Common mental health condition is referred to as the state of mind of an individual at a given point in time. According to WHO “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.”
Common mental health conditions
Some common mental health conditions includes ;
1.Depression :
Depression is a state of hopelessness, the feeling of severe despondency and dejection. Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious mental health condition that pessimistically affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest in activities you once which could be as a result of, Childhood experiences, life events, way of thinking, Other mental health problems, physical health problems, and family history of the individual. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and home.
Signs and symptoms of depression
- Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness.
- Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters.
- Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports.
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much.
Causes of depression
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Personality
Low conscientiousness leads to a more disorganized and poorly planned life, creating more stressful life circumstances and higher levels of depression. You may be more vulnerable to depression if you have certain personality traits, such as low self-esteem or being overly self-critical. This may be because of the genes you’ve inherited from your parents, your early life experiences, or both.
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Menopause
When hormone levels drop, serotonin levels also fall, because there is increased irritability, anxiety and sadness. “Falling estrogen and progesterone levels can trigger mood swings that make you become vulnerable to depression.
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Loneliness
Feeling lonely increases the risk of mental health conditions creating an epidemic of loneliness and depression in young adults. Loneliness also the subjective feeling that you’re lacking the social connections you need. It can feel like being stranded, abandoned, or cut off from the people with whom you belong can trigger the feeling of depression
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Illness
People living with chronic physical conditions such as coronary heart disease, cancer or a condition that causes long-term pain and emotional stress , which are both associated with the development of depression and anxiety. Illness may affect the persons mobility which makes them immovable, this could lead to depression .
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Stressful events
severe stressful life events are arguably the most important risk factor for episodes of major depressive disorder. Most people take time to come to terms with stressful events, such as bereavement or a relationship breakdown. When these stressful events occur, your risk of becoming depressed is increased if you stop seeing your friends and family and try to deal with your problems on your own.
2.Anxiety
Anxiety as of the examples of mental health condition is characterized by a feeling of worry, distorted thinking, unease, apprehension and fear about something with an uncertain outcome. Anxiety is also an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.”
Some of examples of anxiety include phobic reaction. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that is caused my an extreme form of fear or anxiety, triggered by a particular situation.
Different types of fear :
- Acrophobia- fear of height
- Aerophobia – fear of flying
- Cynophobia- fear of dogs
- Gamophobia- fear of marriage
- Hemophobia- fear of blood
- Zoophobia: fear of animals
Signs and symptoms of anxiety
- Constant feeling of nervousness and tensed
- Hyperventilation
- Trembling
- Sweating profusely
- Heart palpation (difficulty in breathing slowly?
- Having troubles in concentrating in other things rather than present worry.
- Insonmia
- Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
Causes of anxiety
- Physical it emotional abuse
- Difficult childhood experiences
- Stress and trauma
- environmental stressors, such as relationship problems or family issues
- genetics
3. Schizophrenia
this is a serious mental condition of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental disintegration. This type of mental health condition gives rise to hallucination, fear of the unknown, confusion and solitude.
Causes of schizophrenia
Stress :
The main psychological triggers of schizophrenia are stressful life events or post-traumatic stress disorder which is caused by painful and tragic childhood experiences. These experiences are hard to repress no matter how hard a person tries it will keep reoccurring in his/her mind leading to schizophrenia. It could also be caused by the loss of a loved one, bereavement, loss of job, divorce, or sexual or emotional abuse, all these are common triggers of this mental health condition
Drug abuse
It is not clear if using drugs directly causes symptoms in people who are susceptible to schizophrenia, or if they are more likely to use drugs. Drug use, especially abuse or misuse, is said to trigger schizophrenia symptoms in people who are already susceptible to the mental illness also, the chronic, excessive misuse of alcohol or drugs can increase the frequency and severity of psychotic episodes For example, many people who abuse methamphetamines experience psychotic symptoms due to their drug use
Genetics
Schizophrenia is a genetic predisposition in which parent transfer to their offspring. This type of mental health condition is inherent, some children are naturally born with it. Evidence that the disorder is partly inherited comes from studies of twins. Identical twins share the same genes.
In identical twins, if a twin develops schizophrenia, the chances of the other one developing it are very common even if they are raised in separate homes.
In non-identical twins, who have different genetic make-ups, when a twin develops schizophrenia, it’s only in rare cases that the other develops it also.
Neurotransmitters
Scientist believes that people with schizophrenia have an imbalance of the neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate. In other words, dopamine plays a role in controlling our sense of reality and too much or too little can cause delusions and hallucinations. It’s associated with how one feels whether something is significant, important, or interesting. Several neurotransmitters system particularly dopamine have been implicated. Antipsychotics work primarily by blocking dopamine D2 receptors, but alterations in dopamine neurotransmission cannot explain the myriad system in schizophrenia.
Pregnancy and birth complications
This includes both pre-natal, post-natal, and perinatal conditions of a woman ., infections, obstetrics and prenatal nutritional deficiency can lead to giving birth to a child with schizophrenia. significantly increased the risk of schizophrenia: preeclampsia, gestational age younger than 33 weeks, inertia of labor, vacuum extraction, a ponderal index less than 20, respiratory illness, and type 2 malformations. Two major epidemiological notions for a neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia are season of birth, and place of birth. Seasonal birth rates of schizophrenics differ from those of the general population with people born during winter or early spring, where there is a greater predominance of infections such as colds and influenza, to an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.
