Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Sound health doesn’t only mean physical fitness, but also mental stability. As our body is directly connected with our mental health, it’s also our responsibility to take care of our mental soundness. If any kind of mental illness takes root in our health, it will affect our bodies. As a result, our daily activities will be disrupted.

It’s a matter of sorrow that we always overlook our mental imbalance. That’s why most mental disorders remain undiagnosed.

There are a lot of causes of mental disorders and can include traumatic events such as childhood trauma, neglecting behavior, physical disability due to any kind of accident, losing loved ones, genetic anomalies, hereditary brain defects, or any sort of traumatic events.

Let’s talk about some common mental diseases or disorders which disrupt a person’s daily activities. This called as Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities. 

Major Depressive Disorder(MDD): Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Any untoward incident makes us upset which is very normal. But when this level of depression or persistence becomes higher than normal, it is called Major Depressive Disorder.

There are certain symptoms of MDD.  The symptoms are as follows-

  1. Depressed mood, that is, feeling bad most of the day and this bad mood exists in all situations, inside and outside the go
  2. Diminished interest or pleasure, meaning no interest or pleasure in any work.
  3. Decreased or increased appetite or weight gain even after normal eating and drinking.
  4. Sleep disturbances or excessive sleep
  5. Excessive tension or complete relaxation
  6. Feeling physically weak
  7. Feeling very unworthy or suffering from unwanted guilt.
  8. Inability to concentrate on work or indecision.

One of the common misconceptions about depression is that if there is to be depression, there must be some reason behind it.  There is no specific cause, if a person talks about depression, we laugh at his problem. As a result, these people suffer day after day due to a lack of proper treatment.

Whenever someone feels the mentioned symptoms for more than 2 weeks he or she should visit a mental health practitioner to diagnose the depression level.

The treatment including therapy should have to be supervised by a registered psychiatric physician.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Treatment for depression: Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Treatment for depression will be provided according to the degree and type of depression the patient has. As such, both medicine and psychotherapy have a role to play.  As mild depression does not require medication, some psychotherapy is sufficient. Moderate or severe depression also requires medication and, in some cases, psychotherapy.

Depression or major depressive disorder is an episodic disease.  So there is a high chance of replaying or coming back the disease in the form of episodes.  It is said that once the disease is present, the probability of recurrence of the disease is eighty percent.  However, if treatment is started quickly, the disease is under control if there is no history of the disease in the family and regular medication and follow-up with the doctor.

Post-traumatic stress disorder: Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

We all have experienced some inappropriate memories sometimes which are dreadful. These experiences create a harmful impact on the long-term activities of a person. This impact is known as trauma. Trauma is an event that a person considers harmful or threatening and has a lasting effect on that person’s mental health as well as physical. People who experienced traumas at any time in their life can be diagnosed with PTSD(Post-traumatic stress disorder). Approximately 7% to 8% of people suffer from this disorder who pass through trauma in the past.

According to a survey, almost 20% of men and 50% of women go through PTSD at any stage of their lifetime. Trauma can be different for individuals. Researchers have defined some common causes of PTSD. These are:

  1. Feeling the helplessness, and extreme fear after a traumatic event.
  2. Excessive post-event stress
  3. Pre-existing mental health issues such as depression or anxiety

To diagnose PTSD, a person needs to experience the following symptoms for at least one month.

  1. Re-experiencing the traumatic event as if it were happening again in the present moment, is called a “flashback”.
  2. Bright nightmares can also re-experience the trauma.
  3. Stay away from any place or event that reminds the person of trauma.
  4. Problems such as falling asleep or jumping or being easily startled.
  5. Thinking and mood problems – such as mood swings, memory problems, or loss of interest in activities.

The children may have different signs and symptoms from the adult. These can be,

  1. Instead of waking up in a flashback, they experience a nightmare
  2. They wet the bed even if the baby is already trained in the toilet.
  3. Drawing trauma-related things while playing or coloring.
  4. Unusually grip on the caregivers

People who have survived PTSD or have had trauma for a very long time may also have the following symptoms:

  1. Depression
  2. Anxiety
  3. Flashbacks
  4. The chronic feeling of being unsafe
  5. Suicidal thoughts

Whenever a person goes through these symptoms he or she will visit a psychiatrist to be diagnosed.  After that, the doctor will suggest if he or she has to visit a psychologist for physiological evaluation and therapy or counseling or not.

Moreover, the patient has to take care of themselves.

  1. Get enough rest
  2. Eat a healthy diet,
  3. Exercise and take time to relax.
  4. Try to reduce or avoid caffeine and nicotine, which can worsen anxiety
Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Anxiety disorder:

Anxiety is a state of mind when thoughts reach a climax where the body is affected and physical activity is disrupted. According to the American Psychological Association, Anxiety Disorder is a feeling that is centered around stress, anxiety, and physical changes such as high blood pressure.” People with anxiety disorders need psychiatric help.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities. Some of the most common causes of anxiety disorder are the following:

  1. Diagnosed mental or medical illness
  2. Consuming alcohol
  3. Side effects due to medication
  4. Family history
  5. Overthinking
  6. Being stressed for a long time
  7. Being restless due to work pressure

Let’s know how one can understand that he or she has an anxiety disorder.

  1. Chest palpitations (increased heart rate)
  2. Feelings of fear
  3. Excessive sweating
  4. Nausea
  5. Dizziness
  6. Insomnia
  7. Excessive muscle tightening

After noticing the symptoms the person should visit an expert to get rid of the problem. After being diagnosed with anxiety disorder the patient should follow the instructions.

