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Psychiatric Disorders
Human beings can endure emotional pain as much as physical pain, as humans we
are made out of a body and a soul that are attached together, each one affects
the other.
Unfortunately when someone suffers from physical pain they tend to seek
professional help instantly, in contrast to emotional pain where a person puts
up with his distressing feelings and thoughts for a very long time. Finally,
when he cannot tolerate it anymore, he might confide in a friend or visit a
psychiatrist after it has consumed his energy and happiness. Our advise for the
patients is to visit a psychiatrist as soon as possible, treatment is
available, the earlier they get help the better their prospects are for
improvement and living a happy and content life.
Psychiatric disorders have been divided into two main categories which are
mainly related to the level of insight into a person's condition.
The first group of disorders includes patients who
seems -on the surface- to be functioning fine and living a normal life but
actually that person is in a lot of pain and torment and is trying hard to
appear well. He is aware of his condition and feels that what he is going
through is unusual, he tries to conceal it for fear of humiliation which could
lead him isolating himself and sometimes, self medicating.
The most common disorders in this group are:- anxiety disorders, depression,
phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders, conversion disorder, psychosomatic
disorders, sexual dysfunctions, postpartum disorders.
The second group includes psychotic disorders where patients are
confused and have irrational thinking, they are not aware that they have an
illness and feel insulted if someone brings it to their attention.
A psychotic patient can hear voices talking to him in the absence of anyone
being there and has an unfounded explanation for it, these are called
delusional beliefs. These beliefs are unrealistic and improbable yet you cannot
convince him otherwise.
This person distances himself from reality and lives with his morbid beliefs
which could affect his behavior and his relationships. For example, if someone
believes that his neighbor is against him, this could lead him to being hostile
towards his neighbor, or a person who believes that his wife is unfaithful
could follow her around, divorce her or in the worst case, try to kill her.
If a psychotic patient does not get the help he vitally needs, his condition
may deteriorate and he might lose his job and his family.
It is mandatory for the patient's family to detect the early signs of mental
illness and to support him seek professional help immediately.
Too much emotional involvement by the family can be counter productive but also
ignoring the patient's needs is harmful.
Thus, a psychiatrist who is designing the patient's treatment plan has to put
in consideration his family as an important partner who is central to the
success of therapy and relapse prevention. |
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