Signs and symptoms of schizophrenia
- Hallucinations.
- Delusions.
- Distorted thinking
- Disorganized speech
- Change in pattern of sleeping
- Social isolation
- social withdrawal or self-isolation.
4.Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a type of mental illness is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviors.
There are two keywords here “Obsession” and “compulsion “
Obsession means consistent urge to do , is also the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc in which the person does not have control. On the other hand, compulsion a very strong feeling of wanting to do something repeatedly which is very difficult to control.
Therefore, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (“obsessions”) and/or behaviors (“compulsions”) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.
Examples of Obsessive compulsive disorder
Kleptomania
This is a mental health disorder that involves repeatedly being unable to resist urges to steal items that you generally don’t really need. Often the items stolen have little value and you could afford to buy them. Kleptomania is rare but can be a serious condition. It can cause much emotional pain to you and your loved ones and even legal problems if not treated.
Pyromania
This is a mental health condition. People who have this disorder cannot resist an impulse to set fires, even though they know it is harmful.
Obsession Signs and symptoms includes;
Obsessions are unfounded thoughts, fears, or worries. They happen often and cause great anxiety. Reasoning does not help control the obsessions. Common obsessions are:
- Unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects
- Fear of being contaminated by touching objects others have touched
- Doubts that you’ve locked the door or turned off the stove
- Intense stress when objects aren’t orderly or facing a certain way
- Images of driving your car into a crowd of people
- Thoughts about shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately in public
- Unpleasant sexual images
- Avoidance of situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands
Compulsion signs and symptoms includes;
Compulsive acts can become excessive, disruptive, and time-consuming. They may interfere with daily life and relationships. They includes
- Hand-washing until your skin becomes raw
- Checking and rechecking to make sure that a door is locked or that the oven is turned off for example
- Sweeping the house reapitedly even when it’s clean .
- Silently repeating a prayer, word or phrase
- Arranging your clothes or plates in the kitchen to make sure it’s in order.
Causes of obsessive compulsive disorder
- Genetics
- Brain abnormality
- Chromosomal aberrations
- Environment plays an important role in OC
Bipolar disorder or manic depressive illness
Bipolar disorder formally known as manic depressive disorder is a mental health condition characterized by constant mood swings, anger and period of depression. It causes changes in a persons mood, energy, attention and ability to function.
Causes of bipolar disorder
Traumatic Childhood experiences
According to Sigmund Freud father of psychoanalytic theory, childhood experiences has serious effect on the way we think and who we become. People who have sad experiences during their childhood tend to be exposed to various mental health problems including bipolar disorder . Additionally, a child that is improperly trained can develop personality disturbance which makes he/she antisocial impulse either inward or outward. Those who direct inwardly become neurotic while those who direct outward become criminal. Some experts believe that encountering a lot of emotional distress as a child can lead to bipolar disorder . This could be because the trauma and distress has overwhelmed you to the point you cannot control your emotions.
This may include some experiences like
- Sexual and emotional abuse
- Loss of loved one Rape
- Neglect
Stressful life events
Stressful life events is mental health problems caused by series of disappointment, it could be as a result of marriage failure, chronic disease, divorce, incarceration, loss of spouse, unable to conceive etc. all these can trigger bipolar disorder .
Triggers
A stressful circumstance or situation often triggers the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Examples of stressful triggers include:
- the breakdown of a relationship
- physical, sexual or emotional abuse
- the death of a close family member or loved one
- These types of life-changing events can cause episodes of depression at any time in a person’s life.
Bipolar disorder may also be triggered by:
- physical illness
- sleep disturbances
- overwhelming problems in everyday life, such as problems with money, work or relationships
- Family factor
- The family members of a person with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of developing it themselves.
Signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder
- Moodiness
- Confusion and inattention exaggerated
- Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria)
- Decreased need for sleep.
- Unusual talkativeness.
- Racing thoughts.
General treatments for mental health conditions :
1.Medication
The following medications are used in treating mental health conditions.
Antidepressants
These are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, sexual dysfunction, and emotional blunting.
Antipsychotic
These are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis, principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other psychotic disorders. They are also the mainstay together with mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder.
Psychotherapy
This is a type of treatment that can help individuals experiencing a wide array of mental health conditions and emotional challenges. Psychotherapy can help not only alleviate symptoms, but also, certain types of psychotherapies can help identify the psychological root causes of one’s condition so a person can function better and have enhanced emotional well-being and healing.
Conditions that can be helped by psychotherapy include coping with stressful life events, the impact of trauma, medical illness or loss such as the death of a loved one; and specific mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. There are several different types of psychotherapy and some types may work better with certain clinical situations.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysts help clients tap into their unconscious mind to recover repressed emotions and deep-seated, sometimes forgotten experiences. By gaining a better understanding of their subconscious mind, patients acquire insight into the internal motivators that drive their thoughts and behaviors.
Conclusions
Mental health can be challenging to deal with. However, it is possible to overcome. You have to be strong and never lose your determination. It is not only people who are psychotic have mental health conditions, so many people walking around the street on daily basis has different mental health conditions. So it is therefore important to visit hospitals from time to time for medical check ups. It is necessary to alleviate the symptoms of mental heath condition. Certain types of psychotherapies can help identify the psychological root causes of one’s conditions or a person can function better and have enhanced emotional well-being and healing.
