Common mental health disorders

Question 1

How is a mental disorder characterised?

Answer 1

By a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour. It’s usually associated with distress or impairment in areas of functioning.

Question 2

What does a mental health assessment involve?

Answer 2

• Symptoms, experiences, feelings, thoughts and actions
  
  • Physical health and well-being
  • Housing and finances
  • Emplyment/work/education
  • Social and family relationships
  • Culture and ethnic background
  • Use of drugs and/or alcohol
  • Previous/ past experiences
  • Activities of daily living, Care responsibilities
  • Strengths, skills and coping strategies, hopes and aspirations

Question 3

What are organic disorders? Give an example of one and its symptoms

Answer 3

• An organic mental disorder refers to a decrease in mental functioning that is not the result of a psychiatric condition.
• Dementia syndromes- Alzheimers, vascular, lewy body, front-temporal, affects 5% >65yrs and 20% >85yrs and these can result in:
  • Memory problems
  • Struggling with new information, forgetful
  • Cognitive abilities
  • Processing information, ability to reason, make decisions, concentration
  • Communication
  • Impaired activities of daily living

Question 4

Describe 2 other organic disorders (that are not dementia)

Answer 4

• Delirium- Can cause confusion, agitation, alertness, drowsiness, memory problems, hallucination
• Epilepsy- Can cause seizures, loss of awareness, staring blankly, becoming stiff, strange sensations, unusual smells or tastes, tingling in arms, legs, collapsing

Question 5

Describe the spectrum of substance misuse

Answer 5

• Spectrum of harmful use to dependence (addiction)
• Dependence can be physiological or psychological

Question 6

What are psychotic disorders characterised by?

Answer 6

• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Thought disorder
• Negative symptoms

Question 7

What are symptoms of schizophrenia and psychosis?

Answer 7

• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Disorganised thinking
• Lack of motivation
• Slow movement
• Change in sleep patterns
• Poor grooming/ hygiene
• Changes in body language and emotions

Question 8

What are some treatments of schizophrenia and psychosis?

Answer 8

• Often requires ant-psychotic medication
• Can involve CBT/psychological interventions

Question 9

Describe the types of mood disorders

Answer 9

• Bipolar affective disorder:
  
  • Episodes of elevated mood and irritability
  • Can include psychosis
  • Can be co-morbid with substance misuse, anxiety disorder
• Unipolar depression:
  
  • Often co-morbid with other disorders such as anxiety, substance misuse, personality disorders and ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder)

Question 10

What is anxiety?

Answer 10

Anxiety- “Apprehensiveness or anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, or somatic symptoms of tension. The focus of anticipated danger may be internal or external”

Question 11

What are some anxiety disorders?

Answer 11

• Agoraphobia
• Social phobia - This and specfic phobias are the most common phobias
• Specfic phobia (arachnophobia etc.)
• Generalised anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Question 12

What are personality disorders?

Answer 12

Maladaptive patterns of relating to self, others and the world

Question 13

What are personality disorders associated with?

Answer 13

• Psychiatric co-morbidities
• Suicide
• Homelessness
• Unemployment
• Crime

Question 14

Describe Cluster A personality disorder

Answer 14

• Schizoid
• Paranoid
• Schizotypal (in ICD 10 under psychotic disorders)

Question 15

Describe Cluster B personality disorder

Answer 15

• Dissocial
• Emotionally unstable
• Histrionic
• Narcissistic (only in DSM)

Question 16

Describe cluster C personality disorder

Answer 16

• Avoidant
• Dependent
• Obsessive compulsive/anankastic