Mental Health Awareness

Mental disorder/illness

Introduction

Diagnosis

To determine a diagnosis and check for related complications, you may have:

• A physical exam. Your doctor will try to rule out physical problems that could cause your symptoms.
• Lab tests. These may include, for example, a check of your thyroid function or a screening for alcohol and drugs.
• A psychological evaluation. A doctor or mental health provider talks to you about your symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. You may be asked to fill out a questionnaire to help answer these questions.

Determining which mental illness, you have.

The defining symptoms to determine which mental illness you have are detailed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association. This is used by mental health providers to diagnose mental conditions and by insurance companies to reimburse for treatment. Another method is, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)

Classes of mental illness

• ·         Neurodevelopmental disorders. 

This class covers a wide range of problems that usually begin in infancy or childhood, often before the child begins grade school.

Examples include autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disorders.

• ·         Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. 

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Psychotic disorders cause detachment from reality — such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking and speech.

Bipolar and related disorders.

This class includes disorders with alternating episodes of mania — periods of excessive activity, energy and excitement — and depression.

Depressive disorders. 

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These include disorders that affect how you feel emotionally, such as the level of sadness and happiness, and they can disrupt your ability to function.

Examples include major depressive disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

• Anxiety disorders. 
  

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Anxiety is an emotion characterized by the anticipation of future danger or misfortune, along with excessive worrying. It can include behaviour aimed at avoiding situations that cause anxiety.

This class includes generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobias.

• Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. 
  

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These disorders involve preoccupations or obsessions and repetitive thoughts and actions.

 Examples include obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding disorder and hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania).

• Trauma- and stressor-related disorders. 
  

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These are adjustment disorders in which a person has trouble coping during or after a stressful life event.

Examples include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder.

• Dissociative disorders. 
  

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These are disorders in which your sense of self is disrupted, such as with dissociative identity disorder and dissociative amnesia.

• Somatic symptom and related disorders.
  

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 A person with one of these disorders may have physical symptoms with no clear medical cause, but the disorders are associated with significant distress and impairment.

The disorders include somatic symptom disorder (previously known as hypochondriasis) and factitious disorder.

• Feeding and eating disorders. 
  

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These disorders include disturbances related to eating, such as anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

• Elimination disorders. 
  

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These disorders relate to the inappropriate elimination of urine or stool by accident or on purpose. Bedwetting (enuresis) is an example.

• Sleep-wake disorders. 
  

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These are disorders of sleep severe enough to require clinical attention, such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.

• Sexual dysfunctions.

These include disorders of sexual response, such as premature ejaculation and female orgasmic disorder.

• Gender dysphoria.
  

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 This refers to the distress that accompanies a person's stated desire to be another gender.

• Disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders. 

          These disorders include problems with emotional and behavioral self-control, such as                  kleptomania or intermittent explosive disorder.

• Substance-related and addictive disorders. 
  

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These include problems associated with the excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and drugs. This class also includes gambling disorder.

• Neurocognitive disorders. 
  

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Neurocognitive disorders affect your ability to think and reason. These acquired (rather than developmental) cognitive problems include delirium, as well as neurocognitive disorders due to conditions or diseases such as traumatic brain injury or Alzheimer's disease.

• Personality disorders. 

A personality disorder involves a lasting pattern of emotional instability and unhealthy behaviour that causes problems in your life and relationships.

Examples include borderline, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders.

• Paraphilic disorders. 

These disorders include sexual interest that causes personal distress or impairment or causes potential or actual harm to another person. 

Examples are sexual sadism disorder, voyeuristic disorder and paedophilic disorder.

• Other mental disorders. 

This class includes mental disorders that are due to other medical conditions or that don't meet the full criteria for one of the above disorders.

Treatment

Depends on:

Types of drug availables:

• Antidepressants
• Used to treat depression, anxiety, pain and insomnia
• Sometimes used to treat ADHD in adults,  but not FDA-approved
• Types of antidepressants: 

• SSRIs, SNRIs and bupropion popular because of less side effects and help a broader group of depressive and anxiety disorders

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•  Anti-anxiety
• Help reduce the symptoms of anxiety, such as panic attacks, or extreme fear and worry.
• Common medications:

•  Anti-psychotics
• Primarily used to manage psychosis which conditions that affects the mind, and in which there has been some loss of contact with reality, often including delusions (false, fixed beliefs) or hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not really there). It can be a symptom of a physical condition such as drug abuse or a mental disorder such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or very severe depression (also known as “psychotic depression”).
• Used in combination with other medications to treat delirium, dementia and mental health conditions.
• The medications do not cure those conditions, but it is used to relieve the symptoms and improve quality of life.
• Types of antipsychotics:

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• Both antipsychotics types work to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and manic phase of bipolar disorders.
• Possible side effects of antipsychotics:

• Typical antipsychotics additional side effects related to movement such as rigidity, persistent muscle spasms, tremors and restlessness. Long term used also may lead to condition called Tardive dyskinesia where muscle movements, commonly around the mouth, that a person can't control.

• Mood stabilizer
• Primarily used to treat bipolar disorder, mood swings associated with other mental disorders and sometimes to augment other medication effects on treating depression.
• Mood stabilizers work by decreasing abnormal activity in the brain and are also sometimes used to treat: Depression (usually along with an antidepressant), Schizoaffective Disorder, Disorders of impulse control, Certain mental illnesses in children
• Types of mood stabilizers:

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• Stimulant
• Increase alertness, attention, energy and also elevate blood pressure, heart rate and respiration.
• Prescribed to treat ADHD in children, adolescence and adult. Also can treat narcolepsy, occasionally depression (especially in older or chronically medically ill people and in those who have not responded to other treatments).
• Stimulants used to treat ADHD: Methylphenidate, Amphetamine, Dextroamphetamine, Lisdexamefetamine Dimesylate

LIFESTYLE & HOME REMEDIES

Things that you can do which build up your treatment plan:

Tips to improve coping skills:

Disclosure: This is for educational purposes only. If you find out that you have any of this symptom, please refer your Doctor (Psychiatrist) or Pharmacist as soon as possible. Stay with our channel on Instagram, and our Facebook Page (I Am Healthy) for more info and current issue that we’re focusing on from time to time. Don’t forget to share your opinion and experience with us. Sharing is caring!! 

Writing by:

Nik Jah binti Nik Ab Kadir,

Pharmacist

Reg. No : 2409

Edited by:

Amelinda & Dayang Nooreffazleen.