In the words of the great President FDR -“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”.
It’s all in the mind. Indeed, whatever we think have a great influence on how we behave and that is usually the system. Everything starts with cognition, what comes next is action. However, it is normal to ask what will happen when our mind goes out of control. This can mean that our behavior will function abnormally. The mind is a very powerful part of us that somehow, whatever it thinks becomes seemingly authentic for the person when actually it is not. When this happens, our whole personality is affected and could have an impact in our lives as well as affect the people around us.
Psychiatric disorders are mental health disorder. It is a clinically significant behavioral that occurs in an individual that is associated with present distress such as a painful symptom, disability, or a significantly increased risk of death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. Furthermore, this syndrome is not just an expected and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event. For example, the loss of a loved one. Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder are some examples of mental illnesses. A person is diagnosed with psychiatrical disorder when one experiences the following symptoms: confusion; erratic behavior; hearing voices; hallucinations; headaches; depression; anxiety; fatigue; weight loss; anorexia. One will be identified as having psychiatric disorder when one experiences three or more of the above symptoms.
Disorders of the mind do not show exact causes. However, a blend of biological, psychological, and environmental factors would contribute to the acquisition of certain mental disorders. A few biological factors consist of genetics, prenatal damage, and substance abuse. Exploitation of substance could affect the chemical stability in the brain thus leading to a dysfunction. Psychiatric disorders can also be hereditary. Schizophrenia for example, had been found to be genetic. Psychological and environmental factors may include abuse. These experiences could have an impact on the person’s well being and thus if emotional wounds are not immediately mend, these could lead to mental disorders.
Psychiatrical disorders are treated with therapy- behaviors or cognitive, and medications. Antidepressants are used for individuals who have clinically depression and anxiety. Anxiolytics are used for anxiety disorders and other related disorders such as insomnia. There are mood stabilizers for bipolar disorders and antipsychotic for psychotic disorders. Furthermore, electroconvulsive therapy is sometimes used in severe cases when other interventions for depression have been unsuccessful. Creative therapies such as music, art, and drama therapy are also being used. Also, in line with the cognitive-behavioral treatment, lifestyle adjustments and supportive measures are used such as support groups.
Some disorders are transient and some may last a lifetime. In some way, the given treatment will never take away the disorder but will only lessen the symptom to be able to make an individual live a normal life. Some disorders may be very limited in their functional effects, while some may entail substantial disability and support needs.
People in all walks of life could be afflicted with a psychiatric disorder. Based on varying personalities, one could possibly develop a mental disorder depending on how he/she react to stimulus around his or her environment such as stressful events in one’s life. For example, a loss of a loved one is a traumatic yet natural phase in a person’s life. Almost everyone gets a chance to experience loss. A person’s natural reaction to loss is grieve, anger, pain, and other negative emotions. However, any emotion normally has its limit. Thus, the negative feeling soon subsides and is replaced with hope and strength so as the person tries to recover from the loss. On the other hand, when one’s negative emotion such as sadness does not subside, the diagnosis is different. When an emotion goes ahead to the dysfunction of the life of an individual, the individual is sure to need professional help. This is when we can say that someone has not recovered from the loss and thus has acquired a mental disorder.
We are indeed prisoners of our own minds. As they say happiness is a state of mind; then so is sadness and all other emotions and cognitions that may lead us to losing our sanity.
