FREE ESSAY ON MENTAL DISORDERS

MENTAL DISORDERS

There are many diseases and disorders that may affect the human mind. Some of these are
serious, while others are minor and may not even be noticed. Some of the disorders and
diseases to be covered in this report are delirium, dementia, and schizophrenia, also a
discussion of specific symptoms and treatments available for the different disorders.
A mental illness is defined as any disease that affects a person's mind, thoughts,
emotions, personality, or behavior. For any mental illness, as in a physical illness,
there are symptoms that make it possible to identify when a person is suffering from a
mental disorder or illness. Some of the more common symptoms of these disorders include
extreme moods, sadness, anxiety and the inability to think clearly or remember well. Just
because a person may experience some of these symptoms it does not mean that he or she is
suffering from an illness. Almost everyone at sometime in their lives will not be able to
think clearly or be in a bad mood. These characteristics are just part of human nature
and are more than likely than not just a passing mood that will pass in a few moments. A
diagnosis of a mental illness may be necessary if the symptoms occur so often that they
interfere with the person's everyday life.
An amazingly large number of Americans have mental illnesses, approximately 43% of the
entire population of the United States. Although most of these are not serious, about 3%
of the American population have a mental illness that can be classified as serious. This
small population of the public will require treatment to either relieve or cure them of
their illness. Since the 1950's, treatment for mental illness has greatly improved and
has made recovery faster. These improvements will help the majority of the people who
seek treatment return to their normal lives faster. 
There are two basic terms used to describe the seriousness of mental illness that a
person has. The terms used are neurosis, and psychosis. A neurosis is the term used to
describe a mild disorder that may cause a small amount of emotional stress, but does not
cause a great deal of interference in the patients everyday life. The term psychosis is
used to describe a severe mental illness that is strong enough to prevent someone from
performing as they normally would. The term "insanity" is used to describe a person with
a mental illness. This is not a medical term. It is actually a legal term that is used in
court to try to prove a person to not be legally responsible for their actions. 
There are more than one hundred different types of mental illness. They are divided into
ten categories. These categories include delirium, dementia, schizophrenia, mood
disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, personality
disorders, eating, and finally substance disorders.
The first of these categories, delirium is when a person is not aware of their
environment and can be distracted very easily or become confused. Sometimes a delirious
person may not know where or who they are, their speech may be hard to follow and be very
disorganized. Delirium however is not usually a long lasting illness and the person is
over it in a week or so.
A second form of mental illness is dementia. Dementia can be diagnosed by a loss of the
ability to remember and judge things appropriately. A person with dementia may have a
difficult time with remembering names, conversations, and not follow rules or laws.
Dementia occurs mostly in elderly people and is the result of illnesses such as
Alzheimer's disease that destroys brain tissue.
A third, and very serious type of mental illness, is schizophrenia. This disorder affects
a person's way of thinking, their emotions, perceptions, and their behavior. It is
determined that a person has schizophrenia if he or she displays one or more of the
following characteristics. One of these characteristics that a person may hear "voices"
even tough they are completely alone. Another characteristic is that the person may feel
persecuted for no apparent reason."(World Book Encyclopedia). Other more subtle symptoms
of this disease include a decrease in the person's ability to work, their inability to
maintain personal relationships and their inability to perform well in school.
The symptoms of schizophrenia are divided up into two categories, positive and negative.
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are exaggerations of emotions that a person may feel.
These exaggerations of emotions are the cause of the hallucinations, delusions, and
strange speech patterns that a schizophrenic may experience. The negative symptoms of
schizophrenia are the loss of emotions and mental ability. The negative symptoms cause
the person to begin to have trouble finishing activities, show a decrease in, as well as,
a dulling in their speech and emotions. 
Although the exact cause of schizophrenia has not yet been pinpointed, scientists believe
that schizophrenia is the result of either physical or chemical changes in a person's
brain. These changes begin during the late teens to early twenties. Unfortunately, the
person cannot be completely cured with any of the methods now in use.
The next type of disorder is commonly referred to as a mood or affective disorder. These
disorders are based upon a person's mood. The two major types of disorders are depression
and mania. Depression is when a person undergoes a period of extreme sadness and mania is
when a person is overly happy, excited or overactive. A type of illness that falls into
these categories is a bipolar disorder, which is when a person will experience periods of
extreme mood swings. Although a person has bipolar disorder the episodes of mood changes
are usually brief and he or she can return to normal functioning levels after they
receive treatment from their doctor.
