To quote Franklin Roosevelt, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” .
Everything only exists in the mind. Indeed, whatever we think have a great influence on how we behave and that is usually the system. Everything starts with cognition, what comes next is action. But, what happens when the mind goes awry? This can mean that our behavior will function abnormally. The mind is a very powerful part of us that somehow, whatever it thinks becomes seemingly real for the person when actually it is not. When this happens, our whole personality is affected and could have an impact in our lives as well as affect the people around us.
Psychiatric disorders are mental health disorder. It is a clinically significant pattern that occurs in an individual that is associated with present distress such as a painful symptom, disability, or a significantly increased risk of death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. Moreover, this syndrome is not just an expected and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event. For example, the loss of a loved one. Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder are some examples of mental illnesses. A person is diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder when one experiences the following symptoms: confusion; erratic behavior; hearing voices; hallucinations; headaches; depression; anxiety; fatigue; weight loss; anorexia. If a person has three or more of these symptoms, then he/she might have a psychiatric disorder.
Mental disorders do not have definite causes. However, a mixture of biological, psychological, and environmental factors would supply to the acquirement of certain mental disorders. Some biological factors consist of genetics, prenatal damage, and substance abuse. Substance abuse could affect the chemical stability in the brain thus leading to a dysfunction. And for some, psychiatric disorders are hereditary. Example, a person with schizophrenia is said to have a relative also having schizophrenia. Psychological and environmental factors may include trauma. These experiences could have an impact on the person’s well being and thus if emotional wounds are not immediately mend, these could lead to mental disorders.
Psychiatric disorders are treated with therapy- behaviors or cognitive, and medications. Antidepressants are used for individuals who are clinicall depressed and anxious. Anxiolytics are used for anxiety disorders and other related disorders such as insomnia. Anxiolytics stabilizes moods for bipolar disorders and antipsychotic for psychotic disorders. In addition, electroconvulsive therapy is sometimes used in severe cases when other interventions for depression have been unsuccessful. Creative therapies such as music, art, and drama therapy are sometimes used. Also, in line with the cognitive-behavioral therapy, lifestyle adjustments and supportive measures are used such as support groups.
Some disorders are transient and some may last a lifetime. Somehow, the medication is just there to lessen the symptoms allowing the patient to live a seemingly normal life. Some disorders may be very limited in their functional effects, while others may involve substantial disability and support needs.
There is no choosing on who can be affected with psychiatric disorders. Based on varying personalities, an individual could possibly build up a disorder of the mind depending on how he/she react to stimulus around his or her environment such as stressful events in one’s life. For example, a loss of a loved one is a traumatic yet natural phase in a person’s life. Almost everyone gets a chance to experience loss. Grieving, getting angry, and feeling pain are natural reactions to loss. However, any emotion normally has its limit. Thus, the pessimistic feeling soon subsides and is replaced with hope and strength so as the person tries to recover from the loss. On the other hand, when one’s negative emotion such as sadness does not subside, the diagnosis is different. When an emotion goes ahead to the dysfunction of the life of an individual, the individual is sure to need professional help. This is when we can say that someone has not recovered from the loss and thus has acquired a mental disorder.
We are indeed prisoners of our own minds. As they say happiness is a state of mind; then so is sadness and all other emotions and cognitions that may lead us to losing our sanity.
