Nowadays, mental deviations are found in almost every second person. Not always the disease has bright clinical manifestations. However, some deviations cannot be neglected. The concept of the norm has a wide range, but inaction, with obvious signs of illness, only exacerbates the situation.

Mental illness in adults, children: list and description

Sometimes, different ailments have the same symptoms, but in most cases, diseases can be divided and classified. Major mental illnesses - a list and description of deviations may attract the attention of loved ones, but only an experienced psychiatrist can establish the final diagnosis. He will also prescribe treatment based on the symptoms, coupled with clinical studies. The sooner the patient seeks help, the greater the chance of successful treatment. We need to discard stereotypes, and not be afraid to face the truth. Now mental illness is not a sentence, and most of them are successfully treated if the patient turns to the doctors for help in time. Most often, the patient himself is not aware of his condition, and this mission should be taken on by his relatives. The list and description of mental illnesses is for informational purposes only. Perhaps your knowledge will save the lives of those who are dear to you, or dispel your worries.

Agoraphobia with panic disorder

Agoraphobia, in one way or another, accounts for about 50% of all anxiety disorders. If initially the disorder meant only the fear of open space, now the fear of fear has been added to this. That's right, a panic attack overtakes in an environment where there is a high probability of falling, getting lost, getting lost, etc., and fear will not cope with this. Agoraphobia expresses non-specific symptoms, that is, increased heart rate, sweating can also occur with other disorders. All the symptoms of agoraphobia are exclusively subjective signs experienced by the patient himself.

Alcoholic dementia

Ethyl alcohol, with constant use, acts as a toxin that destroys the brain functions responsible for human behavior and emotions. Unfortunately, only alcoholic dementia can be tracked, its symptoms can be identified, but treatment will not restore lost brain functions. You can slow down alcohol dementia, but you can't heal a person completely. Symptoms of alcoholic dementia include slurred speech, memory loss, sensory loss, and lack of logic.

Allotriophagy

Some are surprised when children or pregnant women combine incompatible foods, or, in general, eat something inedible. Most often, this is the lack of certain trace elements and vitamins in the body. This is not a disease, and is usually "treated" by taking vitamin complex. With allotriophagy, people eat what is basically not edible: glass, dirt, hair, iron, and this is a mental disorder, the causes of which are not only a lack of vitamins. Most often, this is a shock, plus beriberi, and, as a rule, treatment also needs to be approached comprehensively.

Anorexia

In our time of craze for gloss, the mortality rate from anorexia is 20%. An obsessive fear of getting fat makes you refuse to eat, up to complete exhaustion. If you recognize the first signs of anorexia, a difficult situation can be avoided and measures can be taken in time. The first symptoms of anorexia:
Table setting turns into a ritual, with calorie counting, fine cutting, and spreading/smearing food on a plate. All life and interests are focused only on food, calories, and weighing five times a day.

Autism

Autism - what is this disease, and how can it be treated? Only half of the children diagnosed with autism have functional brain disorders. Children with autism think differently than normal children. They understand everything, but cannot express their emotions due to violation social interaction. Ordinary children grow up and copy the behavior of adults, their gestures, facial expressions, and so learn to communicate, but with autism, non-verbal communication is impossible. do not strive for loneliness, they simply do not know how to establish contact themselves. With due attention and special training, this can be somewhat corrected.

Delirium tremens

Delirium tremens refers to psychosis, against the background of prolonged use of alcohol. Signs of delirium tremens are represented by a very wide range of symptoms. Hallucinations - visual, tactile and auditory, delirium, rapid mood swings from blissful to aggressive. To date, the mechanism of brain damage is not fully understood, as well as there is no complete cure for this disorder.

Alzheimer's disease

Many types of mental disorders are incurable, and Alzheimer's disease is one of them. The first signs of Alzheimer's disease in men are non-specific, and it is not immediately evident. After all, all men forget birthdays, important dates, and this does not surprise anyone. In Alzheimer's disease, short-term memory is the first to suffer, and a person literally forgets today. Aggression, irritability appear, and this is also attributed to a manifestation of character, thereby missing the moment when it was possible to slow down the course of the disease and prevent too rapid dementia.

