The term “mental and behavioral disorders” refers to a large number of different pathological conditions. The appearance, course and outcome of a violation in many respects 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 clinical picture will be described, and characteristics will be given.
General information
The study of this category is engaged in psychiatry. Diagnoses are made based on various factors. The study, as a rule, begins with a presentation of the general pathological state. Then, private psychiatry is examined. Diagnoses are made after a thorough examination of the patient, identifying the causes of 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. For various violations it is different. On the basis of this, in fact, a 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, exogenously-organic brain (vascular, traumatic, infectious) lesions, somatic pathologies. Schizophrenia, mental retardation are endogenous mental disorders. The list of these pathologies can also be continued with affective conditions, senesopathies, hypochondria.
Etiology
This is a different classification method. In accordance with it, organic and functional disorders are distinguished. In the first case, a pathological change in the brain structure is noted. The anatomical and physiological basis of functional diseases has not been established. Alzheimer's syndrome, pathologies associated with cerebrovascular disease, head injury, arising from somatic conditions or due to intoxication (for example, alcohol delirium) are organic mental disorders. The list of functional pathologies is composed of personality disorders, neurosis, mood changes. This group also includes senile psychoses, schizophrenia.
Clinical presentation
Depending on the nature of a particular symptom of a mental disorder, it belongs to one of the existing categories. In particular, neuroses are secreted. Neurotic is a mental disorder that does not exclude sanity. They are closer to normal conditions 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 impaired thinking of a pronounced nature, delirium, a change in perception, sudden inhibition or agitation, hallucinations, inappropriate behavior, and so on. Moreover, the patient is not able to distinguish his experiences from reality. Next, we consider some features of various types of mental disorders.
Asthenic syndrome
This is a fairly common condition. The main symptom of a mental disorder is fatigue. A person feels a decrease in working capacity, internal exhaustion. People with mental health problems can behave differently. In asthenia, for example, they are characterized by impressionability, instability of mood, tearfulness, sentimentality. Such people are very easy to touch, they can quickly lose their temper due to trifles. Asthenia itself can act as a symptom of a mental disorder, accompanying, in turn, the condition after severe infectious lesions, operations, and so on.
Obsessions
These include such states in which, in addition to 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 the rather critical attitude towards them. Doubts are the most common symptom of this type of mental disorder. So, a person can check several times whether he 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 bit, relieve internal stress and anxiety, people perform certain actions - “rituals”. For example, a person who is afraid of all kinds of pollution can wash his hands several times or sit for hours in the bathroom. If something distracted him in the process, he will start the procedure again.
Affective states
They are quite common. Such conditions are manifested in a persistent change in mood, as a rule, its decrease - depression. Often affective conditions are noted in the initial stages of mental illness. Their manifestations can be observed throughout the pathology. Moreover, they often become more complicated, accompanying acute mental disorders.
Depression
The main symptoms of this condition are considered to be mood deterioration, the appearance of a feeling of depression, longing, depression. 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, 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 the issue, the text, complain about memory impairment. They can hardly make decisions; they switch poorly from one type of activity to another. People may experience lethargy, weakness, and talk about fatigue. Their movements are constrained and slowed down. In addition to these symptoms, depression is accompanied by feelings of guilt, sinfulness, despair, and hopelessness. This is often accompanied by suicide attempts. Some relief may occur in the evening. As for sleep, in depression it is superficial, with early awakening, with disturbing dreams, intermittent. Depression can be accompanied by tachycardia, sweating, a feeling of cold, fever, constipation, weight loss.
Mania
Manic states are manifested by an acceleration in the pace of mental activity. A person has a huge number of 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, however, a short period of time is enough for them to feel rested and alert. With a mild course of mania, a person feels an upsurge in creative power, an increase in intellectual productivity, an increase in tone and performance. He can sleep very little and work hard. If the condition progresses, becomes more severe, then a poor concentration of attention, distractibility, and, as a result, a decrease in productivity, join these symptoms.
Synestopathies
These conditions are characterized by a variety of and unusual sensations in the body. In particular, it can be burning, tingling, tightening, twisting, and so on. All these manifestations are in no way associated with pathologies of the internal organs. When describing such sensations, patients often use their own definitions: "rustling under the ribs," "it seemed that the head was tearing off," and so on.
