There are many types of mental illness, including depression, which is brought on by elevated levels of stress5. Mental illness is a condition that affects people's mood and behavior. Eating disorders are another situation where someone gets food addictions. Another example of a mental illness is anxiety complications, but this research will concentrate on schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and bipolar illness, which is also known as maniac depression and causes elevated mood and depressive episodes. OCD is a prevalent mental illness where people engage in numerous compulsive behaviors out of obsession. People are frequently required to repeat a job 2, 1. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that leads to faulty perception from thought, emotion and behavior breakdown, therefore, there is no relationship between the three 4. This paper will focus on the mental illness and more specifically on Schizophrenia, OCD, and Bipolar Disorder.
DISCUSSION
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that has profound interruptions in speech and thoughts and if not treated can cause death. Most symptoms develop as early as sixteen years but it is a rare disease in children, the symptoms are categorized into three that is the cognitive, negative, and positive ones5. The positive symptoms may not be found in normal people because the characteristics include delusions, hallucinations, and thought disorders. The negative evidence, on the other hand, is related to behavior and emotional disruptions and this may include reduced feelings or pleasure and speaking as what can be called the flat effect. What this mean is that one has minimal response to what happens around them, they show no emotion or express any facial verbalization. The cognitive symptoms are not easily recognized but they are severe. This may include lack of the ability to disseminate information to make decisions. Another symptom is one finding it hard to concentrate on a single item or memory lapses where one is not able to use information acquired to their advantage once they have received it1.
The risk factors associated with schizophrenia development is gene evolution3. If a member of your family suffered Schizophrenia you have a high chance of developing it too, but this is not to say exclusively that when one person is diagnosed with Schizophrenia then there is the express risk to the other members2. There are families where one individual has suffered from Schizophrenia but no one of their relatives has ever suffered from the same. Scientists have only cited genes as the increase in the risk but otherwise, it is difficult to predict who suffers from Schizophrenia based on genetic information. Researchers have also attributed this illness cause to exposure to viruses, birth problems, and psychological factors or even malnutrition before birth4. Another possible cause has been explained as different brain chemistry where scientists have cited imbalance in the reactions to the interrelated brain chemical reactions.
There is no definite treatment to Schizophrenia basically due to the nature of symptoms, therefore, only therapies that eliminate syndromes. One such medication is Antipsychotics which are taken on a daily basis, while the psychological treatments can be done through finding methods that help the patient to adapt to the everyday challenge and set definite goals. In order to assist a loved one, you can encourage them to stay on treatment and help them realize that everybody has their own way of seeing things4. Be supportive and kind to them because this is the only way they can feel valued and wanted in the society.
Obsessive Compulsive disorder or the OCD as it is commonly referred is a common long-lasting disorder with recurring thoughts and compulsions that keep on repeating over and over again4. The most common symptoms of OCD is obsessions where one can develop the fear of contamination or germs or aggressive thoughts towards other people or developing taboo thoughts on issues such as sex and religion. In compulsive behavior, one tends to overdo some tasks, for instance, excessive hand washing and checking something repeatedly such as if the door is locked. People suffering from OCD are not able to control their thoughts and therefore, they spend a lot of time on a certain thought or behavior1. This has a direct effect on their daily chores, where they are not able to perform their best some people with this disorder can blink unreasonably or shrug their shoulders excessively.
OCD is diagnosed from the early age of nineteen and affects mostly children, adults, and adolescents1. Some of the risk factors associated with OCD are genetics where when a first-degree relative such as a parent suffers from the disorder then it increases the risk to the close members of a family. There is, however, ongoing research to try link OCD with genetic especially the first degree relatives which will help in correct diagnosis and treatment. Another risk factor associated with OCD is the environment that one develops in, for instance, the children that suffer abuse or trauma in young age have a high risk of developing OCD than those that do not suffer that2.
OCD is treated through medication and psychotherapy although even the patients under treatment may continue to experience some of the symptoms associated with OCD. Serotonin is known to reduce some of the symptoms of OCD 5. It is, however, advisable to consult your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment of OCD they will make you understand the available treatments options and the benefits of taking medication. Medicines cannot be stopped without advice from the doctor because there is a risk of causing rebound effect which will, in turn, worsen the OCD symptoms. Psychotherapy treatment has been found to be an effective method of reversing the symptoms in OCD, habit training, and cognitive behavior therapy has also been proven to be quite effective.
Bipolar disorder is associated with the sudden change of mood, activity levels, and unusual emotion shifts5. The mood can change from extreme happiness to intense sadness all in a very short period of time. Bipolar disorder can last up to seven days but there are others that may last longer up to two weeks and such patients need urgent hospital care4. There are those who suffer cyclothymiacs disorder where there are periods of depressions.
The sings associated with the Bipolar disorder include the intense change in behavior, sleep patterns, and activity levels. There are those who suffer from maniac episodes which are not severe where they experience, very happy sessions and feel energized, with increased activity levels3. On the other hand, people with depressive episode may experience extreme sadness, have little and decreased energy levels, at the high extreme end, they may contemplate suicide. Anyone who experiences these symptoms is advised to visit a medical facility and seek professional help. Bipolar disorder patients have also observed to suffer in relationships or abuse drugs and this has an effect on how they put up their performances in their workplaces or schools.
CONCLUSION
There has not been any single cause associated with the Bipolar disorder but scientists have attributed the following risk factors as major contributors, the brain structure and functioning, genetics and family history3. Mental illness is a condition that can be controlled through the right methods when patients agree to take a strong role in a recovery process. Many people do not realize they suffer from mental illness until it is too late2.
Cited References
A New Approach to Emotional Dysregulation in Bipolar Disorder. (2016). Bipolar Disorder: Open Access, 1(1).
Atagun, M. and Tunc, S. (2016). The Importance of Auditory Cortex Abnormalities in Type I Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder: Open Access, 1(1).
SCHIZOPHRENIA AND HOMELESSNESS. (2010). Schizophrenia Research, 117(2-3), p.162.
Timpano, K., Rubenstein, L. and Murphy, D. (2011). Phenomenological features and clinical impact of affective disorders in OCD: a focus on the bipolar disorder and ocd connection. Depression and Anxiety, 29(3), pp.226-233.
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