Pick's disease

Niemann Pick disease in children is exclusively hereditary, and is divided according to severity into several categories, according to mutations in a certain pair of chromosomes. The classic category "A" is a sentence for a child, and death occurs by the age of five. Symptoms of Niemann Pick disease appear in the first two weeks of a child's life. Lack of appetite, vomiting, clouding of the cornea of ​​​​the eye and enlarged internal organs, due to which the child's stomach becomes disproportionately large. Damage to the central nervous system and metabolism leads to death. Categories "B", "C", and "D" are not so dangerous, since the central nervous system is not affected so rapidly, this process can be slowed down.

bulimia

Bulimia - what kind of disease is it, and should it be treated? In fact, bulimia is not just a mental disorder. A person does not control his feeling of hunger and eats literally everything. At the same time, the feeling of guilt makes the patient take a lot of laxatives, emetics, and miracle remedies for weight loss. Obsession with your weight is just the tip of the iceberg. Bulimia occurs due to functional disorders of the central nervous system, with pituitary disorders, with brain tumors, initial stage diabetes, and bulimia is only a symptom of these diseases.

Hallucinosis

The causes of hallucinosis syndrome occur against the background of encephalitis, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, hemorrhage, or tumors. With full lucid consciousness, the patient may experience visual hallucinations, auditory, tactile, or olfactory. The person can see the world in a somewhat distorted form, and the faces of the interlocutors can be presented in the form of cartoon characters, or in the form of geometric shapes. The acute form of hallucinosis can last up to two weeks, but you should not relax if the hallucinations have passed. Without identifying the causes of hallucinations, and appropriate treatment, the disease may return.

Dementia

Senile is a consequence of Alzheimer's disease, and is often referred to by the people as "old man's insanity." The stages of development of dementia can be divided into several periods. At the first stage, memory lapses are observed, and sometimes the patient forgets where he went and what he did a minute ago.

The next stage is the loss of orientation in space and time. The patient can get lost even in his room. Further, hallucinations, delusions, and sleep disturbances follow. In some cases, dementia proceeds very quickly, and the patient completely loses the ability to reason, speak and serve himself within two to three months. With proper care, supportive care, life expectancy after the onset of dementia is 3 to 15 years, depending on the causes of dementia, patient care, and individual features organism.

Depersonalization

Depersonalization syndrome is characterized by a loss of connection with oneself. The patient cannot perceive himself, his actions, words, as his own, and looks at himself from the outside. In some cases, this is a defensive reaction of the psyche to a shock, when you need to evaluate your actions from the outside without emotions. If this disorder does not go away within two weeks, treatment is prescribed based on the severity of the disease.

Depression

It is impossible to answer unequivocally whether it is a disease or not. This is an affective disorder, that is, a mood disorder, but it affects the quality of life, and can lead to disability. A pessimistic attitude triggers other mechanisms that destroy the body. Another option is also possible, when depression is a symptom of other diseases of the endocrine system or pathology of the central nervous system.

dissociative fugue

Dissociative fugue is an acute mental disorder that occurs against a background of stress. The patient leaves his home, moves to a new place, and everything connected with his personality: name, surname, age, profession, etc., is erased from his memory. At the same time, the memory of the books read, of some experience, but not related to his personality, is preserved. The dissociative fugue can last from two weeks to years. Memory may return suddenly, but if this does not happen, you should seek qualified help psychotherapist. Under hypnosis, as a rule, the cause of the shock is found, and the memory returns.

Stuttering

Stuttering is a violation of the tempo-rhythmic organization of speech, expressed by spasms of the speech apparatus, as a rule, stuttering occurs in physically and psychologically weak people who are too dependent on someone else's opinion. The area of ​​the brain responsible for speech is adjacent to the area responsible for emotions. Violations occurring in one area are inevitably reflected in another.

gambling addiction

Gambling is considered a disease of the weak. This is a personality disorder, and treatment is complicated by the fact that there is no cure for gambling. Against the background of loneliness, infantilism, greed, or laziness, addiction to the game develops. The quality of treatment for gambling addiction depends solely on the desire of the patient himself, and consists in constant self-discipline.

