Overview

Psychological disorders are patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that cause significant distress or impair daily functioning. Mental health also includes how we manage stress and maintain overall well-being. Understanding the causes, types, and impact of disorders is essential for recognizing signs, reducing stigma, and promoting support and recovery.

Key Themes and Concepts

• Classification: Disorders are diagnosed using criteria from the DSM-5. Diagnosis considers duration, intensity, and impact on functioning.
• Etiology: Causes may include genetics, brain chemistry, trauma, stress, and environmental triggers — often a combination of biological and psychosocial factors.
• Anxiety Disorders: Includes generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, phobias, and OCD — characterized by excessive fear and worry.
• Affective (Mood) Disorders: Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder involve disturbances in mood, energy, and activity levels.
• Dissociative Disorders: Disruptions in consciousness or identity, including dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder.
• Personality Disorders: Enduring patterns of behavior and inner experience that deviate from norms and impair functioning (e.g., borderline, antisocial).
• Psychotic Disorders: Schizophrenia is the most common — involves delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and impaired reality testing.
• Somatoform Disorders: Physical symptoms without a clear medical cause, including conversion disorder and illness anxiety disorder.
• Eating Disorders: Such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia — involve disordered thoughts and behaviors related to food and body image.
• Health, Stress, and Coping: Chronic stress increases the risk of illness; effective coping strategies include problem-solving, relaxation, and social support.

Quick Tip

Mental illness is not weakness — it’s a real, diagnosable condition with biological, psychological, and social components. Disorders vary widely in symptoms and severity, and treatment begins with understanding. Early recognition, support, and stigma reduction can make a profound difference in someone’s life.