Common mental disorders Flashcards
What is mental illness
Abnormal perceptions or beliefs,
Abnormal behaviour.
Key statistics
According to NHS(2019) at the end of March 2019, 1,359,992 people were in contact with mental health services, majority 1,051,519 were adults.
- Mental health problems are the second largest cause of disability- globally and in Europe the single largest cause.
- Prevalence of mental health is increasing in women more stable in men. 1 adult in 6 has a common mental disorder
What do mental health assessments involve?
- symptoms, experiences, feelings, thoughts and actions,
- Physical health and well-being,
- Housing finances,
- Employment, work and education,
- Social and family relationships,
- Culture and ethnic background,
- Gender and sexuality,
- Previous/past experiences,
- Use of drugs and alcohol
Why do we use diagnoses?
- They can help frame difficulties and provide an explanation to as to what is happening to a person,
- Signpost to or guide assessment and treatment-using the best available evidence,
- Provide prognosis,
- Communication with colleagues-shared language and approaches
What are the weaknesses of diagnoses?
- They can be reductionist,
- Stigma and pejorative labelling,
- Attribution of blame,
- Some people may not have a clear diagnosis,
- Some people may have several diagnoses
Classification of mental health/psychiatric diagnosis
- Categorical,
- Characteristics,
- Diagnostic Criteria listed in ICD-10 or DSN-5
- Tendency towards pathologizing people or populations
Criteria which can be used with diagnoses
- Phenomenology-direct experiences,
- symptoms,
- Aetiology-cause,
- Pathogenesis- development,
- Organ involved-e.g. brain,
- Duration,
- Outcomes,
- Syndrome- group of syndromes consistently together
What criteria is usually used for a diagnosis in mental health/psychiatry
- Phenomenology,
- Symptoms,
- Syndrome descriptions,
- Aetiology,
- Diagnostic criteria
What are some common mental disorders found in practice?
- Substance misuse(alcohol or drugs etc),
- Schizophrenia,
- Mood disorders such as bi-polar or depression,
- Anxiety and behavioural disorders (panic disorders),
- Personality disorders,
- Dementias,
- Eating disorders,
- Reactions to severe stress PTSD,
- Self harm/suicide.
What is Dementia?
- Dementia is the umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions affecting the brain:
- Alzheimer’s disease,
- Vascular dementia,
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies,
- Fronto-temporal dementia,
- Mixed dementia
Over 850,000 people living with dementia in UK
What problems can Dementia result in?
Dementia can result in:
- Memory problems=struggling with new information, forgetful,
- Cognitive abilities=processing information, ability to reason, make decisions, concentration.
- Communication- all forms,
- impaired activities of daily living
Schizophrenia and Psychosis, statistics
- Prevalence-around 1 percent in the UK,
- Age of onset, Males 15-25 years old, Females 25-35 years old.
- Often requires anti-psychotic medication, can involve CBT/psychological interventions,
- Early intervention is key, relapse is possible
Symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia
Symptoms can include: -Hallucinations, -Delusions, -Thought disorder, -Negative symptoms. E.g. Bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, post-partum psychosis,
Key things about Bipolar affective disorder (mood disorder)
- Episodes of elevated mood and irritability,
- Can include psychosis,
- Depressed mood,
- Often co-morbid with other disorders such as anxiety, substance misuse, personality disorders and ADHD,
- Peak onset is 15-19,
- 1 percent of population
Key things about Depression (mood disorder)
- Depression is a very broad diagnosis,
- Diagnosis depends on the number and severity of symptoms,
- Depressed mood,
- Functional impairment, loss of pleasure in most activities.
- Predominant mental health problem worldwide,
- 1 percent of the adult population