Idiocy

Idiocy is classified in the ICD as profound mental retardation. general characteristics personality and behavior are correlated with the level of development of a three-year-old child. Patients with idiocy are practically incapable of learning and live exclusively by instinct. Typically, patients have an IQ of around 20, and treatment consists of patient care.

Imbecility

In the International Classification of Diseases, imbecility has been replaced by the term "mental retardation". Impairment of intellectual development in the degree of imbecility is average level mental retardation. Congenital imbecility is a consequence of intrauterine infection or defects in the formation of the fetus. The level of development of the imbecile corresponds to the development of a child of 6-9 years. They are moderately trainable, but the imbecile's independent living is impossible.

Hypochondria

It manifests itself in an obsessive search for diseases in oneself. The patient carefully listens to his body and looks for symptoms that confirm the presence of the disease. Most often, such patients complain of tingling, numbness of the extremities and other non-specific symptoms, requiring doctors to accurately diagnose. Sometimes, patients with hypochondria are so sure of their serious illness that the body, under the influence of the psyche, fails and really gets sick.

Hysteria

The signs of hysteria are quite violent, and, as a rule, women suffer from this personality disorder. With a hysteroid disorder, there is a strong manifestation of emotions, and some theatricality, and pretense. A person seeks to attract attention, arouse pity, achieve something. Some consider it just whims, but, as a rule, such a disorder is quite serious, since a person cannot control his emotions. Such patients need psychocorrection, since hysterics are aware of their behavior, and suffer from incontinence no less than their loved ones.

Kleptomania

This psychological disorder refers to the disorder of drives. The exact nature has not been studied, however, it is noted that kleptomania is comorbidity in other psychopathic disorders. Sometimes kleptomania manifests itself as a result of pregnancy or in adolescents, with a hormonal transformation of the body. The craving for theft in kleptomania does not aim to get rich. The patient is looking for only thrills from the very fact of committing an illegal act.

Cretinism

Types of cretinism are divided into endemic and sporadic. As a rule, sporadic cretinism is caused by a deficiency of thyroid hormones during embryonic development. Endemic cretinism is caused by a lack of iodine and selenium in the mother's diet during pregnancy. In the case of cretinism, it is of great importance early treatment. If, with congenital cretinism, therapy is started at 2-4 weeks of a child's life, the degree of his development will not lag behind the level of his peers.

"Culture shock

Many do not take culture shock and its consequences seriously, however, the state of a person with culture shock should be of concern. Often people experience culture shock when moving to another country. At first a person is happy, he likes different food, different songs, but soon he encounters the deepest differences in deeper layers. Everything that he used to consider normal and ordinary goes against his worldview in new country. Depending on the characteristics of the person and the motives for moving, there are three ways to resolve the conflict:

1. Assimilation. Complete acceptance of a foreign culture and dissolution in it, sometimes in an exaggerated form. One's own culture is belittled, criticized, and the new one is considered more developed and ideal.

2. Ghettoization. That is, creating your own world inside a foreign country. This is a separate residence, and the restriction of external contacts with the local population.

3. Moderate assimilation. In this case, the individual will keep in his home everything that was accepted in his homeland, but at work and in society he tries to acquire a different culture and observes the customs generally accepted in this society.

Persecution mania

Mania of persecution - in a word, one can characterize the real disorder as spy mania, or persecution. Persecution mania can develop against the background of schizophrenia, and manifests itself in excessive suspicion. The patient is convinced that he is an object of surveillance by special services, and suspects everyone, even his relatives, of espionage. This schizophrenic disorder is difficult to treat, since it is impossible to convince the patient that the doctor is not an employee of the special services, but the pill is a medicine.

