Prevention of disorders of nervous and mental diseases. Mental illness - causes, diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms of mental illness

Psychoprophylaxis is a system of measures, the purpose of which is to study the causes that contribute to the emergence of mental illnesses and disorders, their timely detection and elimination.

In any field of medicine, be it surgery, therapy, infectious or other diseases, Russian healthcare pays great attention to prevention. When addressing the issues of preventing various mental disorders and diseases, preventive measures should be timely implemented in the life and practice of health care.

Methods of psychoprophylaxis include, in particular, the prevention of exacerbations of mental illness. Therefore, it may be necessary to study the dynamics of the neuropsychic state of a person during, as well as in everyday conditions.

With the help of a number of psychological and physiological methods, scientists investigate the influence of various occupational hazards in certain branches of labor (factors of intoxication, vibration, the significance of overvoltage at work, the nature itself, etc.).

Psychoprophylaxis is a section of general prevention, which includes measures aimed at preventing mental illness.

There is a close connection between the human psyche and his somatic state. The stability of the mental state can affect the somatic state. It is known that with a great emotional upsurge, somatic diseases rarely occur (an example is the war years).

The state of somatic health can also influence, lead to the occurrence of certain disorders or prevent them.

V.A. Gilyarovsky wrote that the role of a nervous upsurge in overcoming difficulties for the body and, in particular, harm to the nervous system should be used in planning work of a psychoprophylactic nature.

The objectives of prevention are: 1) preventing the action of a pathogenic cause on the body, 2) preventing the development of the disease through its early diagnosis and treatment, 3) preventive treatment and measures to prevent recurrence of the disease and their transition to chronic forms.

In the prevention of mental illness, general preventive measures, such as the elimination of infectious diseases, intoxications and other harmful effects of the external environment, play an important role.

Mental prevention (primary) is usually understood as a system of measures aimed at studying the mental effects on a person, the properties of his psyche and the possibilities of preventing and.

All measures related to mental prevention are aimed at increasing the endurance of the psyche to harmful influences. These include: a child, the fight against early infections and psychogenic influences that can cause mental retardation, developmental asynchrony, mental infantilism, which make the human psyche unstable to external influences.

Primary prevention also includes several subsections: provisional prevention, its purpose is to protect the health of future generations; genetic prevention - the study and prediction of possible hereditary diseases, which is also aimed at improving the health of future generations; embryonic prophylaxis aimed at improving the health of a woman, hygiene of marriage and conception, protecting the mother from possible harmful effects on the fetus and organizing obstetric care; postnatal prevention, consisting in the early detection of malformations in newborns, the timely application of methods of therapeutic and pedagogical correction at all stages of development.

secondary prevention. It is understood as a system of measures aimed at preventing a life-threatening or unfavorable course of a mental or other disease that has already begun. Secondary prevention includes early diagnosis, prognosis and prevention of life-threatening conditions for the patient, early treatment and the use of adequate methods of correction to achieve the most complete remission, long-term maintenance therapy, which excludes the possibility of a relapse of the disease.

Tertiary prevention is a system of measures aimed at preventing the occurrence of disability in chronic diseases. In this, the correct use of medicines and other means, the use of methods of therapeutic and pedagogical correction play an important role.

All sections of psychoprophylaxis are especially closely related in cases of prevention of mental illness, in which we are talking about such disorders as, in the occurrence of which not only psychogenic moments play a role, but also somatic disorders.

As already mentioned, it is customary to call psychogenies diseases caused by mental trauma. The term "psychogenic illness" belongs to Sommer and was initially used only for.

V.A. Gilyarovsky used the term "borderline states" to designate these conditions, emphasizing that these disorders, as it were, occupy a borderline place between mental illness and mental health or somatic and mental illness.

According to many experts, it is necessary to wage the same intense fight against neuropsychiatric disorders and diseases, as well as against infections.

Methods of psychoprophylaxis and psychohygiene include work within the framework of advisory centers, "helplines" and other organizations focused on psychological assistance to healthy people. Among them may be - mass surveys to identify the so-called risk groups and preventive work with them, information from the population, etc.

  • Closure
  • Inhibition of thinking
  • Hysterical laughter
  • Concentration disorder
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Uncontrolled overeating
  • Refusal of food
  • addiction to alcohol
  • Problems with adaptation in society
  • Conversations with myself
  • Decreased performance
  • Learning difficulties
  • Feeling of fear
  • A mental disorder is a wide range of ailments that are characterized by changes in the psyche that affect habits, performance, behavior and position in society. In the international classification of diseases, such pathologies have several meanings. ICD code 10 - F00 - F99.

    A wide range of predisposing factors can cause the appearance of a particular psychological pathology, ranging from traumatic brain injuries and aggravated heredity to addiction to bad habits and poisoning with toxins.

    There are a lot of clinical manifestations of diseases associated with a personality disorder, in addition, they are extremely diverse, which makes it possible to conclude that they are of an individual nature.

    Establishing the correct diagnosis is a rather lengthy process, which, in addition to laboratory and instrumental diagnostic measures, includes the study of a life history, as well as an analysis of handwriting and other individual characteristics.

    The treatment of a particular mental disorder can be carried out in several ways - from the work of appropriate clinicians with the patient to the use of traditional medicine recipes.

    Etiology

    Personality disorder means a disease of the soul and a state of mental activity that is different from healthy. The opposite of such a state is mental health, inherent in those individuals who can quickly adapt to the daily changes of life, solve various everyday issues or problems, and achieve their goals and goals. When such abilities are limited or completely lost, one can suspect that a person has one or another pathology on the part of the psyche.

    Diseases of this group are caused by a wide variety and multiplicity of etiological factors. However, it is worth noting that absolutely all of them are predetermined by a violation of the functioning of the brain.

    Pathological causes against which mental disorders can develop include:

    • the course of various infectious diseases, which can either themselves negatively affect the brain, or appear against the background;
    • damage to other systems, for example, a leak or a previous one, can cause the development of psychosis and other mental pathologies. Often they lead to the appearance of a disease in the elderly;
    • traumatic brain injury;
    • brain oncology;
    • congenital defects and anomalies.

    Among the external etiological factors, it is worth highlighting:

    • effects on the body of chemicals. This should include poisoning with toxic substances or poisons, indiscriminate intake of drugs or harmful food components, as well as the abuse of addictions;
    • prolonged influence of stressful situations or nervous strains that can haunt a person both at work and at home;
    • improper upbringing of a child or frequent conflicts between peers lead to the appearance of a mental disorder in adolescents or children.

    Separately, it is worth highlighting the burdened heredity - mental disorders, like no other pathologies, are closely related to the presence of such abnormalities in relatives. Knowing this, it is possible to prevent the development of a particular disease.

    In addition, mental disorders in women can be caused by labor.

    Classification

    There is a division of personality disorders that groups all diseases of a similar nature by predisposing factor and clinical manifestation. This enables clinicians to make a faster diagnosis and prescribe the most effective therapy.

    Thus, the classification of mental disorders includes:

    • a change in the psyche that was caused by drinking alcohol or using drugs;
    • organic mental disorders - caused by a violation of the normal functioning of the brain;
    • affective pathologies - the main clinical manifestation is a frequent change of mood;
    • and schizotypal diseases - such conditions have specific symptoms, which include a sharp change in the nature of the individual and the lack of adequate actions;
    • phobias and. Signs of such disorders may occur in relation to an object, phenomenon or person;
    • behavioral syndromes associated with impaired eating, sleep or sexual relations;
    • . Such a violation refers to borderline mental disorders, since they often occur against the background of intrauterine pathologies, heredity and childbirth;
    • violations of psychological development;
    • activity and concentration disorders are the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents. It is expressed in disobedience and hyperactivity of the child.

