MENTAL DISORDERS

[Document subtitle]
 Mental Disorders
Mental health refers to our cognitive, behavioral, and emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel, and
behave. The term 'mental health' is sometimes used to mean an absence of a mental disorder. Mental health can
affect daily life, relationships, and even physical health. Mental health also includes a person's ability to enjoy life - to
attain a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.

We will explain what is meant by the terms "mental health" and "mental illness." We will also describe the most
common types of mental disorder and some early signs as well.

Definition
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is: "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes
his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to
contribute to his or her community."

So, A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that
causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Mental disorders are usually defined by a
combination of how a person behaves, feels, perceives, or thinks.

Types of Mental Illness

Anxiety Disorders

People with anxiety disorders respond to certain objects or situations with fear and dread, as well as with physical signs of
anxiety or panic, such as a rapid heartbeat and sweating. An anxiety disorder is diagnosed if the person's response is not
appropriate for the situation, if the person cannot control the response, or if the anxiety interferes with normal
functioning. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific
phobias.

Mood Disorders

These disorders, also called affective disorders, involve persistent feelings of sadness or periods of feeling overly happy, or
fluctuations from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. The most common mood disorders are depression, bipolar
disorder, and cyclothymic disorder.

Psychotic Disorders

Psychotic disorders involve distorted awareness and thinking. Two of the most common symptoms of psychotic disorders
are hallucinations -- the experience of images or sounds that are not real, such as hearing voices -- and delusions, which
are false fixed beliefs that the ill person accepts as true, despite evidence to the contrary. Schizophrenia is an example of a
psychotic disorder.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders involve extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors involving weight and food. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common eating disorders.

Impulse Control and Addiction Disorders

People with impulse control disorders are unable to resist urges, or impulses, to perform acts that could be harmful to
themselves or others. Pyromania (starting fires), kleptomania (stealing), and compulsive gambling are examples of
impulse control disorders. Alcohol and drug are common objects of addictions. Often, people with these disorders
become so involved with the objects of their addiction that they begin to ignore responsibilities and relationships.

Personality Disorders

People with personality disorders have extreme and inflexible personality traits that are distressing to the person and/or
cause problems in work, school, or social relationships. In addition, the person's patterns of thinking and behavior
significantly differ from the expectations of society and are so rigid that they interfere with the person's normal
functioning. Examples include antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and paranoid
personality disorder.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

People with OCD are plagued by constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines. The
disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions. An example is a person with an
unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands.

Mental health treatment

Treatment for mental health disorders is not one size fits all, and it does not offer a cure. Instead, treatment aims to
reduce symptoms, address underlying causes, and make the condition manageable. It may be a combination of
treatments because some people have better results with a multi-angle approach.

Medications

The four main categories of medications used to treat mental health disorders are antidepressants, anti-anxiety
medications, antipsychotic medications, and mood-stabilizing medications. Which type is best for patient will depend on
the symptoms patient experience and other health issues he/she may face. People may try a few medications at different
doses before finding something that’s right for them.

Psychotherapy

Talk therapy is an opportunity for patient to talk with a mental health provider about his/her experiences, feelings,
thoughts, and ideas. Therapists primarily act as a sounding board and neutral mediator, helping him/her learn coping
techniques and strategies to manage symptoms.

Hospital and Residential Treatment

Some people may need brief periods of intensive treatment at hospitals or residential treatment facilities. These
programs allow an overnight stay for in-depth treatment. There are also daytime programs, where people can
participate in shorter periods of treatment.

Mental Illness in Pakistan

The World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year on the initiative of the World Federation of Mental
Health and World Health Organization. Around 50 million people are suffering from common mental disorders in
Pakistan. The illness afflicts 15 to 35 million adults, which is about 10 to 20 per cent of the population, according to a
research by Agha Khan University.

The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council has taken a positive step by introducing the subject of behavioral sciences in the
early academic years, though there is a dearth of trained behavioral scientists to cater this need appropriately. Tall claims
are being made for the high quality of postgraduate education in psychiatry. But keeping in mind, the very few training
slots, huge rush of patients in public sector hospitals, large number of trainees, inadequate number of trained teachers,
personal biases and fallacies in the exam system, there remains a question about the quality status of postgraduate
education. There is no trend for regular auditing of education system in Pakistan. The number of psychiatrists in Pakistan
is very low (300), whereas only in Karachi the number of General Practitioners exceeds 8000. Evidently it is not possible
for the existing number of psychiatrists to cater to the mental health need of the country. The General Practitioners
should be trained and made competent enough to treat minor mental illnesses like depression and anxiety and be able to
detect and refer the major psychiatric illnesses.