Mental Disorders Overview

Study Notes

A mental disorder is a disturbance in thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that impacts daily life.
Causes include genetics, brain chemistry, trauma, substance use, and environment.
Common types include:
- Anxiety disorders (e.g., GAD, panic disorder, phobias, PTSD, OCD): characterized by excessive fear or worry.
- Mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder): affecting emotional state.
- Schizophrenia & psychotic disorders: featuring delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking.
- Personality disorders: characterized by inflexible and unhealthy behavior patterns (e.g., borderline, antisocial).
- Eating disorders (e.g., anorexia, bulimia): impacting physical and mental health with abnormal eating habits.
- Substance use disorders: involving addiction to drugs or alcohol, impairing daily life.
Signs and symptoms: mood changes, behavioral shifts, difficulties coping with daily life, social withdrawal, unusual thoughts or hallucinations.
Treatment involves therapies (e.g., psychotherapy, CBT, group therapy) and medications (e.g., antidepressants, antipsychotics).
Support systems are crucial (e.g., family, friends, healthcare, crisis intervention).

Disorientation: Loss of awareness of time, place, or identity—caused by illness, dehydration, meds, or stress. Can be temporary or indicate an underlying problem.
Delirium: A sudden, severe, temporary, and reversible confusion state.
- Causes include infections (e.g., UTIs, pneumonia), dehydration, medication side effects, surgery, or hospitalization.
- Symptoms include sudden confusion, agitation, hallucinations, sleep disturbances, and difficulty focusing.
- Treatment focuses on resolving the underlying cause.
Dementia: A progressive, irreversible decline in memory, reasoning, and daily functioning.
- Causes include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia.
- Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, personality changes, and difficulty communicating.
- Stages include mild (forgetfulness), moderate (assistance needed), and severe (loss of recognition).
- Treatment focuses on slowing progression (e.g., medication) and offering supportive care (e.g., routine, safety, caregiver support).
Key terms:
- Hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that aren't there.
- Delusions: False beliefs, despite evidence.
- Cognitive impairment: Decline in memory, attention, or problem-solving.
- Sundowning: Increased confusion and agitation in late afternoon/evening.
- Reality orientation: Techniques to help orient individuals to time, place, person.
- Validation therapy: Accepting and empathizing with a person's feelings.