Mental Disorders - 2

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.