    Varieties of such pathologies in representatives of the adolescent age category:

    • prolonged depression;
    • and nervous character;
    • drancorexia.

    Types of mental disorders in children are presented:

    • mental retardation;

    Varieties of such deviations in the elderly:

    • marasmus;
    • Pick's disease.

    Mental disorders in epilepsy are most common:

    • epileptic mood disorder;
    • transient mental disorders;
    • mental seizures.

    Long-term drinking of alcoholic beverages leads to the development of the following psychological personality disorders:

    • delirium;
    • hallucinations.

    Brain injury can be a factor in the development of:

    • twilight state;
    • delirium;
    • oneiroid.

    The classification of mental disorders that have arisen against the background of somatic ailments includes:

    • asthenic neurosis-like state;
    • korsakov's syndrome;
    • dementia.

    Malignant neoplasms can cause:

    • various hallucinations;
    • affective disorders;
    • memory impairment.

    Types of personality disorder formed due to vascular pathologies of the brain:

    • vascular dementia;
    • cerebrovascular psychosis.

    Some clinicians believe that selfie is a mental disorder, which is expressed in the tendency to very often take their own photos on the phone and post them on social networks. Several degrees of severity of such a violation were compiled:

    • episodic - a person is photographed more than three times a day, but does not upload the resulting pictures to the public;
    • medium-heavy - differs from the previous one in that a person uploads photos to social networks;
    • chronic - pictures are taken throughout the day, and the number of photos posted on the Internet exceeds six.

    Symptoms

    The appearance of clinical signs of a mental disorder is purely individual in nature, however, all of them can be divided into a violation of mood, mental abilities and behavioral reactions.

    The most obvious manifestations of such violations are:

    • causeless change of mood or the appearance of hysterical laughter;
    • difficulty concentrating, even when performing the simplest tasks;
    • conversations when no one is around;
    • hallucinations, auditory, visual or combined;
    • a decrease or, conversely, an increase in sensitivity to stimuli;
    • lapses or lack of memory;
    • difficult learning;
    • misunderstanding of the events taking place around;
    • decrease in efficiency and adaptation in society;
    • depression and apathy;
    • a feeling of pain and discomfort in various areas of the body, which in fact may not exist;
    • the emergence of unjustified beliefs;
    • sudden feeling of fear, etc.;
    • alternation of euphoria and dysphoria;
    • acceleration or inhibition of the thought process.

    Similar manifestations are characteristic of a psychological disorder in children and adults. However, there are several of the most specific symptoms, depending on the gender of the patient.

    Representatives of the weaker sex may experience:

    • sleep disturbances in the form of insomnia;
    • frequent overeating or, conversely, refusal to eat;
    • addiction to the abuse of alcoholic beverages;
    • violation of sexual function;
    • irritability;
    • severe headaches;
    • causeless fears and phobias.

    In men, unlike women, mental disorders are diagnosed several times more often. The most common symptoms of a disorder include:

    • inaccurate appearance;
    • avoidance of hygiene procedures;
    • isolation and resentment;
    • blaming everyone but yourself for your own problems;
    • a sharp change in mood;
    • humiliation and insult of interlocutors.

    Diagnostics

    Establishing the correct diagnosis is a rather lengthy process that requires an integrated approach. First of all, the clinician must:

    • to study the life history and medical history of not only the patient, but also his closest relatives - to determine the borderline mental disorder;
    • a detailed survey of the patient, which is aimed not only at clarifying complaints regarding the presence of certain symptoms, but also at assessing the patient's behavior.

    In addition, the ability of a person to tell or describe his disease is of great importance in diagnosis.

    To identify pathologies of other organs and systems, laboratory tests of blood, urine, feces and cerebrospinal fluid are indicated.

    Instrumental methods include:


    Psychological diagnostics is necessary to identify the nature of changes in individual processes of the activity of the psyche.

    In cases of death, a pathoanatomical diagnostic study is carried out. This is necessary to confirm the diagnosis, identify the causes of the onset of the disease and death of a person.

    Treatment

    The tactics of treating mental disorders will be compiled individually for each patient.

    Drug therapy in most cases involves the use of:

    • sedatives;
    • tranquilizers - to relieve anxiety and anxiety;
    • neuroleptics - to suppress acute psychosis;
    • antidepressants - to combat depression;
    • normotimics - to stabilize mood;
    • nootropics.

    In addition, it is widely used:

    • auto-training;
    • hypnosis;
    • suggestion;
    • neurolinguistic programming.

    All procedures are carried out by a psychiatrist. Good results can be achieved with traditional medicine, but only if they are approved by the attending physician. The list of the most effective substances is:

    • poplar bark and gentian root;
    • burdock and centaury;
    • lemon balm and valerian root;
    • St. John's wort and kava kava;
    • cardamom and ginseng;
    • mint and sage;
    • cloves and licorice root;

    Such treatment of mental disorders should be part of complex therapy.

    Prevention

    In addition, you must follow a few simple rules for the prevention of mental disorders:

    • completely abandon bad habits;
    • take medications only as prescribed by the clinician and with strict adherence to the dosage;
    • avoid stress and nervous tension as much as possible;
    • comply with all safety rules when working with toxic substances;
    • undergo a complete medical examination several times a year, especially for those people whose relatives have mental disorders.

    Only with the implementation of all the above recommendations can a favorable prognosis be achieved.

    Prevention of mental illness

    Psychoprophylaxis

    Psychoprophylaxis is a system of measures, the purpose of which is to study the causes that contribute to the emergence of mental illnesses and disorders, their timely detection and elimination.

    In any field of medicine, be it surgery, therapy, infectious or other diseases, Russian healthcare pays great attention to prevention. When addressing the issues of preventing various mental disorders and diseases, preventive measures should be timely implemented in the life and practice of health care.

    Methods of psychoprophylaxis include, in particular, the prevention of exacerbations of mental illness. Therefore, it may be necessary to study the dynamics of the neuropsychic state of a person during work, as well as in everyday conditions.

    With the help of a number of psychological and physiological methods, scientists investigate the influence of various occupational hazards in certain branches of labor (intoxication factors, vibrations, the significance of overvoltage in work, the very nature of the production process, etc.).

    Psychoprophylaxis is a section of general prevention, which includes measures aimed at preventing mental illness.

    There is a close connection between the human psyche and his somatic state. The stability of the mental state can affect the somatic state. It is known that with a great emotional upsurge, somatic diseases rarely occur (an example is the war years).

    The state of somatic health can also affect the human psyche, lead to the occurrence of certain disorders or prevent them.

    V. A. Gilyarovsky wrote that the role of a nervous upsurge in overcoming difficulties for the body and, in particular, harm to the nervous system should be used in planning work of a psychoprophylactic nature.

    The objectives of prevention are: 1) preventing the action of a pathogenic cause on the body, 2) preventing the development of the disease through its early diagnosis and treatment, 3) preventive treatment and measures to prevent recurrence of the disease and their transition to chronic forms.

    In the prevention of mental illness, general preventive measures, such as the elimination of infectious diseases, intoxications and other harmful effects of the external environment, play an important role.

    Mental prevention (primary) is commonly understood as a system of measures aimed at studying mental effects on a person, the properties of his psyche and the possibilities of preventing psychogenic and psychosomatic diseases.

    All measures related to mental prevention are aimed at increasing the endurance of the psyche to harmful influences. These include: the correct upbringing of the child, the fight against early infections and psychogenic influences that can cause mental retardation, developmental asynchrony, mental infantilism, which make the human psyche unstable to external influences.

