In the words of the great President FDR -“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”.
It’s all in the mind. Infact, 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? Would this mean that the behavior also functions abnormally? Definitely. The mind is a very potent part of us that somehow, whatever it thinks becomes seemingly real for the individual when actually it is not. When this happens, our entire personality is affected and could have an impact in our lives as well as affect the people around us.
Psychiatric Diseases are mental health disorder. Experts have seen significant psychological syndrome that happens on a person will always be associated with present sufferings such as a painful symptom, disability, or a significantly increased risk of death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. Furthermore, this pattern must not be merely an expected and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event. For example, the loss of a loved one. Some examples of mental illnesses are schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. One is diagnosed with psychiatrical disorder when one experiences the following symptoms: confusion; erratic behavior; hearing voices; hallucinations; headaches; depression; anxiety; fatigue; weight loss; anorexia. One will be identified as having psychiatric disorder when one experiences three or more of the above symptoms.
Disorders of the mind do not show specific causes. However, a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors would contribute to the acquirement of certain mental disorders. Some biological factors include genetics, prenatal damage, and substance abuse. Exploitation of substance could affect the chemical stability in the brain which can lead to it’s dysfunction. Psychiatric disorders can also be hereditary. Example, a person with schizophrenia is said to have a relative also having schizophrenia. Psychological and environmental factors may include abuse. 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.
Psychiatrical 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. This can be also used by people afflicted insomnia. There are mood stabilizers for bipolar disorders and antipsychotic for psychotic disorders. Furthermore, 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 also being used. Also, in line with the cognitive-behavioral treatment, lifestyle adjustments and supportive measures are used such as support groups.
Some disorders are transient and some may last a lifetime. Somehow, the given treatment will never take away the disorder but will only lessen the symptom to be able to make an individual live a normal life. Some disorders may be very inadequate in their parctiacl effects, while others may engage substantial disability and support needs.
People in all walks of life could be afflicted with a psychiatric disorder. 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. Everyone in this lifetime will really 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. Moreover, when this emotion leads to the person’s dysfunctional- his/her normal life is disrupted and health is negatively affected- the person might be needing professional help. We can say that this individual has acquired a mental disorder due to not recovering from the loss.
We are indeed prisoners of our own minds. Anyone can always say that being happy is a state of mind yet we must also take into account that being sad is also a state of mind.
