Classification Of Common Mental Disorders In AdulTS
Mental health problems form the most significant contributors to the worldwide burden of disabilities and diseases. Adults’ most common mental disorders include obsessive-compulsive disorders, bipolar affective disorder, and schizophrenia (Patel, Chisholm, Dua, Laxminarayan, and Medina-Mora, 2016, p 16). Bipolar disorder is classified under the DSM-IV as bipolar and related disorders and includes bereavement-associated depression severity, major depressive disorders, and suicide risk. Bipolar affective disorder is a common mental health problem in adults characterised by mood swings episodes, ranging from manic highs to depressive lows.
The manic episodes may cause symptoms such as loss of touch with reality and high energy. The depressive episodes lead to low energy and motivation and loss of touch with reality (Üstün & Ho, 2017, p 9). Another category of mental disorder in adults is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Historically OCD has been classified under anxiety disorder. However, it is now considered to depict a dysfunction in the brain circuit, particularly the striatal-thalamic-cortical loops. While the symptoms stimulate severe anxiety, the primary symptoms include intrusive and unwanted feelings followed by rituals or actions to neutralize them (Üstün & Ho, 2017, p 13). For instance, a feeling that the door handle is contaminated may translate into extreme hand washing.
Another serious common health disorder in adults is schizophrenia. Schizophrenia disorder is a severe mental health problem where the affected individuals construe reality abnormally. It is classified under the DSM-V as schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, including delusional disorder (Üstün & Ho, 2017, p 14). Symptoms may include a combination of delusions, hallucinations, and extremely disordered behaviour or thinking that can impair an individual’s everyday functioning and even disabling a person (Fischer and Buchanan, 2016, p 36). Schizophrenia patients require lifetime treatment.
