MENTAL HEATH AND ILLNESS

                       MENTAL HEALTH

 

MENTAL HEALTH

 MENTAL HEALTH:

               It is ability an individual to from freindly realations with others and  to participate in, or contribute to changes in the social and    physical environment.

MENTAL ILLNESS:

          In any development severe mental disoders represent 1% of the population and mild mental disorders represent 10% of the population.In pakisatan these figure are about 1 million are severely mentally ill and about 10 million are mentally ill persons.

POPULAR BELIFES:

          Most of the people living in the cities and almost everyone living in the villages belife that the concept of mental illness is sharply divided between"possession" and "madness". The presentation of strange behavior in hysterical and schizophrenic illnes easily explained on the basis of familiar and definite patiens of possession .Persons who show no improvement in their abnormal behavior are tremed as "mad".

 Faith healers explain mental illnes on the basis of possession by evil spirit or by jinn or by spells and magical influence cast by enemy.The treatments given include amulets(taawiz). Spiritullay treated water,burning incense(dhooni).If such treatment fails to work. The relatives take the patients to distant holy shrines,popularly known to help the possessed or mentally ill.Even today millions of mental patients are deprived of any psychiatric care.The stigma attached to mentall illness is persisrent in our bopulation.Patients are chained and beaten;parts of there bodies bumt;and their skull branded with hote irons.This violates their rights as human beings besides wasting the time and money of their families.

 CAUSES:

  .Genetic factors :

         . A number of mental diseases are genetically determined 

      Extinsic factors :

        1 Infections

        2 Physical injury

        .Intoxication

        .Malnutrition

        .Avitaminosis

  .Psychosocial stresses:

        .Loss of a loved person

        .Financial loss

        .loss of status

 CLASSIFICATIONS;

    Mental disorders are divided into two main groups;

    1. Neuroses- refers to the minor disturbances of the personality.they manifest in the form of pain ,muscular weakness,digeative disorders and even paralysis.they are further dived into foure groups ;

     a.Neurasthenia -technical name for nervous break down.

     b.Psychasthenia- describe severe phobia ,obsessions and compulsions

     c.Anxiety neurosis -constant worries

     d.Hysteria-functional cases

   2.Psychose-refers to most severe types of mental illnesses/disturbances.these persons are unable to control their behavior ,have lost contact with reality and is often disoriented .they usually need treatment in the mental hospitals.Psychoses are divided into two major conditions;

      a.Manic-depressive psychoses-extreme emotional status .

      b.Schizophrenia-split personality.

MENTAL HEAKTH PROBLEMS:

   It is the common problem and responsible for about 80 - 90% of the cases that present to psychiast/general practitioner.

  Causes:

   .Geneic predisposition 

  .Diturbed childhood

   .Broken family

   .Poverty

   .inadequate

   .Domestic violence

   .Threatening life events

   .Lack of opportunity

   .Sex abuse

   .Street violence

 

    .Low mood (persistent for 2 weeks)

    .loss of appettite

    .Insomnia

    .Lack of interest

    .Loss of weight and energy

    .suicidal thoughts

    .Loss of libido

  Atypical features:

    .Increases sleep and appetite

    .Somatic symptoms like; Headache,Backache,Vomiting.

  Complications:

    .Suicide

    .Drug abuse

    .Handicapping phobias

    .Social breakdown

  Treatment:

    .Referral to community psychiartrist

psychosis:

   It is the most severe type of mental illness ,commonly referred to as insanity.It usually needs treatment in the mental hospital .The psychotic person in unable to control his behaviour .He has lost contac with the reality and is often disoriented .He may have illusions (errors in pereception),hallucinations (experience visions/sound which he think real,but are actuallyabsent)or delusions (fantastic ideas about himself and his environment that are false).Psychosis has tow main types ;

   .Manic-depressive psychosis

   .schizophrenia

Anxiety:

   It is the pychoneurtic condition.In it the person worries constantly.These worries are much exaggerated to the level that actually justified by the situation.

Hysteria:

   It is also called conversion hysteria.In this stat the person feels pain,paralysis or even loss of sensation in a part of body for which there is no physical cause.

Epilepsy:

    It is characterized by the fits and associated symptoms.It is now called seizure disoder that effects 1% of urban and 2% of rural population.It can be controlled with adequate and apropriate anti convulsant therapy in a specialized set up .In this respect community based projects are organized in hospitals where known epileptics are collected periodically for counseling and provision of drugs.

OCD :

     It stands for obsessive-compulsive disoders. obsession is the constantly occurring .thoughts or desire which the person cannot dismiss from his mind ,while compulsions are impulses or urges to engagen particular activities for no logical reasons.