    Primary prevention also includes several subsections: provisional prevention, its purpose is to protect the health of future generations; genetic prevention - the study and prediction of possible hereditary diseases, which is also aimed at improving the health of future generations; embryonic prophylaxis aimed at improving the health of a woman, hygiene of marriage and conception, protecting the mother from possible harmful effects on the fetus and organizing obstetric care; postnatal prevention, consisting in the early detection of malformations in newborns, the timely application of methods of therapeutic and pedagogical correction at all stages of development.

    secondary prevention. It is understood as a system of measures aimed at preventing a life-threatening or unfavorable course of a mental or other disease that has already begun. Secondary prevention includes early diagnosis, prognosis and prevention of life-threatening conditions for the patient, early treatment and the use of adequate methods of correction to achieve the most complete remission, long-term maintenance therapy, which excludes the possibility of a relapse of the disease.

    Tertiary prevention is a system of measures aimed at preventing the occurrence of disability in chronic diseases. In this, the correct use of medicines and other means, the use of methods of therapeutic and pedagogical correction play an important role.

    All sections of psychoprophylaxis are especially closely related in those cases of prevention of mental illness, in which we are talking about such disorders as reactive states, in the occurrence of which not only psychogenic moments play a role, but also somatic disorders.

    As already mentioned, it is customary to call psychogenies diseases caused by mental trauma. The term "psychogenic illness" belongs to Sommer and was originally used only for hysterical disorders.

    V. A. Gilyarovsky used the term “borderline states” to designate these conditions, emphasizing that these disorders, as it were, occupy a borderline place between mental illness and mental health or somatic and mental illness.

    According to many experts, it is necessary to wage the same intense fight against neuropsychiatric disorders and diseases, as well as against infections.

    Methods of psychoprophylaxis and psychohygiene include psychocorrectional work within the framework of counseling centers, "helplines" and other organizations focused on psychological assistance to healthy people. Among the psychoprophylactic measures may be - mass surveys in order to identify the so-called risk groups and preventive work with them, public information, etc.

    The etiology of the pathology of the psyche is diverse, but basically the causes remain unknown. Quite often, various infectious diseases that can directly affect the brain (for example, meningitis, encephalitis) become the cause of pathological changes in the patient's psyche, or the effect will be manifested as a result of brain intoxication or secondary infection (infection comes to the brain from other organs and systems).

    Also, the cause of such disorders can be exposure to various chemicals, these substances can be some drugs, food components, and industrial poisons.

    Damage to other organs and systems (eg, endocrine system, vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition) causes the development of psychosis.

    Also, as a result of various traumatic brain injuries, passing, long-term and chronic mental disorders, sometimes quite severe, can occur. Oncology of the brain and its other gross pathology are almost always accompanied by one or another mental disorder.

    In addition, various defects and anomalies in the structure of the brain, changes in the functioning of higher nervous activity often go along with mental disorders. Strong mental shocks sometimes cause the development of psychosis, but not as often as some people think.

    Toxic substances are another cause of mental disorders (alcohol, drugs, heavy metals and other chemicals). All that is listed above, all these harmful factors, under certain conditions can cause a mental disorder, under other conditions - only contribute to the onset of the disease or its exacerbation.

    Also burdened heredity increases the risk of developing mental illness, but not always. For example, some kind of mental pathology may appear if it was encountered in previous generations, but it may also appear if it never existed. The influence of the hereditary factor on the development of mental pathology remains far from being studied.

    The main symptoms in mental illness.

    There are a lot of signs of mental illness, they are inexhaustible and extremely diverse. Let's consider the main ones.

    Sensopathy - violations of sensory cognition (perception, sensations, ideas). These include

    hyperesthesia (when the susceptibility of ordinary external stimuli is increased, which in the usual state are neutral, for example, blinding by the most ordinary daylight) often develops before some forms of clouding of consciousness;

    hypoesthesia (the opposite of the previous one, a decrease in the susceptibility of external stimuli, for example, surrounding objects look faded);

    senestopathies (various, very unpleasant sensations: tightening, burning, pressure, tearing, transfusion, and others emanating from different parts of the body);

    hallucinations (when a person perceives something that is not real), they can be visual (visions), auditory (divided into acoasms, when a person hears different sounds, but not words and speech, and phonemes - respectively, he hears words, conversations; commenting - the voice expresses opinions about all the actions of the patient, imperative - the voice orders actions), olfactory (when the patient feels a variety of smells, often unpleasant), gustatory (usually together with olfactory, a sensation of taste that does not correspond to the food or drink that he takes, also more often unpleasant character), tactile (feeling of insects, worms crawling over the body, the appearance of some objects on the body or under the skin), visceral (when the patient feels the obvious presence of foreign objects or living beings in the body cavities), complex (simultaneous existence of several types of hallucinations );

    pseudohallucinations, they are also varied, but unlike true hallucinations, they are not compared with real objects and phenomena, patients in this case speak of special, different from real voices, special visions, mental images;

    hypnagogic hallucinations (visions that involuntarily occur during falling asleep, when the eyes are closed, in a dark field of vision);

    illusions (false perception of real things or phenomena) are divided into affective (more often occurring in the presence of fear, anxious and depressed mood), verbal (false perception of the content of a really ongoing conversation), pareidolic (for example, fantastic monsters are perceived instead of patterns on wallpaper);

    functional hallucinations (appear only in the presence of an external stimulus and, without merging, coexist with it until its action ceases); metamorphopsia (changes in the perception of the size or shape of perceived objects and space);

    disorder of the body scheme (changes in the sensation of the shape and size of your body). Emotional symptoms, these include: euphoria (very good mood with increased drives), dysthymia (the opposite of euphoria, deep sadness, despondency, melancholy, a dark and vague feeling of deep unhappiness, usually accompanied by various physical painful sensations - depression of well-being), dysphoria (dissatisfied , melancholy-evil mood, often with an admixture of fear), emotional weakness (pronounced change in mood, sharp fluctuations from high to low, and the increase usually has a shade of sentimentality, and the decrease - tearfulness), apathy (complete indifference, indifference to everything around and his position, thoughtlessness).

    Disorder of the thought process, it includes: acceleration of the thought process (an increase in the number of various thoughts that form in each given period of time), inhibition of the thought process, incoherence of thinking (loss of the ability to make the most elementary generalizations), thoroughness of thinking (the formation of new associations is extremely slowed down due to prolonged dominance of the previous ones), perseveration of thinking (long-term dominance, with a general, pronounced difficulty in the thought process, of any one thought, one of some kind of representation).

    Nonsense, an idea is considered delusional if it does not correspond to reality, reflects it distortedly, and if it completely takes possession of consciousness, it remains, despite the presence of a clear contradiction with real reality, inaccessible to correction. It is divided into primary (intellectual) delirium (originally arises as the only sign of a disorder of mental activity, spontaneously), sensual (figurative) delirium (not only rational, but also sensual cognition is violated), affective delirium (figurative, always occurs along with emotional disorders) , overvalued ideas (judgments that usually arise as a result of real, real circumstances, but then take on a meaning that does not correspond to their position in the mind).

    Obsessive phenomena, their essence lies in the involuntary, irresistible occurrence in patients of thoughts, unpleasant memories, various doubts, fears, aspirations, actions, movements with the consciousness of their morbidity and a critical attitude towards them, which is how they differ from delirium. These include abstract obsession (counting, remembering names, surnames, terms, definitions, etc.), figurative obsession (obsessive memories, obsessive feelings of antipathy, obsessive drives, obsessive fear - phobia, rituals). Impulsive phenomena, actions (occur without internal struggle, without consciousness control), desires (dipsomania - hard drinking, attraction to drunkenness, dromomania - the desire to move, kleptomania - the passion for theft, pyromania - the desire for arson).

    Disorders of self-awareness, these include depersonalization, derealization, confusion.

