Mental Health Quiz

Overview of Mental Disorders

• A mental disorder is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. It is associated with a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior.

• Mental disorders may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as single episodes, and there are many different types of mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, and schizophrenia.

• The causes of mental disorders are often unclear, and theories may incorporate findings from a range of fields. They are usually defined by a combination of how a person behaves, feels, perceives, or thinks.

• Mental disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional, usually a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist, and treatments are provided by various mental health professionals, including psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, lifestyle changes, social interventions, peer support, and self-help.

• Prevention programs have been shown to reduce depression, and stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering and disability associated with mental disorders.

• The definition and classification of mental disorders are key issues for researchers as well as service providers and those who may be diagnosed. For a mental state to classify as a disorder, it generally needs to cause dysfunction.

• There are currently two widely established systems that classify mental disorders, including the DSM and ICD, which list categories of disorder and provide standardized criteria for diagnosis.

• Mental disorders include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, sexual disorders, impulse control disorders, substance use disorders, dissociative disorders, cognitive disorders, and developmental disorders.

• Anxiety disorders involve anxiety or fear that interferes with normal functioning, while mood disorders involve unusually intense and sustained sadness, melancholia, or despair.

• Psychotic disorders involve patterns of belief, language use, and perception of reality that become dysregulated, and personality disorders involve fundamental characteristics of a person that influence thoughts and behaviors across situations and time.

• Eating disorders involve an unhealthy relationship with food and body image, sleep disorders are associated with disruption to normal sleep patterns, and sexual disorders include dyspareunia and various kinds of paraphilia.

• Other mental disorders include impulse control disorders, substance use disorders, dissociative disorders, cognitive disorders, and developmental disorders.Overview of Mental Disorders: Risk Factors, Diagnosis, and Course

• Mental disorders can be classified into various categories based on symptoms, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders.

• Some mental disorders are linked to physical symptoms, such as somatoform disorders, while others may involve deliberate feigning of symptoms for personal gain, known as factitious disorders.

• There is an attempt to introduce a new category of relational disorders, where the diagnosis is based on the relationship between individuals, such as shared psychotic disorder.

• Mental disorders can have a varied course, with some lasting a brief period of time and others being long-term in nature.

• Disability associated with mental disorders can vary over time and across different life domains, and is linked to institutionalization, discrimination, and social exclusion.

• Mental disorders are associated with a higher risk of suicide, with an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides occurring worldwide every year.

• Genetic, psychological, and environmental factors all contribute to the development or progression of mental disorders, with risk factors present at different ages, including during the prenatal period.

• Mental disorders are associated with drug use, including cannabis, alcohol, and caffeine, and chronic diseases like HIV and diabetes.

• Risk factors for mental illness include high neuroticism or emotional instability, temperament and attitudes, and stress, such as childhood adversity.

• Routine diagnostic practice in mental health services typically involves an interview known as a mental status examination, with evaluations made of appearance and behavior, self-reported symptoms, mental health history, and current life circumstances.

• More structured approaches are being increasingly used to measure levels of mental illness, but there is criticism that psychiatric diagnosis is subjective and can lead to arbitrary labeling of patients.

• Mental illness is about suffering, and the DSM creates diagnostic labels to categorize people's suffering, according to some psychoanalysts and critics.Overview of Mental Health: Diagnosis, Prevention, Management, and History

• Mental disorders are common, with more than one in three people in most countries reporting sufficient criteria for at least one at some point in their life.

• Diagnosis of mental health disorders using modern clinical MRI/fMRI may be technically feasible, but very large studies are needed to evaluate specific biomarkers which are not currently available.

• Prevention of mental disorders is one of the most effective ways to reduce the disease burden, and various psychiatric conditions can be prevented through the implementation of effective evidence-based interventions.

• Support for mental disorders is provided in psychiatric hospitals, clinics, or community mental health services, and recovery-based approaches are increasingly being used to support individual's personal journey to gain the kind of life they want.

• Treatment and support for mental disorders depend on the disorder and the individual and may include psychotherapy, medication, electroconvulsive therapy, psychosurgery, counseling, psychoeducation programs, and creative therapies.

• Lifestyle strategies, including dietary changes, exercise, and quitting smoking may be of benefit in managing mental disorders.

• Psychotherapy is a major option for many mental disorders and includes cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), psychoanalysis, and systemic therapy or family therapy.

• Psychiatric medication is a major option for many mental disorders and includes antidepressants, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants.

• Other treatments for mental disorders include counseling, co-counseling, psychoeducation programs, creative therapies, lifestyle adjustments, and supportive measures.

• Reasonable accommodations may be put in place to help an individual cope and succeed in environments despite potential disability related to mental health problems.

• Mental disorders have been described and treated since ancient civilizations, and during the Middle Ages in Christian Europe, madness was seen as a mixture of the divine, diabolical, magical and humoral, and transcendental.

• Advances in neuroscience, genetics, and psychology have led to new research agendas, and the DSM and then ICD adopted new criteria-based classifications.

• Mental disturbances in Africa and Nigeria are often viewed as an external spiritual attack on the person, and fewer than 10% of mentally ill Nigerians have access to a psychiatrist or health worker.Mental Health: Society, Culture, and Discrimination

• Different societies and cultures have varying opinions on what constitutes optimal and pathological biological and psychological functioning, and cultures vary in the relative importance placed on concepts such as happiness, autonomy, or social relationships.

• Latin American communities, especially among older people, perceive mental health discussions to be embarrassing and shameful, resulting in fewer people seeking treatment. Rates of serious mental illness in young adult Latin Americans increased by 60% from 2015 to 2018, with suicide being the second-leading cause of death in Latin Americans ages 15 to 34.

• Religion, which is highly valued in Latin American communities, may play a more important therapeutic role for the mentally ill than psychiatric services. However, research suggests that religion may also stigmatize mental illness in these communities, discouraging community members from seeking professional help.

• The anti-psychiatry movement argues that psychiatric treatments are ultimately more damaging than helpful to patients, and psychiatry's history involves what may now be seen as dangerous treatments. The consumer/survivor movement campaigns for improved mental health services and more empowerment within mental health services, policies, and wider society.

• Diagnostic guidelines such as the DSM and ICD have been criticized as having a fundamentally Euro-American outlook, with critics advocating for a more culturally sensitive approach to mental health treatment.

• Human rights-oriented laws require proof of the presence of a mental disorder as defined by internationally accepted standards, but the type and severity of disorder that counts can vary in different jurisdictions. Compulsory admission to mental health facilities is a controversial topic, as it can impinge on personal liberty and the right to choose.

• Stigma surrounding mental illness is a widespread problem, with negative media coverage of mental illness contributing to negative attitudes in the public and in those with mental health problems themselves.

• The general public holds a strong stereotype of dangerousness and desire for social distance from individuals described as mentally ill.

• Efforts are being undertaken worldwide to eliminate the stigma of mental illness, although the methods and outcomes used have sometimes been criticized.