Although believed otherwise, psychiatric or mental illnesses are a common occurrence in today’s society. Even though 1 in every 4 people suffer from some kind of psychiatric issue still awareness about mental health and healthcare is quite limited when we compare it to physical health and wellbeing. In layman terms, mental illnesses can be termed as a physical disease or condition but not that of the body but that of the brain. Unfortunately especially in India due to social stigma attached with mental illnesses both patient and many a times the family too are wary of asking for help. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint exact reasons for various mental diseases like in case of physical ailments but still there are some pointers. Severe emotional trauma or stress, environmental causes, genetics are some of the reasons that may be culprits for advent of some mental diseases.
Understanding Mental illnesses
Most psychiatric or mental illnesses are actually chemical imbalances in the brain. Early signs and symptoms of mental illnesses are always present, especially in case of severe illnesses. Some of these symptoms are excessive fears or worries, feeling dejected and withdrawn, extreme mood changes, suicidal thoughts, confusion, extreme stress and more. If any of these symptoms last for a prolonged time it’s best to seek professional help so that the illnesses can be diagnosed at an early stage. Mental illness can affect anybody irrespective of gender, age, income-level or cultural background. In case of most mental illnesses timely assistance to the patient can ensure complete control over the ailment and enhanced quality of life.
Common Mental illnesses
Psychiatric and mental diseases come in many forms. Depression is one of the most common psychiatric issues found in patients today. Depression can range from mild to severe and are mostly treated by anti-depressants. Millions of people suffer from depression but regrettably a good number of them don’t even seek medical help until at an advanced stage. Another common psychiatric problem is anxiety and panic disorders. Anxiety and panic attacks can lead to breathlessness, dizziness, nausea, sweating, chest pain and more in patients. Initial anxiety attacks if left untreated grow in frequency and severity thus leading to panic attacks. Schizophrenia is another common mental illness which may begin mildly with symptoms such as blunted emotions and poor concentration but overtime become severe with hallucinations in patients. Other common mental disorders prevalent today are bipolar disorder, substance abuse and addictions and others.
Mental illnesses Facts and Myths
The biggest myth attached with mental illnesses is that they are not real illnesses or health problems but are actually issues with personality of the concerned person or probably emotional weakness of the person. Some other myths about mental illnesses include that once affected a person will never recover or that only very few people get affected by mental illnesses. In the last couple of decades the society has come a long way in minimizing social stigma attached with mental illnesses. Still in India common psychiatric conditions are equated with being crazy, insane or psychotic. In worst case scenarios they get equated with paranormal happenings. In case of mental illnesses mostly what the patient requires is early diagnosis, correct medication and support from family and friends to live a quality and fulfilling life.