    Memory disorders, dysmnesia (memory impairment), amnesia (lack of memory), paramnesia (memory deceptions). Sleep disorders, sleep disturbances, awakening disorders, loss of a sense of sleep (when waking up, patients do not consider that they were sleeping), sleep disturbances, intermittent sleep, sleepwalking (performing a series of sequential actions in a state of deep sleep - getting out of bed, moving around the apartment, putting on clothes and other simple actions), changes in the depth of sleep, disturbances in dreams, in general, some scientists believe that a dream is always an abnormal fact, so every dream is a deception (consciousness is deceived, referring to the product of fantasy as a reality), during normal (ideal) sleep there is no place for dreams; perversion of the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness.

    Study of the mentally ill.

    Clinical psychiatric research is carried out by questioning patients, collecting subjective (from the patient) and objective (from relatives and friends) anamnesis and observation. Questioning is the main method of psychiatric research, since the vast majority of the above symptoms are established only through communication between the doctor and the patient, the statements of the patient.

    In all mental illnesses, as long as the patient retains the ability to speak, questioning is the main part of the study. The success of research by questioning depends not only on the knowledge of the doctor, but also on the ability to question.

    Questioning is inseparable from observation. Questioning the patient, the doctor observes him, and observing, asks the questions that arise in connection with this. For the correct diagnosis of the disease, it is necessary to monitor the expression of the patient's face, the intonation of his voice, to note all the movements of the patient.

    When collecting an anamnesis, you need to pay attention to the hereditary burden of the parents, to the state of health, illness, injuries of the mother of the patient during pregnancy, to how the birth proceeded. To establish the features of the mental and physical development of the patient in childhood. Additional material for psychiatric research in some patients is a self-description of their illness, letters, drawings and other types of creativity during it.

    Along with a psychiatric examination, a neurological examination is mandatory for mental disorders. This is necessary in order to exclude gross organic lesions of the brain. For the same reason, it is necessary to conduct a general somatic examination for the patient in order to identify diseases of other organs and systems, for this it is also necessary to conduct a laboratory study of blood, urine, if necessary, sputum, feces, gastric juice and others.

    In case of mental disorders arising on the basis of gross organic lesions of the brain, it is necessary to study the cerebrospinal fluid. Of the other methods, radiological (X-ray of the skull, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), electroencephalography are used.

    A laboratory study of higher nervous activity is necessary to establish the nature of the disorder of the basic brain processes, the relationship of signal systems, the cortex and subcortex, and various analyzers in mental illness.

    Psychological research is necessary to investigate the nature of changes in individual processes of mental activity in various mental illnesses. Pathological anatomical examination in the event of a patient's death is mandatory in order to identify the cause of the development of the disease and death, to verify the diagnosis.

    Prevention of mental illness.

    Preventive measures include timely and correct diagnosis and treatment of non-mental diseases (general somatic and infectious), which can lead to mental disorders. This should include measures to prevent injuries, poisoning by various chemical compounds. During some serious mental shocks, a person should not be left alone, he needs the help of a specialist (psychotherapist, psychologist) or people close to him.

    Mental and behavioral disorders according to ICD-10

    Organic, including symptomatic mental disorders
    Mental and behavioral disorders associated with substance use
    Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders
    Mood disorders [affective disorders]
    Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders
    Behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disorders and physical factors
    Personality and behavioral disorders in adulthood
    Mental retardation
    Developmental Disorders
    Emotional and behavioral disorders, usually beginning in childhood and adolescence
    Mental disorder not otherwise specified

    More about mental disorders:

    List of articles in category Mental and behavioral disorders
    Autism (Kanner syndrome)
    Bipolar disorder (bipolar, manic-depressive psychosis)
    bulimia
    Homosexuality (homosexual relationships in men)
    Depression in old age
    Depression
    Depression in children and adolescents
    antisocial personality disorder
    dissociative amnesia
    Stuttering
    Hypochondria
    Histrionic Personality Disorder
    Classification of epileptic seizures and choice of drugs
    Kleptomania

    Disease prevention- measures aimed at preventing diseases: the fight against risk factors, immunization, slowing down the development of the disease and reducing it.

    Levels of preventive action:

      Health promotion- the process of empowering individuals and communities to increase control over the determinants of health.

      Primary prevention- a set of medical and non-medical measures aimed at preventing deviations in the state of health and preventing diseases common to the entire population and individual (regional, social, age, professional and other) groups and individuals.

    Primary prevention

      Measures to reduce the impact of harmful factors on the human body (improving the quality of atmospheric air, drinking water, the structure and quality of nutrition, working conditions, life and rest, the level of psychosocial stress and other factors affecting the quality of life), environmental and sanitary screening .

      Formation of a paradigm of a healthy lifestyle through the creation of a permanent information and propaganda system aimed at increasing the level of knowledge of the population about the impact of negative factors on health and reducing their impact; sanitary and hygienic education.

      Measures to prevent somatic and mental illnesses and injuries (including professionally caused), accidents, disability and death from external causes, road traffic injuries, etc.

      Identification during preventive medical examinations of factors harmful to health, including behavioral ones, taking measures to eliminate them.

      Carrying out immunoprophylaxis (vaccination) of various population groups.

      Improvement of individuals and groups of the population under the influence of factors unfavorable to health, using medical and non-medical measures.

      Preventive measures should focus not only on any one risk factor, but on the total risk determined by the existing combination of factors.

    Adaptation Syndrome, general adaptation syndrome, a set of general protective reactions that occur in the body of animals and humans under the influence of external and internal stimuli that are significant in strength and duration; these reactions contribute to the restoration of disturbed balance and are aimed at maintaining the constancy of the internal environment of the body - homeostasis. The concept of adaptation syndrome was put forward by the Canadian scientist G. Selye (1936). Factors that cause the development of an adaptation syndrome (infection, sudden changes in temperature, physical and mental trauma, large muscle load, blood loss, ionizing radiation, many pharmacological effects, etc.) are called stressors, and the state of the body that develops under their action is called stress ( from English stress - tension). The main signs of the adaptation syndrome are an increase in the adrenal cortex and an increase in their secretory activity, a change in the composition of the blood, a metabolic disorder (with a predominance of decay processes), leading to weight loss, a drop in blood pressure, etc. The development of the adaptation syndrome goes through 2 or 3 stages.

    1st- anxiety stage, lasts from 6 to 48 hours and is divided into phases of shock and anti-shock; at this stage, the production and entry into the blood of adrenal hormones - glucocorticoids and adrenaline - are enhanced, the body is rebuilt, adapts to difficult conditions,

    2nd- the stage of resistance, when the body's resistance to various influences is increased; by the end of this stage, the state of the body is normalized and recovery occurs.

    If the action of stimuli is great in strength and duration, then 3rd stage - the stage of exhaustion, which can end in the death of the organism.

    The WHO constitution defines health as “a state of complete bodily, mental and social well-being” and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Despite the fact that this definition cannot be considered scientific enough, it clearly shows that human health is a complex (multi-level) state. And therefore, it must be considered from the standpoint of structural analysis.

    At the physiological level, the basis of health is homeostasis - the body's ability to ensure the constancy of its internal environment despite external changes. According to the principle of homeostasis, health is maintained if the constancy of the internal environment of the body is maintained. And vice versa, it worsens (disease occurs) if the violation of homeostasis is persistent (V.M. Dilman, 1987). The desire for internal constancy is the most important mechanism of the body. But the human body, as you know, throughout its development is not in a state of balance or equilibrium with the environment. He constantly adapts to the environment, reacting to stimuli coming from it. Therefore, the vital activity (and hence health) of a person, along with homeostasis, is provided by another fundamental ability of the body - adaptation. In this regard, it should be noted that adaptation to new conditions does not pass without a trace for the organism. It is achieved at the expense of the functional resources of the organism. And if the "payment for adaptation" goes beyond its reserve capacity, there is a danger of disease.

    The concept of mental norm.