A person with depression may have feelings of extreme sadness and may also suffer from a
number of other symptoms. These symptoms include feelings of being worthless, loss of
appetite, sleeplessness or lack of concentration during their depressive states. Along
with these symptoms some experience a slowing in their thinking, while others become
restless and consider committing suicide. Even though there is treatment for depression,
about fifteen percent or so of the people who receive treatment actually do commit
suicide.
Anxiety disorders are another type of mental illness that people experience. These
disorders are characterized by feelings of extreme fear and/or anxiousness. The four
major types of anxiety disorders are panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders,
general anxiety disorders and finally phobias.
A person with a panic disorder experiences periods of extreme fear. These "panic attacks"
are accompanied by shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, numbness, sweating
and trembling. Along with these symptoms, the person may also experience a fear of death.
Most people will at some time in their life experience a "panic attack", but again this
does not mean that they have a panic disorder. A person is not determined to have a panic
disorder until they commonly experience panic attacks or when they interfere with normal
everyday activities that he or she would usually do.
A second type of anxiety disorder is called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, O.C.D. It is
the presence of illogical and uncontrollable thoughts that cause an obsession or
compulsion. The act of obsessing is defined as "reoccupying the mind with an idea or
emotion" (Webster's Dictionary). A person who suffers from an obsession may consider the
thought to be senseless, be he or she cannot stop themselves from doing to them. A common
obsession is that a person may be scared that he or she will become infected with germs
and become ill. This person may frequently wash their hands and surrounding objects to an
extreme.
A person who suffers from compulsions believes that if they do not perform a series of
events something will happen. Compulsive people usually realize the senselessness of the
things that they do but cannot control them. In very severe cases a compulsion may be a
person's main daily activity and in doing this activity over and over again may prevent
them from living a normal life.
A person who suffers from generalized anxiety may experience hot or cold spells and they
may be very irritable and hard to get along with. This may happen because they worry that
something will happen to them. These symptoms may last for periods of six months or
longer. Physical symptoms include muscle tension, nausea and a rapid heart rate. 
A person who suffers from a phobia has a constant fear of objects or situations that they
could come across, for example the fear of spiders. A phobic person, if forced to face
their fear, may panic or become ill. Although nearly all people have at least one or two
phobias it is not considered a disorder until it seriously interferes with a person's
everyday life.
Dissociative disorder, or psychogenic amnesia, is a disorder that affects a person's
ability to remember his or her past. A person who suffers from the type of dissociative
disorder called fugue, not only forgets his or her past, but also travels from their
community and begins a new life somewhere else as a different person. A familiar type of
this disorder is multiple personality disorder in which a person may have two or more
completely separate personalities and one personality will dominate during certain
situations.
A somatoform disorder is a disorder in which a person experiences physical symptoms with
no explainable reasons. Physical symptoms include chest pain, sexual problems or
paralysis.
A person who suffers from personality disorders may have trouble keeping a personal
relationship. Other symptoms of a personality disorder are aggressive behavior, stealing,
lying, fighting and resisting authority. They may also have trouble accepting
responsibility.
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are serious problems that can endanger a
person's life. Both of these disorders are the result of a serious fear of gaining
weight. Although eating disorders are more common in women than men, they occur in both.
An anorexic person will do anything to lose weight, including dieting or fasting even
though they are already underweight. A person with bulimia eats large quantities of food
during a binge and vomits it up or takes laxatives to stop weight gain.
Substance disorders involve alcohol abuse or the use of other drugs such as cocaine and
heroin. An addiction can lead to brain damage and make a person moody and can also lead
to death.
The treatment of mental illnesses can either be handled with medication or under the care
of a psychiatrist. The treatment that a patient undergoes depends on the type of their
mental illness, as well as, the severity of their situation.
In conclusion, it is obvious that a mental illness is a serious condition. It is
important for a person experiencing symptoms, such as those associated with the different
types of mental illnesses, to seek out appropriate medical treatment. Having a mental
illness is a disease and shouldn't be associated with a specific weakness in an
individual. Seeking treatment is the best thing that one can do to help ensure a life
that has more positive situations than negative thoughts and emotions.
Bibliography
World Book Encyclopedia