  1. He or she should take “talk therapy” to express their fear
  2. The person can go through a counseling therapy where he or she will be taught how to deal with an anxiety attack
  3. The expert can suggest psychotherapy to help the person cope with feelings, relationships, and stress. There are a few types of psychotherapy.  The most effective are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE).
  4. In some cases, a psychiatrist will suggest the patient take “family therapy”. Support from the family is very important for a person to understand and deal with their problems, to communicate, and to speed up relationships with others. Even when the stress for the family increases, the most important treatment is family therapy.
Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD):

One of the major mental health problems is obsessive-compulsive disorder. The disease is seriously disrupting the family life, social life, and professional life of the patient and others surrounding him or her. Many people don’t even know or want to confess that it is a mental illness. Psychiatric help or therapy is needed in this kind of condition. Even people don’t want to visit a psychiatrist due to some social stigmas. Therefore, in the rotation of time, this disease becomes terrible to live with.

What is OCD?

There is an obsessive thought which comes to the mind of the patient repeatedly, the patient realizes it is irrelevant and unethical, tries to move or hinders, fails or restless which is frustrating.  There are two parts of OCD, one is an obsession and the other is a compulsion. Compulsion is a failed attempt to overcome obsessive thought.

OCD’s rate is almost equal to that of men and women.  The age is usually between 20-35 years.  OCD is not common after 35.  Children with OCD do not have obsessive thoughts but have compulsions. It is also difficult to diagnose OCD in children who are less than 10 years old.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

How does OCD originate in a person?

  1. Environmental (usually after stressful events)
  2. Structural causes of the neural structure of the brain.
  3. The neurochemical problem of a neurotransmitter called serotonin.
  4. Genetic or hereditary

We know that a lot of thoughts come to our brains every moment. Our brain filters these as needed.  When thoughts are not properly filtered, the thoughts that come to the brain cannot be removed, resulting in OCD.

Signs and symptoms which reflect OCD:

In the case of dirt & contamination:

In this kind of OCD, the patient is extra worried about hygiene and germs and washes his hands frequently, taking a few hours of bathing.  He wasted a lot of soap and water, which made his normal life impossible.  Family life also gets broken.  Excessive washing can also lead to dermatologic diseases. The patient does not let anyone drink water in his glass.  When someone enters his room and sits on his bed, he starts cleaning them again and again. But then his doubt does not go away.

In the case of aggression:

The patient has thoughts of hitting someone or doing something harmful to someone. The patient realizes that his thinking is irrelevant. But even then this thought cannot be removed from the head and he fails.  For example, if there is a knife and a child in front of the patient, the patient has this thought in his head several times to stab the child with this knife, in fear he does not even want to go in front of the knife further.

In the case of sex:

This kind of OCD patient has indecent thoughts about sex in their head which do not match with their personality but vice versa. Pornographic pictures keep coming into his head. That would make it seem unreasonable to risk one’s life. He can’t move that scenario from his thoughts, then gets frustrated and fails. As a result, he is tangled in self-loathing and self-sting.

In the case of orderliness:

OCD patients keep their belongings as neat and clean as they like to see them.  When something gets random, his head catches fire and he feels severely uncomfortable until it is brought back to its previous state. They always walk in a special rhythm.  If the rhythm falls, he starts again from the beginning. This is called a sequence.  When the sequence is lost, they become restless and start a new one.  They count money in their special way, if there is a little manipulation or disturbance, he suffers from discomfort and becomes restless.  If you understand the so-called counting ritual, you can not get out of this circle.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

How to get rid of this syndrome:

It is dangerous to seek medical help yourself. Make sure to take the prescription under the supervision of a psychiatrist or psychological physician. Physicians will give psychotherapy and medication according to the symptoms.

The mentioned disorders are not the only disorders that create disturbance in our daily activities. There can be so many reasons for being mentally ill. If we follow some tricks in our lifestyle and include some practices in our daily routine, it will be easier to stay away from any kind of mental imbalance.

To get rid of any kind of mental disorder the first and foremost thing is to follow a healthy lifestyle. A person should follow some rules and regulations in day-to-day life. Lifestyle management is a crying need in the treatment of mental illness.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

Here are some steps someone can follow:

  • Eliminate caffeine from the diet. It is known that this can lead to unnecessary mood swings, overthinking, and anxiety.
  • Don’t eat extra sugar and chocolate.
  • Try to lead an active life, including outdoor exercise.  Exercise makes it easier for the body to release chemicals (endorphins) that improve your mood and restore your positive outlook.
  • Having discipline and strict rules in life will give you a taste of control and help reduce your stress. Since mental disorders inevitably come with insomnia. If someone lives in discipline, he or she will get plenty of rest and sleep.
  • Do not take any medicine without consulting with a registered doctor. Even seemingly harmless common and herbal medicines. Initially, it will seem to work, but in the long term, it can worsen the situation and increase the intensity of the illness.
  • Complete the whole treatment as the physicians command. Don’t give up in the middle of the constant process. Most of the time, these treatments are time-consuming. Don’t lose patience.

Create support groups and friends. Don’t stay alone. People who live alone become more anxious and have more panic attacks.  Being with a support group can help others share your worries and show that you are not alone, and show you the way to deal with your worries.

Mental health disorders disrupt everyday activities

There is no difference between taking a doctor’s advice for physical illness and mental illness, but equally important. It is important to consider mental illness with equal importance. But resistance is always better. Identify the cause or trigger of mental illness, take action accordingly and learn survival strategies. In this case, the sympathetic and cooperative role of sensitive relatives, and friends are especially important.