      The human norm is a multicomponent concept, including psychological, physical and social components. Considering the norm and its deviations, it is impossible to evaluate only one particular area (for example: the degree of adaptation of a person in society, the level of his development, the presence of a genetic predisposition to a psychiatric or somatic disease ...), risking getting one-sided and distorted results. Only taking into account all aspects of the individual's functioning in the complex can we talk about his "normality" or deviation from the norm.

      The norm has a certain range or "corridor" of values, as well as its deviations. In psychodiagnostics, they are usually referred to as: high rates; norm; low rates, etc. In psychiatry, this is a transition from the norm to accentuations, further to neurosis, psychopathy and illness. It is still not possible to establish clear boundaries between the norm and borderline states at the moment. This assessment is still extremely subjective and depends on many components.

      A normal person is not a model of impeccability. It has its disadvantages and advantages; strengths and weaknesses in development and health; and maybe even their oddities and quirks of character and behavior.

      The norm is a dynamic concept that changes over time and over time.

    Moreover, in some directions, these changes occur relatively quickly (in this case, we mean psychological, physical, etc., but not psychiatric phenomena).

    Disorders of mental adaptation

    It is generally accepted that the mind is "the most perfect and most vulnerable apparatus of human adaptation to the social and ecological environment", respectively, under the action of extreme loads on the body, especially in a situation of chronic stress, this type of adaptation can be disturbed in the first place. Violation of mental adaptation in a chronic stressful situation develops in stages, according to 4 stages, considered as successive stages of a psychological crisis:

    1) the primary growth of mental stress, accompanied by various attempts to adapt to the situation;

    2) a further increase in tension in conditions when these attempts turn out to be fruitless;

    3) an even greater increase in mental stress;

    4) if everything turns out to be futile, a breakdown stage occurs, characterized by an increase in anxiety and depression, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, disorganization of the personality.

    Violation of individual components of mental adaptation, according to the description of F.B. Berezina is presented as follows:

    a) violation of the actual mental adaptation manifests itself in the form of borderline psychopathological phenomena, which are in the nature of neuroses, functional disorders, accompanied by a feeling of illness and determined mainly by intrapsychic conflicts.

    b) The decrease in the effectiveness of socio-psychological adaptation is expressed by a tendency to the emergence of inadequate behavior in the sphere of interpersonal relations, which depends on the characteristics of the individual, on its non-adaptive formation, and leads to a mismatch in the interaction between the individual and the environment (psychopathic reactions or states).

    c) Deterioration of predominantly psychophysiological adaptation is manifested in psychosomatic, or so-called<функциональных>disorders (changes in psychophysiological relationships leading to somatic health disorders).

    Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) was first described in 1984 by A. Lloyd. He called his characteristic feature chronic fatigue experienced by the patient, which does not disappear even after a long rest and eventually leads to a significant decrease in working capacity - both mental and physical.

    Clinically, persistent symptoms of CFS are: severe fatigue and muscle weakness that does not improve after a night's sleep, superficial sleep with nightmares, difficulty falling asleep. Mood variability during the day under the influence of the most insignificant psychogenic factors and a periodically occurring state of depression are characteristic, in which patients feel the need for solitude, they have a feeling of depression, and sometimes hopelessness.

    Secondary prevention

    Secondary prevention(secondary prevention) - a set of medical, social, sanitary-hygienic, psychological and other measures aimed at early detection and prevention of exacerbations and complications of diseases, as well as a set of measures to prevent disability, including disability and premature death.

    Secondary prevention includes:

    1) conducting dispensary medical examinations in order to identify the disease and factors affecting their course;

    2) targeted sanitary and hygienic education (training) of patients and their families in knowledge and skills related to a specific disease or group of diseases;

    3) carrying out health-improving and therapeutic measures to eliminate factors negative for health, the implementation of dynamic monitoring.

    Psychological support is a system of special techniques and activities, the purpose of which is to help in the correction of feelings and experiences of the individual.

    Prevention of psychosomatic and psychiatric diseases

    Methods such as: creating a favorable psychological environment can be used, while individual and group psychotherapeutic conversations with patients can be carried out; in other cases, a wide arsenal of psychotherapeutic methods can be aimed at solving medical and rehabilitation problems, the content of which is determined by the stage of the disease, its severity and prognosis. Autogenic training, methods of behavioral psychotherapy can be used. In the initial, diagnostic period, when patients experience anxiety and fear, rational psychotherapy is appropriate, aimed at calming the patient, activating him, forming a more adaptive attitude to the disease and treatment. In severe cases, hypnotherapy is recommended. During difficult experiences (for example: before surgery), rational psychotherapy, self-hypnosis techniques aimed at eliminating fear, instilling confidence in the success of treatment are considered to be indicated. In addition to the above, such techniques as "psychotherapeutic mirror", "treatment perspective", "anonymous discussion" are used.

    Tertiary prevention

    Tertiary prevention is a set of measures for the rehabilitation of patients who have lost the opportunity to fully function. Tertiary prevention is aimed at social (formation of confidence in one's own social suitability), labor (the possibility of restoring work skills), psychological (restoration of behavioral activity) and medical (restoration of the functions of organs and body systems).

    suicide- intentional self-harm with a fatal outcome, (taking one's own life).

    For the prevention of suicide, it is important to clarify the state of the emotional-volitional sphere of a person who committed suicide, his mental attitude to the upcoming suicide.

    Risk factors. Certain aspects of human life increase the likelihood of suicide attempts.

    1. The most important factor in suicide is the person's feeling of hopelessness. Individuals with feelings of hopelessness may view suicide as the only way to solve their problems. People with mental illness, personality disorders, and substance abusers are at high risk of suicide. In fact, people with undiagnosed mental illness commit about 90% of all suicides. Physical illness also increases the risk of suicide, especially when accompanied by depression. About 1/3 of adults who commit suicide suffered from physical illness at the time of their death.

    2. Another risk factor for suicide is the presence of previous suicide attempts, as well as the presence of cases of suicide among relatives. An important role is played by the social isolation of the individual. People who live alone or have few close friends do not receive the emotional support that would prevent them from feeling hopeless and irrational thoughts during a difficult time in their lives.

    The main link in suicide prevention is an anonymous telephone service (“helpline”)

    Today there is the International Association for the Prevention of Suicide, on the recommendation of which suicide prevention services were created in many cities of the world and our country. This is a new form of organizing medical and socio-psychological assistance to people who need qualified advice or medical treatment. The services are aimed at the general population and, first of all, at people experiencing a state of psychological crisis, people exposed to stress factors and potentially suicidal.

    Psychological crisis- an emotional-behavioral or neurotic reaction of a person to an insurmountable or insoluble situation for her at a given time (an obstacle, a breakdown, an acute, acute or chronic stress), violating her most important life goals and leading to socio-psychological maladaptation.

    Crisis states can be provoked by such a pathological type of behavioral defense as auto-aggressive behavior. The forms of such protection can be both suicidal behavior, the occurrence of psychosomatic disorders, and various types of negative addictions - drug addiction, alcoholism, addiction to gambling and the influence of various totalitarian religious sects.

    The Hospice Movement

    Hospices are being developed as an alternative to euthanasia - medical institutions that provide treatment and care for the dying and the elderly, but primarily to alleviate the suffering of mainly cancer patients in the later stages of the disease.

    The Latin word hospes originally meant a guest. But in late classical times, its meaning changed, and it also began to mean the owner, and the word hospitalis, an adjective from hospes, meant "hospitable, friendly to wanderers." Another word came from this word - hospitium, which meant friendly, warm relations between the host and the guest, and later, the place where these relations developed.