Hypochondria syndrome
He is characterized by persistent preoccupation with his own health. A person is haunted by thoughts of a very serious, progressive, and probably incurable disease. At the same time, patients present somatic complaints, presenting normal or normal sensations as manifestations of pathology. Despite the dissuasion of doctors, negative test results, people regularly visit specialists, insist on conducting additional, more in-depth studies. Often, hypochondriacal conditions appear against a background of depression.
Illusions
When they appear, a person begins to perceive objects in an erroneous - altered form. Illusions can accompany a person with a normal mental state. For example, a change in an object can be observed if it is lowered into 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 can 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 both. For example, a person can not only see strangers indoors, but also hear their conversation. Patients call verbal hallucinations "voices." They may have different contents. For example, it can be just a hail of a person by name or whole sentences, dialogs or monologues. In some cases, “voices” are imperative. They are called "imperative hallucinations." A person can hear orders to kill, be silent, inflict damage on himself. Such conditions are dangerous not only directly to the patient, but also to those around him. Visual hallucinations can be substantive or elementary (in the form of sparks, for example). In some cases, the patient can see whole scenes. Olfactory hallucinations are a sensation of an unpleasant odor (decay, some food, smoldering), less often pleasant or unfamiliar.
Rave
Such a disorder, according to many experts, is one of the main symptoms of psychosis. It’s hard enough to determine what delirium is. The conclusions of doctors in assessing the patient's condition are quite contradictory. There are a number of signs of delusional state. First of all, it always appears on a painful basis. Nonsense does not lend itself to dissuasion or correction from the side, despite a fairly clear contradiction with reality. Man is absolutely convinced of the veracity of his thoughts. Delirium is based on erroneous judgments, incorrect conclusions, and false conviction. These thoughts are of great importance for the patient, in connection with which, to one degree or another, determine his behavior and actions. Delusions can be associated with:
- exposure, poisoning, harassment, jealousy, witchcraft, material damage;
- denial, hypochondria, self-accusation, self-abasement;
- eroticism and so on.
Delusional disorders differ in various forms. So, the interpretative delirium stands out. In this case, a person uses unilateral interpretations of daily facts and events as evidence. This disorder is considered quite persistent. In this case, the patient's reflection of the causal relationship between events and phenomena is disturbed. This form of delirium always has a rationale. The patient can prove something endlessly, discuss, argue. The content of interpretative delirium can reflect all the experiences and feelings of a person. Another form of this disorder may be figurative or sensory conviction. Such nonsense appears on the basis of anxiety or fear, impaired consciousness, hallucinations. In this case, there are no logical premises, evidence; In a "delusional" way, a person perceives everything around him.
Derealization and depersonalization
These phenomena often precede the development of sensory delirium. Derealization is a sense of the changing world. Everything that is around a person is perceived by him as "unreal," "rigged," "artificial." Depersonalization is manifested in a sense of change in one's personality. Patients characterize themselves as "lost face", "lost the fullness of sensations" "stupid".
Catatonic syndromes
These conditions are characteristic of disorders of the motor sphere: stupor, lethargy, or, conversely, agitation. In the latter case, repeatability, non-focus, and randomness of some movements are noted. However, they may be accompanied by shouting of individual words or remarks or silence. The patient may freeze in an uncomfortable, unusual position, for example, raising his leg, stretching out his arm or raising his head above the pillow. Catatonic syndromes are also noted against a background of clear consciousness. This indicates a greater severity of the disorders. If they are accompanied by confusion, then we can talk about a favorable outcome of the pathology.
Dementia
I also call him dementia. Dementia manifests itself in a deep impoverishment of all mental activity, a persistent decline in intellectual functions. Amid dementia, the ability to absorb new knowledge is worsening, and in many cases is absolutely lost. In humans, the adaptability to life is impaired.
Stupefaction
Such disorders can be noted not only in mental disorders, but also in patients with severe somatic pathologies. Clouding of consciousness is characterized by difficulty in perceiving the environment, breaking ties with the outside world. Patients are detached, they cannot be aware of what is happening. As a result, their contact with other people is disturbed. In addition, patients are poorly oriented in time, in their own personality, in a specific situation. People are not able to think logically, correctly. In some cases, incoherence of thinking is observed.