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Exploring the World of Disorders Part I

Updated: Jun 26, 2020

Anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, PTSD, somatic symptom, dissociative disorders... You may have heard these terms before, but what exactly are these disorders and their symptoms? Read to find out!

 

There are nine major categories of disorders:

  1. Anxiety

  2. Obsessive-compulsive

  3. Post-Traumatic Symptom Disorder

  4. Somatic Symptom

  5. Dissociative

  6. Depressive

  7. Bipolar

  8. Schizophrenia

  9. Personality

In this article, we will go over the first five major categories of disorders, their symptoms, and possible treatments. Happy learning!

 

1. Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common type of disorder in the United States, affecting about 18.1% of the population annually.

Symptoms:

  • Having a hard time concentrating on a task

  • Worrying too much

  • Focuses on failure

  • Avoiding other people

  • Avoiding uncomfortable and social situations

  • Headaches

  • Insomnia

  • Trembling of hands, fingers, or body

  • Frequently has an upset stomach

Some Ways to Treat Anxiety Disorder:

  • Exercise daily: this allows you to stay energized and keep your mind awake

  • Meditate: meditation helps your body find inner peace and relaxes your whole body down

  • Breathe in and out: when you are feeling a bit anxious, do a breathing exercise to help you relax

  • Write your thoughts down: take a few minutes to write down what is bothering you lately. Writing your thoughts into a journal or diary helps you self-reflect. Write down what you are grateful for having in your life. This helps bring positivity into your life while you are writing down what you are grateful for.

  • Have a consistent sleeping schedule: studies have shown that everyone should sleep at least 8 hours every night to properly function. Having a consistent sleeping schedule will put your body at ease and help reduce the amount of stress you have.

 

2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Also known as OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a disorder where a person has uncontrollable thoughts and behaviors that give them the urge to repeat an action over and over again until they find themselves satisfied. This disorder affects any age, from children to adults.

Symptoms:

  • Obsessions with a certain action (ex. washing your hands very often because you have the fear of germs going onto your hands)

  • Finding yourself erasing a line that isn't "straight enough"

  • Organizing a pile very neatly, so not even a corner of a paper will stick out

  • Having unwanted thoughts

  • Constantly washing, cleaning, recounting, asking others for approval

  • Symptoms range depending on the person, but if you find yourself repeating an action over and over again because you don't feel satisfied, this is a common symptom of OCD

Some Treatments:

  • Psychotherapy: a type of therapy where you have to resist your obsession in an unwanted situation such as a pile of unorganized papers.

  • Medications such as antidepressants

 

3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A person that has experienced a traumatic event and has flashbacks of it or whenever they see an object that reminds them of the event. Anyone can get PTSD, but women are twice as likely to get PTSD than men.

Symptoms:

  • You keep on having flashbacks about an event you fear

  • Difficulty sleeping due to the trauma

  • Thoughts are messy due to the trauma

Some Treatments:

  • Psychotherapy: a type of therapy where you have to face your trauma by resisting it

  • Group therapy: talk about your own trauma to others and hear about other people's experiences

 

4. Somatic Symptom

A mental illness where a person feels physical discomfort such as pain, but a physical cause and medical condition cannot be used to tell what is wrong. Somatic symptom occurs in people who use alcohol and drugs more often.

Symptoms:

  • Pain in an organ and/or body system

  • Neurological problems

  • Gastrointestinal problems

  • Sexual symptoms

Some Treatments:

  • Treatment is very hard to find for this disorders because doctors cannot find what is causing the pain

  • Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which allows the patient to talk about their problems can help the patient release the amount of stress they have

 

5. Dissociative Disorders

There are three types of Dissociative Disorders: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dissociative Amnesia, and Dissociative Fugue. Dissociative disorders are changes in behavior, thoughts, and memory.


Dissociative Identity Disorder

Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, the name is self-explanatory. Dissociative identity disorder is when a person has multiple personalities throughout the day. However, when one personality takes over, the other personalities don't know that the other exists.

Symptoms:

  • Emotions are detached

  • Memory loss (forgetting information about yourself, events, etc.)

  • Living in an imaginary world (everyone around you seems unreal)

  • Inability to control emotions

  • Difficulty remembering oneself's identity

Some Treatments:

  • Psycho-social therapy: talking to others helps release your stress about your disorder since it's difficult to control your emotions and multiple personalities

  • The patient has to stay committed in talk therapy for many years


Dissociative Amnesia

Dissociative Amnesia is when a person forgets information about either themselves, others, events, etc.

Symptoms:

  • Difficulty strengthening relationships with people they already met before

  • Constantly forgetting important information

  • Forget themselves and even family members

Some Treatments:

  • Psychotherapy: talk with a therapist

  • Meditation: helps the patient realize their internal state and helps them relax

  • Family therapy: the family will get to know more about the disorder and help their family member who has the disorder retrace their thoughts and memories

Dissociative Fugue:

Dissociative Fugue is when a person is confused because of themselves and forgot who they are. They move far away from home and settles in a new location. They change their name and get a completely new job.

Symptoms:

  • Traveling far away from home suddenly and without any reason

  • Forgetting who they are and their identity

  • Unable to remember their past life and their loved ones

  • Start a completely new life as if they have changed into a new person

Some Treatments:

  • Hypnosis: may help the patient remember their past life and events that occurred to them before moving

  • Psychotherapy: talking with a therapist that may help them retrace back their thoughts through discussions

 

The five categories of disorders that we went over today were:

  1. Anxiety

  2. Obsessive-compulsive

  3. PTSD

  4. Somatic Symptom

  5. Dissociative

In Part II, we will discuss the last four categories of disorders. Stay tuned! Comment down below which disorder you thought was the most fascinating to read about. Thanks for reading!

 

References:

  1. Ellis, Rachel Reiff. “Tips for Living With Anxiety.”WebMD, 15 June 2017, www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/anxiety-tips#1.

  2. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Symptoms and Causes.”Mayo Clinic, 11 Mar. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432.

  3. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic.”Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic, 11 Mar. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354438.

  4. NHS website. “Treatment.”Nhs.Uk, 8 July 2019, www.nhs.uk/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/treatment.

  5. “Dissociative Amnesia Management and Treatment.”Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9789-dissociative-amnesia/management-and-treatment. Accessed 25 June 2020.

  6. “Dissociative Disorders - Symptoms and Causes.”Mayo Clinic, 17 Nov. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20355215.

  7. “Somatic Symptom Disorder Symptoms and Treatments.”WebMD, 24 May 2012, www.webmd.com/mental-health/somatoform-disorders-symptoms-types-treatment#1.

  8. “Mental Health and Dissociative Fugue.”WebMD, 2 Feb. 2006, www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-fugue#1.

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