    Hospice Principles:

      Asserts life and views death as a normal process;

      Does not speed up or slow down death;

      Provides relief from pain and other disturbing symptoms;

      Combines psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care;

      Offers a support system to help patients live an active life to the end;

      Offers a support system to help families cope with difficulties during a loved one's illness and after death.

    In the advanced stage of the disease, methods of psychotherapy are used that help relieve pain, improve sleep, including, as an important component, an empathic, compassionate attitude towards the patient, instilling hope.

    The goal of psychotherapy for the dying the patient is accompanied on his mournful path in accordance with the stages identified by Kübler-Ross.

    Five stages of dying(Kubler-Ross)

      Negation. The patient cannot believe that this really happened to him.

      Anger. Indignation at the work of doctors, hatred of healthy people.

      An attempt to make a deal with fate. Patients think, let's say that they will recover if the coin falls heads.

      Depression. Despair and horror, loss of interest in life.

      Adoption. “I have lived an interesting and eventful life. Now I can die." No more than 2% of people survive this stage.)

    R. Kociunas (1999) identifies the following principles of psychotherapy for a dying person:

      a dying person cannot be treated as already dead; he needs support.

      one should carefully listen to the complaints of the dying person and carefully satisfy his requests.

      it is necessary to ensure that the dying person participates in decisions about treatment, visitors, etc.

      in dealing with him, one should avoid superficial optimism, which causes suspicion and distrust.

      dying people prefer to talk more than to listen to the interlocutor.

      sympathetic listening helps the dying person express regret for the offenses inflicted on them, forgive their enemies, accept death as a solemn moment of life, as important and integral to it as birth.

    Biofeedback- a technology that includes a complex of research, therapeutic and preventive physiological procedures, during which the patient is presented with information about the state and changes of certain physiological processes through an external feedback circuit, organized mainly with the help of microprocessor or computer technology.

    Visual, auditory, tactile and other stimulus signals are used, which allows you to develop self-regulation skills through training. Biofeedback methodology allows a person to modify his behavior with the help of physiological feedback towards a greater degree of self-regulation and homeostasis. Biofeedback procedures are used for various forms of psychosomatic disorders, when one of the leading factors is chronic stress. The great advantage of the biofeedback method is that it allows you to work with the main types of dysfunctions of the body's regulatory systems - nervous (central, peripheral, vegetative), immune and humoral, which occur during stress.

    Neuro-Linguistic Programming- this is a field of knowledge that studies the structure of people's subjective experience, develops a language for its description, reveals the mechanisms and methods for modeling experience in order to improve and transfer the identified models to other people. The very first name of NLP was "Metaknowledge", that is, the science of how our knowledge and experience are arranged.

    In the name "NLP", the part "Neuro" indicates that in order to describe a person's experience, it is necessary to know and understand the "languages ​​of the brain" - those neurological processes that are responsible for storing, processing and transmitting information.

    "Linguistic" emphasizes the importance of language in describing the features of the mechanisms of thinking and behavior, as well as in organizing communication processes.

    "Programming" defines the systemic nature of thought and behavioral processes: "program" in Greek means "a clear sequence of steps aimed at achieving some result."

    NLP can be considered both as a scientific field of knowledge and as an art, since it can be represented both at the level of practical tools and technologies, and at the level of spirituality. NLP is based on a holistic approach to viewing the human experience based on the concept of the unity of mind, body and spirit.

    Addiction

    In recent years, drug addiction, and in a broader aspect, dependence on psychoactive substances, has become a global problem on a global scale. Against the background of the relative stabilization of the situation in our country by 2007, the epidemic growth in the consumption of drugs and other psychoactive substances continues. Moreover, an increasing percentage of drug addicts falls on young people, adolescents and children, who are the most vulnerable category for this addiction. Acquaintance of children and adolescents with drugs occurs very early: according to surveys, at the age of 11, almost every third child is aware of popular drugs. Such a situation cannot but cause alarm and concern about what is happening, knowing the negative consequences of substance abuse for both the individual and society as a whole. For example, diseases of the person himself (AIDS, hepatitis ...), health problems of his future children (and in the amount of national health), crime, unwillingness, and often even the inability to work, and much more.

    According to employees of Gosnarkokontrol, in connection with the crisis and the difficult economic situation in Russia, in 2009 we should expect a sharp surge in drug addiction and related crime.

    Drug- a psychoactive substance that is included in the official state list due to social danger due to the ability to cause an attractive mental state with a single use, and with a systematic use - a mental or physical dependence on it. The drug is characterized by three characteristics:

      specific effect on the psyche - calming, activating, hallucinogenic, etc.;

      widespread use of the substance, in connection with which there are negative social consequences;

      legal recognition as a drug and inclusion by the Ministry of Health of Russia in the list of narcotic substances. The criminal legislation of Russia establishes criminal liability for the illegal acquisition, storage, manufacture, processing, transportation, shipment and sale of narcotic drugs;

    drug addiction- a social phenomenon, expressed in a relatively common, statistically stable consumption of narcotic (or other toxic, psychotropic) drugs by a part of the population, entailing certain medical (drug addiction incidence) and social consequences.

    Addiction- a disease caused by the systematic use of drugs included in the state list of drugs and manifested by mental and sometimes physical dependence on them.

    Psychoactive substances have the same properties as drugs, but they are not included in the official list, since their social danger is not so great. Often these drugs are called toxic. An example can be some sedative (tranquilizing) drugs: sibazon, elenium, or substances used for inhalation: gasoline, acetone, etc. Here, as in other cases, this term will often refer to any substances to which addiction may occur.

    Abuse of drugs or other toxic substances without dependence on them is not considered drug addiction or substance abuse. The bulk of drug addicts are those who consume drugs for other than medical reasons.

    addictive behavior can be defined as the external actions of a person associated with an irresistible attraction to any object. The object of dependence, on the one hand, is a means of satisfying the need underlying the drive, and, on the other hand, it is the leading motive for activity. In the case of drug addiction, the role of the object and motive of activity is a psychoactive substance (illegal).

    Dependent behavior is influenced by a number of factors: biological, social, spiritual (cultural) and psychological. The combination of factors in each specific situation determines the degree of risk of formation of a predisposition to addictive behavior.

    All levels of vital activity are interconnected and in the process of development of addictive behavior they are increasingly focused on psychoactive substances (PSA). The formation of the disease in all cases of drug addiction, whether it be smoking, alcoholism, substance abuse, etc., goes through several stages. One of the most significant is the formation addictive behavior - abuse of various mentally altering substances, including alcohol and tobacco smoking, before physical dependence has formed.

    Physical Dependence Syndrome characterized by the following features:

      an irresistible desire to use psychoactive substances;

      reduced control over the beginning, end or total dosage of their intake;

      use to alleviate the withdrawal syndrome (withdrawal syndrome);

      increased tolerance to the drug (the need for higher doses);

      decrease in situational control (use in unusual circumstances);

      ignoring other pleasures for the sake of taking drugs;

      mental disorders or serious social problems due to use.

    Initially (during the first trials), depending on the type of higher nervous activity, the type of drug, the dose, the method of its introduction into the body, the mental attitude of the subject, a euphoric effect is caused. A desire to take a certain type of drug is formed. They are being taken regularly.

    Then the reactivity of the organism changes - protective reactions disappear. The consumption of the drug becomes systematic, there is a change in tolerance. Drug addicts take 2-10 times higher doses than it is customary to use them for medicinal purposes. Gradually, a mental dependence on a drug is formed. Further, physical dependence is developed with an irresistible attraction to taking the drug and a pronounced withdrawal syndrome.

