PSYCHOLOGICAL & MENTAL DISORDERS: DEFINED

MENTAL DISORDERS
What are mental disorders? These are “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and impaired functioning.” But having a psychological disorder does not necessarily mean a person has a disability, yet in many cases the condition is severe enough to be disabling.

Below are descriptions of some of the more prominent psychological disorders and the impact they can have in the workplace, including effects of common medications taken for the most severe conditions.

DEPRESSION
Depression is categorically one of the most common and most serious mental health problems today. Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy pleasurable activities.
While the severity and number of symptoms may vary, these can include the following: persistent sad mood; loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed; physical slowing or agitation; loss of energy; feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt; significant change in appetite or body weight; difficulty in sleeping or oversleeping; difficulty in thinking or concentrating; and recurrent thoughts of death or committing suicide.

In the workplace, symptoms of depression often may be recognized by decreased productivity, morale problems, lack of cooperation, safety risks, accidents, absenteeism, frequent statements about being tired all the time, complaints of unexplained aches and pains, and alcohol and drug abuse. These can affect workers' productivity, judgment, ability to work with others, and overall job performance. The inability to concentrate fully or make decisions may lead to costly mistakes or accidents and even death.

An employee with chronic depression may need to take medication. It is advised that one should seek professional help. Though there are some side effects of medication such as dry mouth, constipation, bladder problems, blurred vision, drowsiness, headache, nausea, insomnia and agitation.

BIPOLAR DISORDER
Bipolar Disorder, or Manic-Depression, involves cyclical periods of severe depression with periods of extremely elevated or irritable mood known as mania. Study shows that cycles, or episodes, of depression, mania, or "mixed" manic and depressive symptoms typically recur and may become more frequent, often disrupting work, school, family, and even social life and functions.

Being in the depressed cycle, symptoms of depressive disorder may appear. While in the manic cycle, the individual may be overactive, over talkative, and have a great deal of energy. Take note that mania often affects one's thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems and embarrassment. If left untreated, mania may worsen to a psychotic state.

Today, various type of medications are used to treat bipolar disorder, but even with optimal medication treatment, many people with the illness still have some residual symptoms. Depending on the medication, side effects may include reduced sexual drive or performance, anxiety, hair loss, movement problems, or dry mouth, weight gain, nausea, and tremor.

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD)
Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD involves symptoms of depression that according to studies, occur during the fall and winter seasons when the days are shorter and there is less exposure to natural sunlight. When the spring and summer seasons begin and there is greater exposure to longer hours of daylight, the symptoms of depression disappears.

SAD sufferers have the following symptoms that occur during the fall/winter months and diminish in the spring: depression, increased appetite, weight gain, inability to concentrate, depressed energy and interest, and excessive or too much sleeping.

ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders, as a group, are the most common mental illness today. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not properly treated.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
Panic Disorder - this involves repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying. The individual cannot predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - involves repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control. Rituals such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these rituals, however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety. Left untreated, obsessions and the need to perform rituals can take over a person's life.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - is a debilitating condition that can develop following a terrifying event. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to.
Some people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in the form of nightmares and disturbing recollections during the day. They may also experience other sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and have trouble feeling affectionate. They may feel irritable, more aggressive than before, or even violent.

Phobias - include both Social Phobia and Specific Phobia. People with social phobia have an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities. People with specific phobia on the other hand experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives unnecessarily.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder - involves constant, exaggerated, worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. The individual is almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it. The disorder is often accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.

SCHIZOPHRENIA
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease that affects about 1 percent or more of the population today. Terrifying symptoms include hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. Leaving them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others.
Medications and other treatments for schizophrenia, when used regularly and as prescribed, can help reduce and control the distressing symptoms of the illness, but most people with schizophrenia continue to suffer some symptoms throughout their lives.

PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Those with personality disorders possesses several distinct psychological features such as disturbances in self-image; inability to have successful interpersonal relationships; inappropriate range of emotion, ways of perceiving themselves, others, and the world; difficulty possessing proper impulse control. These disturbances come together to create a pervasive pattern of behavior and inner experience that is quite different from the norms of the individual's culture and often tend to be expressed in behaviors that appear more dramatic than what society considers usual. Therefore, those with a personality disorder often experience conflicts with other people and vice-versa. There are ten different types of personality disorders that exist, which all have various emphases.

1. Antisocial - Antisocial personality disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by chronic behavior that manipulates, exploits, or violates the rights of others. This behavior is often criminal. Lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society.

2. Avoidant - is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of social interaction.People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, rejected, or disliked.

3. Borderline - is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person characterized by depth and variability of moods. The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the disorder often manifests itself in idealization and devaluation episodes, as well as chaotic and unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior; as well as a disturbance in the individual's sense of self. In extreme cases, this disturbance in the sense of self can lead to periods of dissociation.

4. Dependent - is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people. This personality disorder is a long-term (chronic) condition in which people depend too much on others to meet their emotional and physical needs.

5. Histrionic - a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early adulthood. These individuals are lively, dramatic, enthusiastic, and flirtatious.

6. Narcissistic - The narcissist is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.[2] Narcissistic personality disorder is closely linked to self-centeredness.

7. Obsessive–Compulsive - is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning; repeated checking; extreme hoarding; preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts; aversion to particular numbers; and nervous rituals, such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room. These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational, and may become further distressed by this realization.

8. Paranoid - is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state.

9. Schizoid - is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, sometimes sexually apathetic, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness. SPD is not the same as schizophrenia, although they share some similar characteristics such as detachment or blunted affect and there is increased prevalence of the disorder in families with schizophrenia.

10. Schizotypal - is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, odd behavior and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs.

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