Mental disorders are diagnosed relatively frequently nowadays. Everyone has heard of some pathology related to mental health.
In reality, these mental disorders (or mental illness) have their origin in neurological and psychological disorders that in turn cause abnormal behaviors in affected people.
Most disorders are related to a specific area of the brain or nervous system, although the causes of each of them may differ and may even be unknown by the scientific community.
Mental illnesses affect a large number of people. In statistical terms, it is said that One third of the population will suffer from some type of mental disorder during their lifetime..
Below I will reveal a list containing some of the most severe mental disorders.
10. Antisocial Personality Disorder
The person who suffers from this disorder is characterized by his tendency not to interact in society, avoiding any interaction.
The different symptoms and behaviors that characterize TASP include: theft, aggression, tendency towards loneliness, violence, lying… In addition, people affected by TASP tend to be shy, depressed and have social anxiety. This last point is due to their fear of being rejected. All in all, psychological therapy is very effective in managing the problems of antisocial disorder.
9. Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome is a relatively common mental disorder in people who have been victims of a kidnapping. They show some kind of positive feeling towards their captors.
International police records show that around 27% of kidnapping victims have this disorder.
Stockholm Syndrome also applies to cases such as child abuse, rape or mistreatment. It is not a disorder that is experienced in a distressing way, but it attracts a lot of attention because it is difficult to understand.
Lima Syndrome is, precisely, a disorder opposite to Stockholm Syndrome. In this case, kidnappers show sympathy towards their hostage.
This disorder was coined after an incident that occurred in the capital of Peru in 1996. The MRTA kidnapped hundreds of politicians, diplomats and military personnel at the Japanese embassy in Lima. Hours later, the kidnappers began to empathize with the hostages, and gradually freed them.
7. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring thoughts that produce fear, restlessness, worry, compulsive behaviorsetc.
Some of the symptoms of OCD are compulsive checking, excessive washing or cleaning, religious thoughts, nervous rituals such as opening doors a certain number of times before entering the room, or irrational aversions to certain figures. Fortunately, psychotherapy and learning some habits allow a great quality of life for affected people.
6. Dyslexia
Dyslexia It is a learning disorder. The dyslexic person cannot read correctly due to the discrepancy between learning potential and their level of performance, without any type of problem, whether sensory, physical, motor or educational deficiency. This causes certain imbalances in reading that in turn can cause other types of learning and self-image psychopathologies.
As a consequence, people affected by Dyslexia have serious reading comprehension problems. Fortunately, in our time, intervention and treatment offer many guarantees to deal with this disorder and, upon adulthood, the vast majority of dyslexics do not have any problem writing correctly.
5. Selective Mutism
Selective Mutism is a psychiatric disorder that causes the person to be unable to speak in certain social settings or with certain people. Usually, Selective Mutism is associated with shyness and social anxiety.
It is relatively common in children. When they begin their schooling, some do not utter a word, despite speaking fluently at home. Only the continuity over time of this behavior can alarm us about a case of MS. In most cases, the symptoms disappear little by little.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder caused by an abnormality in cognitive processes and a poor emotional response. The affected person suffers from alterations in the perception or expression of reality. Recently there have been important scientific advances in schizophrenia.
This disorder is commonly known as one in which the affected person hears many voices in their head, and these voices are perceived as external to their body. These symptoms may or may not occur. The general symptoms of the condition, however, tend to be disorganized language and thinking, delusions, hallucinations (among which we could refer to the famous ‘voices’), affective disorders and inappropriate behavior.
Although it has been a vastly studied disorder, it is still considered a complex disorder with a large amalgamation of symptoms. Psychiatric and psychological treatment has proven highly effective in controlling this disorder.
3. Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative Identity Disorder, or Multiple Personality Disorder, is an identity disorder. The person affected by this disorder develops more than one personality and shows different behaviors and behaviors in different situations. In the article “Multiple Personality Disorder” you have much more information about the characteristics of what is considered one of the most severe mental disorders.
It is often said that people with DID change their behaviors radically and subsequently do not remember that episode.
It is one of the disorders whose sufferers live with the greatest concern, as well as one of the most controversial among the scientific community due to the difficulty of psychometric devices to diagnose it and the lack of effective treatment. In any case, in recent years there have been important steps in improving treatments.
The person who suffers from this mental disorder tries to kill themselves (or tries to get attention due to these behaviors). These behaviors include cutting hands or arms, burning, etc.
In this type of mental disorder, the person tries to harm themselves or even take their own life. Usually, this behavior may be motivated not by the achievement of death, but by some type of attention they receive when displaying this behavior, which refers to an underlying disorder that is usually serious.
More information about suicide: “Suicides: data, statistics and associated mental disorders”
1. Cotard syndrome
In this rare psychiatric disorder, The affected person believes that he has died, or that he has lost blood or some internal organ. This delirium can be dangerous since the deranged person can act unpredictably. This type of behavior is frequently associated with nihilistic and hypochondriac personalities.
Cotard Syndrome gets its name from Jules Cotardwho was the first doctor to diagnose this strange condition. He described the different phases of the disorder in a thesis written in Paris in 1880.
People affected by Cotard Syndrome refuse social contact and neglect their personal well-being. Its cause commonly lies in neurological or mental pathologies, and is associated with derealization and depression.
If you want to know more about Cotard Syndrome, we recommend reading: “Cotard Syndrome: living people who believe they are dead”
Bibliographic references:
Barlow, D. H. (2003). Psychopathology. Ed. Thomson
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV. (1995). Ed. Masson and DSM-IV-TR (2002)
Vallejo, J (Ed.). (2006). Introduction to Psychopathology and Psychiatry. Barcelona: Masson.