    Stages of drug addiction development

    8-11 years old. Children of this age are interested in everything related to drugs - their effects, ways of using them. A drug is an unknown and forbidden world, and like everything unfamiliar and forbidden, it arouses special curiosity. According to diagnostic studies, children of this age either did not hear anything about the consequences of drug use, or heard, but did not understand anything, or did not take it seriously. Knowledge about drugs is fragmentary, most often obtained from the words of friends and casual acquaintances. Only a few have tried drugs, there are no age groups that take drugs as the norm yet. Active use is most often associated with toxic substances (substance abuse). Often children of this age are involved in older communities as a distributor (transmission link).

    11-14 years old. Primary age of onset of addiction. Interest causes a possibility of the use of "light" drugs. There is a widespread misconception about the existence of soft drugs.

    Adolescents of this age know a lot about drugs, information is drawn from the stories of acquaintances. Knowledge is often misleading. Attitude towards the drug, if not positive, then with the presence of a certain "halo of attraction". The dangers of drug use are underestimated. They talk about the problem only among themselves.

    The first episodes of drug and alcohol addiction in younger adolescents aged 11-13 are associated, as a rule, with a difficult family or school situation, neglect, and an uncritical attitude to the behavior of others. Since at this age medicines and household products (gasoline, glue, toothpastes, pills, etc.) are the most accessible, and at the same time there is a misconception that they are less harmful and dangerous, it is these drugs that turn out to be what starts with. addiction to psychoactive substances. addictive behaviour.

    14-17 years old. The most dangerous age to start experimenting with any psychoactive substances. The age is often called the age of independence. The experience of getting acquainted with drugs takes place at a disco, at a youth party, in the company of friends, in a gateway, in spaces isolated from the influence of adults. Most people have either a personal experience of using a particular drug, or indirectly through close acquaintances and friends.

    Medical classification of the stages of development of drug addiction. It is based on an analysis of the manifestation of various forms of dependence - social, mental and physical.

    They speak of social dependence when a person has not yet begun to use drugs, but rotates among users, accepts their style of behavior, attitude towards drugs and the external attributes of the group. He is internally ready to start using himself. Often one can belong to such a group only by professing its principles and obeying its rules. The desire not to be rejected can be so strong that it obscures habitual ideas, changes behavior. An essential condition for this stage of the disease is the presence of a group (which can even form around a single drug user). The only way to prevent further development of the disease is the timely identification and destruction of the group. It is necessary to work with the leaders of the group, to prevent the involvement of new members in it, even if by isolating the leaders. At this stage, it is easiest to stop the development of the disease. Missing this moment means making it difficult to further contact with members of the group for whom the development of the disease can move to the next stage.

    After the onset of drug use, a teenager quickly develops a mental dependence. It manifests itself in the fact that a person seeks to regain the state that he experienced while intoxicated. He seeks either to get pleasant sensations from taking drugs, which can be very strong, or, being under the influence of drugs, to escape from unpleasant experiences and negative emotions. In the first case, a person, being deprived of the opportunity to take drugs, perceives reality as "gray", insufficiently dynamic and lively, in the second, he is overwhelmed by problems, from which he tried to escape by resorting to drug use. Depending on the type of drug, its effect on a person can manifest itself in different ways. The desire to avoid psychological and emotional discomfort is so strong that a person is unable to refuse further use. At this stage of the disease, he already needs the help of specialists - psychologists and doctors, which brings results only with the support of loved ones, especially parents.

    With a longer use of drugs, physical dependence is formed, which manifests itself due to the inclusion of the drug in the metabolic process. In this case, when the reception is stopped, a state of physical discomfort of varying severity is observed - from mild malaise to severe manifestations of withdrawal symptoms. Its specific symptoms depend on the type of drug and on the characteristics of the human body. Such a patient needs serious medical care in order to withstand the state of withdrawal (“breaking”).

    Depending on the stage of the disease, the frequency of drug use also changes - from the trial period through episodic to systematic use. However, systematic use is not necessarily associated with the presence of physical dependence, and may begin much earlier.

    Three stages (stages) addiction development : 1 - adaptation(change in the reactivity of the body, the appearance of mental dependence); 2- the occurrence of physical dependence in the form of withdrawal symptoms; 3 - depletion of all systems(decreased tolerance, prolonged withdrawal symptoms, the occurrence in some cases of polydrug addiction).

    1. The first stage of addiction- the stage of mental attraction to the drug - is characterized not only by the occurrence of a syndrome of mental dependence on the drug, but also by a decrease in its euphoric effect with repeated doses. For a novice drug addict, in order to recreate the former vivid euphoric sensations, it becomes necessary to gradually increase the dose of the drug. At the same time, in the intervals between taking the drug, the patient experiences a feeling of dissatisfaction, discomfort, and his working capacity decreases. Taking the drug in a slightly higher dose completely removes these sensations. As a result, all thoughts and aspirations of the patient are directed towards one goal - to receive more and more new doses of the drug. The first stage of drug addiction (depending on their type) lasts relatively short - from 2 to 6 months.

    2. In the future, drug use leads to the development second stage of addiction during which the syndrome of physical dependence on the drug is formed. During the second stage of drug addiction, the patient's body adapts to the drug, and as a result, stopping the drug causes a variety of functional disorders that characterize withdrawal syndrome.

    withdrawal syndrome is a complex set of psycho-vegetative disorders. For him, changes in the mental state of the patient are typical - the appearance of prolonged states of discomfort, anxiety, dissatisfaction, certain vegetative shifts. Patients experience increased secretion of mucous membranes, runny nose, sneezing, lacrimation, there is an intermittent feeling of heat and chills. There are muscle pains, periodic spasms of the muscles of the legs. Appetite is sharply reduced. Vomiting, tenesmus, diarrhea, pain in the stomach and intestines may occur. The patient becomes restless, he is dominated by a viciously tearful mood.

    The acute withdrawal period lasts up to 4-5 weeks and gradually (in case of abstinence from taking the drug) the patient returns to normal. However, residual withdrawal symptoms may persist for several months. The development of abstinence in the event that drug treatment is not started during the first or at the beginning of the second stage of the disease serves as the basis for the patient to continue to use the drug in ever increasing quantities. At this stage of drug addiction, tolerance to the drug increases dramatically, and the daily dose of the drug, such as morphine, can reach up to 40-50 ml of a 1% solution. At the same time, taking the drug, even in such quantities, no longer causes acute euphoria, which the patient experiences at the first stage of the disease, but only serves to get rid of withdrawal symptoms. During the end of the first and the entire second stage of the disease, the phenomena of intoxication of the body increase.

    3. At the third stage disease develops somatic pathology, there are significant changes in the psyche of the patient. Increasing dyspeptic disorders, complete lack of appetite, regularly repeated vomiting, chronic diarrhea lead to a sharp, and in some cases, a sharp weight loss. Patients at this stage of the disease are apathetic, weak, they have low blood pressure, slow pulse, impaired coordination of movements, gait shaky, stumbling. The appearance of patients is characteristic: due to exhaustion, dry skin, advanced caries, brittle hair and nails, middle-aged and young patients look like deep old people.

    Mental disorders cause the development of asthenia and anergy. Tolerance to the drug during this period is reduced, so its use becomes less regular, and slightly lower doses are required to prevent withdrawal than in the second stage of the disease. Throughout the third stage of the disease, the administration of the drug does not cause a euphoric state and the need for the drug is due only to the need to avoid withdrawal. At the final stages of drug addiction, disorders of the digestive and cardiovascular systems increase, toxic myocardiopathy may develop, and exhaustion increases. Deaths, as a rule, are associated with total degeneration of the heart muscle, nephropathy, and associated infection.

    The main types of drug addiction

    1. Cannabis and its preparations (this is hashish, marijuana).

    2. Opium and synthetic morphine-like drugs (poppy-based drugs).

    3. Stimulants of the nervous system such as amphetamines (ephedron).

    4. Cocaine drugs.

    5. Sleeping pills.

    6. Hallucinogens.

    7. nicotinism.

