue.

Chronic fatigue syndrome can manifest itself in increased sleepiness during the day and insomnia after a hard day's work, irritation and bad mood for no reason, headaches and unclear muscle pains from nowhere, frequent illnesses, memory loss, allergic reactions.

3. Anxiety disorder

It occurs due to a large number of irritants of the nervous system. Noises, smells, light, crowds of people - all this the body simply does not have time to digest. Stress leads to disturbed sleep and appetite, sudden attacks of aggression or sadness, gloomy thoughts, headaches.

Oleg Ivanov is a psychologist, conflictologist, head of the Center for Settlement of Social Conflicts.

Anxiety disorder is often accompanied by fear of death or illness, worry, and apprehension about yourself and your loved ones. Fears can manifest themselves in different ways: from a feeling of mild anxiety to a fear of leaving the house.

How to recognize

Fear and anxiety are completely normal and natural reactions of the body. But if a person experiences them in ordinary situations that do not pose any danger, this may be a sign of disorder. For example, in a queue at a store, on a busy street or in an empty apartment.

4. Agoraphobia

This is a type of anxiety disorder. Agoraphobia is provoked by frequent stress, increased stress, loneliness, lack of emotional contacts.

How to recognize

A person experiences fear of open space, a large crowd of people. The most susceptible to this type of disorder are impressionable, emotional, suspicious people.

5. Depression

This is the most common disease in megacities. To one degree or another, many people suffer from it, although they themselves may attribute anxiety symptoms to lack of sleep or stress. Depression is often the result of long-term effects of CFS and anxiety disorders.

How to recognize

Depression is characterized by many symptoms. These are depressed mood, lack of desire to do anything, indifference, inability to concentrate, slow and imprecise movements. A person evaluates everything that happens in a negative light. Disruptions in the functioning of internal organs and systems are possible: insomnia, headaches, pain in the heart or stomach.

Depression is often much worse in the morning than in the evening.

6. Panic disorder

A disease very close to anxiety disorders. According to one theory, an atypical interpretation of bodily signals that are unusual for the body may be the cause of panic disorder. They can be provoked by lack of sleep, overwork, constant stress, a hangover, and the intake of a large number of caffeinated drinks.

Ekaterina Dombrovskaya is a psychiatrist.

Vegetative symptoms of a panic attack - palpitations, shortness of breath, pain in the heart, back, head - often begin to be treated by therapists, cardiologists, and surgeons. As a rule, such treatment either does not lead to anything, or temporarily removes the symptoms, which then return with renewed vigor.

How to recognize

A pronounced form of the disorder is panic attack: an unexplained and painful attack of severe anxiety for a person, accompanied by fear in combination with various autonomic (somatic) symptoms.

7. Psychotic disorders (acute psychoses)

These are the most severe disorders with deep mental damage. Their reasons are numerous. However, constant stress affects the severity of psychosis, provokes their earlier development, and aggravates the prognosis. The percentage of psychoses in urban areas is much higher than in rural areas.

How to recognize

People with psychosis are usually dangerous to themselves and those around them. Their behavior becomes strange, inadequate, unproductive. The connection with reality is distorted, the perception of reality is disturbed.

What else do residents of big cities suffer from?

1. Various dependencies

Alcoholic, narcotic, food and others. The use of stimulants is driven by the desire to cope with nervous exhaustion and stress.

2. Loneliness

It also manifests itself in those who live surrounded by a large number of people. Even if a person has a formal relationship - spouse, spouse, boyfriend, parents - these relationships may lack a sense of intimacy, calmness, and confidence.

Yana Khokhlova is a consultant psychologist, performer of the YouDo.com online service.

Residents of megalopolises are sometimes more comfortable to be freelancers than to communicate with colleagues on a daily basis, to travel to the office by public transport. Meeting with family and friends is replaced by virtual communication. Loneliness in a crowd gives rise to the phenomenon of loneliness together, when partners do not feel genuine closeness.

How to understand that you should urgently see a doctor

Emotional signs

A sharp change from a cheerful mood to a dreary one.
Apathy, despondency, depression.
Feeling of anxiety and anxiety, causeless fear.
Despair, low self-esteem, constant dissatisfaction with oneself and one's life.
Loss of interest and pleasure from work, communication with the outside world.
Feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
Feeling of inner tension, constant doubts about the correctness of the decisions made.

Mental signs

Difficulties or complete loss of concentration, inability to concentrate on a specific action.
Obsession with your worthlessness, thoughts about the meaninglessness of life.
Completing simple tasks in a longer time frame than before.

Physiological signs

Dry mouth, increased sweating.
Loss of appetite or overeating.
Rapid and significant weight loss (up to 10 kg in one to two weeks) or a sharp increase in body weight.
Changing taste habits.
Constipation or diarrhea.
Insomnia, prolonged falling asleep and constant awakening, nightmares, early waking up (by 3-4 o'clock in the morning), sleepiness throughout the day.
Restraint in movement or fussiness.
Muscle cramps, eyelid or cheek twitching, joint or back pain.
Fatigue, weakness in the limbs.
Decreased or completely absent sex drive.
Increased blood pressure up to hypertensive crises, pain in the heart, increased heart rate.

Behavioral signs

Voluntary isolation, unwillingness to contact family and friends.
Constant attempts to attract the attention of others to themselves and their problems.
Loss of interest in life, slovenliness and unwillingness to take care of oneself.
Constant dissatisfaction with oneself and others, excessive exactingness and high criticality, conflicts.
Passivity, unprofessional and low-quality performance of their work.

What to do to prevent mental disorders

Regulate your sleep. It is he who helps the body to recover. You need to sleep at least seven to eight hours (if there is a need, then more), it is better to go to bed before 12 at night. Avoid using gadgets before going to bed, rather take a walk in the fresh air. Try to go to bed half an hour earlier. If you can't fall asleep right away, don't be nervous: the body will gradually take on a new rhythm.
Go in for sports. You don't have to go to the gym and set records. Try Nordic walking, jogging, or just walking briskly in the morning or evening, try yoga. If you don't have the strength for all this, just be in the fresh air more often.
Change your lifestyle. Take an unscheduled vacation, switch to remote work. Don't give up on another vacation.
Try meditation. Or relaxing techniques, aromatherapy - everything that helps relieve stress.
Communicate more with loved ones and loved ones. Talk about your feelings, do not hold negativity to yourself.
Make food meaningful. Avoid snacking on the go and with your gadgets in hand.
Don't go on a diet, even if you are unhappy with your figure. Eat full, forget about fast food. Eat more vegetables and fruits, nuts and dried fruits. Listen to the body - what exactly does it want?
Eliminate external irritants. Remove anything that annoys you: fix a dripping faucet, seal windows, rearrange your home or workplace.
Learn to deal with stress. Don't let things go by themselves. Analyze the situation, change your attitude towards it, get rid of negative emotions immediately, and do not accumulate.
Learn to talk more about your feelings. If communication is a burden for you, do not force yourself, give it up. You don't have to meet other people's expectations.
Open up to new emotions. Try unusual types of recreation, read different books, find new hobbies, try unfamiliar dishes and products, communicate with new people, broaden your horizons. Everything new stimulates the brain.