    8. substance abuse

    1. Cannabis-related addictions include the so-called hashishism. Hashish (Indian hemp)) - a drug also known as marijuana, anasha, plan, bang, haras, husus, dag, etc. They use hashish in different ways, most often they smoke, sometimes they chew, make drinks, add to food. With a single dose (smoking), the effect occurs in 10-15 minutes.

    At the initial (I) stage, hashish consumption becomes regular, unpleasant sensations disappear, and the number of cigarettes smoked increases. In the syndrome of mental dependence, an obsessive desire for drug euphoria is noted. Intoxication becomes the only state of dissatisfaction.

    Physical dependence is just beginning to form, but mental changes are already visible in the form of a narrowing of the circle of interests, a decrease in volitional activity, and the appearance of neurosis-like disorders.

    In the chronic (II) stage of drug addiction, resistance is maintained at the same level with the systematic consumption of hashish. There is a pronounced mental dependence in the form of a permanent syndrome of obsession. Only while intoxicated does the addict experience optimal physical comfort and performance. Mental disorders are expressed in a decrease in intelligence, lack of interest in the environment, fears, anxiety, delusional ideas of persecution. There may be acute psychosis, muscle weakness, impaired coordination of movements.

    In the late (III) stage, the amount of hashish consumed decreases, i.e. the body's resistance drops. Mental dependence gives way to growing physical dependence. Withdrawal syndrome becomes protracted, severe. In the foreground - pronounced asthenia with hypochondria. Repeated use of hashish is only for a short time and does not completely alleviate the severity of withdrawal.

    The somatic neurological condition worsens, general physical exhaustion increases, the skin becomes flabby, earthy-gray in color, hair loss, fragility of bones and teeth are noted, somatic and neurological diseases diagnosed at the chronic stage progress, damage to the retina and optic nerves is possible. Psychoses caused by the use of hashish are quite diverse, they can occur with a single use of the drug and are expressed by an acute disturbance of consciousness, fears, and hyperesthesia. Psychosis can develop at the height of the abstinence syndrome, for 2-3 days and provoke the onset of the schizophrenic process.

    2. The most unfavorable opium addiction caused by alkaloid abuse opium (morphine) and its derivatives (morphine, pantopone, omnopon, codeine, promedol).

    The body gets used to opium preparations quite quickly as a result of their administration orally, subcutaneously, intramuscularly or intravenously, or inhalation in the form of smoke (opiosmoking). With use, there is a need to increase the dose by 10-15 times due to increasing tolerance to the drug. The effect of opium after introduction into the body is detected after about 15-20 seconds: slight itching appears in the nose, chin, forehead, dry mouth, general lethargy, pupils narrow. After 7-10 minutes, there is a feeling of complacency, peace (euphoria), a feeling of pleasant warmth in the limbs, spreading throughout the body, a lot of rainbow thoughts, and activity increases. The surrounding world is perceived illusory, in the form of bizarre, colorful paintings, scenes. Then comes sleep, after which the patient experiences depression, oppression, a feeling of general discomfort.

    In case of an overdose of the drug, the state of euphoria is accompanied by increased excitability, dry mouth, impaired activity of the cardiovascular system and respiration. The face becomes purple-red, itching appears, convulsive seizures are possible. With an unfavorable course, decompensation of cardiovascular activity and paralysis of the respiratory center can occur.

    Morphinism- a serious illness in which the body requires constant administration of morphine in high doses, sometimes hundreds of times higher than the usual therapeutic dose. Withdrawal syndrome in morphine addicts is severe. At the same time, general weakness, profuse diarrhea, pouring sweat appear, and cardiovascular activity is disturbed. Withdrawal symptoms in case of sudden withdrawal of the drug develop after 12-20 hours and reach their maximum severity on 2-4 days after the last injection, but after 1-2 weeks, drug addicts gradually calm down. As you get used to morphine, psychopathic personality traits, rudeness, selfishness, deceit, gradually develop, social degradation sets in. The appearance of a morphine addict bears the imprint of malnutrition; he has dry skin, an earthy complexion, muscle hypotrophy, weight loss, narrow pupils, a rare pulse, vegetative disorders are observed in the form of excessive sweating, paresthesia, constipation. On various parts of the body, most often in the area of ​​​​the forearms and hands, scars and hemorrhages from injections, traces of suppuration and infiltrates are noticeable.

    3. The addictive effect can be caused by drugs from the group CNS stimulants, for example, phenamine, etc. These drugs can be prescribed to reduce the feeling of fatigue, improve mood, feel energized, alert, increase efficiency, reduce the need for sleep. Incorrect use of drugs can lead to the development of drug addiction. Addiction occurs quickly, then tolerance to the drug increases, it is necessary to increase the dose of the substance in order to induce euphoria and successfully fight depression and fatigue.

    4. Cocaine- narcotic and tonic effect of coca leaves. Cocaine is sniffed, smoked, taken orally.

    Habituation and dependence on cocaine occurs extremely quickly - sometimes after a few days after the start of its regular use.

    Memory is gradually decreasing. Drug addicts become callous, selfish, suspicious, suspicious. A number of somatoneurological disorders are noted - the pupils dilate, the reaction of the pupils to light is sluggish, the eyes acquire a peculiar luster, dry mouth appears, tinnitus, palpitations. Appetite decreases. The skin is pale, the muscles are flabby. It seems to some that cocaine crystals are embedded under the skin, that worms, bugs, and bedbugs crawl there.

    There is an exhaustion of the body, a decrease in reactivity, hence an increased tendency to infectious diseases. Furuncles are noted, chronic diseases (tuberculosis, etc.) that previously occurred are exacerbated. With cocaine addiction, delirium is noted, very similar to alcohol. It starts on the 2-3rd day of abstinence with a short period of precursors - poor sleep, suspicion, alertness. Then there are illusions, hallucinations - visual, auditory. It seems to patients that they are surrounded by people, animals, small animals predominate - beetles, spiders, bedbugs, worms, mice, etc. They are "built" threatening faces.

    Auditory hallucinations of a commenting, condemning nature. Monologues, dialogues. In the presence of the latter, some voices scold them, insult them, others pity and protect them. Mental automatisms also appear, patients feel how extraneous forces act on them, they are affected by electricity, a magnet, cosmic rays. Based on these hallucinations, a secondary delusion of persecution and influence is formed. Being in the power of the described experiences, they often become persecutors themselves and attack innocent people, commit crimes. On the basis of visual, auditory hallucinations, delusions of jealousy are possible.

    5 . Addiction to sleeping pills

    This group of substances with a hypnotic effect consists of 2 subgroups: a) derivatives of barbituric acid; b) non-barbituric drugs, but causing a hypnotic effect. All these funds are united by a similar clinical picture resulting from the constant or periodically renewed use of these funds. Doses of drugs taken, as a rule, exceed therapeutic doses. Getting used to these substances goes in several ways - careless long-term treatment of insomnia, carried out first under the supervision of a doctor, and then independently by the patient, taking medications without the advice and control of a doctor, using these drugs as narcotic drugs.

    With chronic use of sleeping pills, the need to continue taking the drugs gradually increases. During the withdrawal syndrome, a wide range of vegetative-vascular, neurological and psychotic symptoms are observed. Anxiety arises, sleep is disturbed, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting appear, collaptoid conditions are not uncommon, and blood pressure drops sharply. Visual distortions are possible. There is an increase in reflexes, a tremor that goes up to convulsive twitching of the muscles. Many patients experience epileptiform seizures. Patients become irritable, angry, spiteful.

    Short-term, and sometimes long-term delirious states and hallucinosis are possible. Personality changes are becoming more and more obvious. In the beginning, irritability, explosiveness, selfishness, and malice predominate. Then there are memory impairments, the pace of thinking slows down (becomes stiff).