Misanthropy

A form of personality disorder characterized by hostility towards people, up to hatred. What is misanthropy, and how to recognize a misanthrope? Misanthrope opposes himself to society, its weaknesses and imperfections. To justify his hatred, a misanthrope often raises his philosophy to a kind of cult. A stereotype has been created that a misanthrope is an absolutely closed hermit, but this is not always the case. The misanthrope carefully selects whom to let into his personal space and who can be his equal. In a severe form, the misanthrope hates all of humanity as a whole and may call for massacres and wars.

Monomania

Monomania is a psychosis, expressed in focusing on one thought, with full preservation of reason. In today's psychiatry, the term "monomania" is considered obsolete, and too general. Currently, there are "pyromania", "kleptomania" and so on. Each of these psychoses has its own roots, and treatment is prescribed based on the severity of the disorder.

obsessive states

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is characterized by the inability to get rid of annoying thoughts or actions. As a rule, OCD suffers from individuals with a high level of intelligence, with a high level of social responsibility. Obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests itself in endless thinking about unnecessary things. How many cells are on the companion's jacket, how old is the tree, why the bus has round headlights, etc.

The second version of the disorder is obsessive actions, or rechecking actions. The most common impact is related to cleanliness and order. The patient endlessly washes everything, folds and washes again, to the point of exhaustion. The syndrome of persistent states is difficult to treat, even with the use of complex therapy.

narcissistic personality disorder

The signs of narcissistic personality disorder are easy to recognize. prone to overestimated self-esteem, confident in their own ideality and perceive any criticism as envy. This is a behavioral personality disorder, and it's not as harmless as it might seem. Narcissistic personalities are confident in their own permissiveness and are entitled to something more than everyone else. Without a twinge of conscience, they can destroy other people's dreams and plans, because for them it does not matter.

Neurosis

Is obsessive-compulsive disorder a mental illness or not, and how difficult is it to diagnose the disorder? Most often, the disease is diagnosed on the basis of patient complaints, and psychological testing, MRI and CT of the brain. Often, neuroses are a symptom of a brain tumor, aneurysm, or previous infections.

Oligophrenia

This is a form of mental retardation in which the patient does not develop mentally. Oligophrenia is caused by intrauterine infections, defects in genes, or hypoxia during childbirth. The treatment of oligophrenia consists in the social adaptation of patients, and teaching the simplest self-service skills. For such patients, there are special kindergartens, schools, but it is rarely possible to achieve development more than the level of a ten-year-old child.

Panic attacks

A fairly common disorder, however, the causes of the disease are unknown. Most often, doctors in the diagnosis write VVD, since the symptoms are very similar. There are three categories of panic attacks:

1. Spontaneous panic attack. Fear, increased sweating and palpitations occur without any reason. If such attacks occur regularly, somatic diseases should be ruled out, and only after that you should be referred to a psychotherapist.

2. Situational panic attack. Many people have phobias. Someone is afraid to ride in an elevator, others are afraid of airplanes. Many psychologists successfully cope with such fears, and you should not delay visiting a doctor.

3. Panic attack when taking drugs or alcohol. In this situation, biochemical stimulation is on the face, and the psychologist in this case will only help get rid of the addiction, if any.

Paranoia

Paranoia is a heightened sense of reality. Patients with paranoia can build the most complex logical chains and solve the most intricate tasks, thanks to their non-standard logic. - a chronic disorder characterized by periods of calm and violent crises. During such periods, the treatment of the patient is especially difficult, since paranoid ideas can be expressed in persecution mania, megalomania, and other ideas where the patient considers doctors enemies or they are unworthy of treating him.

Pyromania

Pyromania is a mental disorder characterized by a morbid passion for watching fire. Only such contemplation can bring joy, satisfaction and calm to the patient. Pyromania is considered a type of OCD, due to the inability to resist the urge to set something on fire. Pyromaniacs rarely plan a fire in advance. This is spontaneous lust, which does not give material gain or profit, and the patient feels relieved after the arson has been committed.

Psychoses

They are classified according to their origin. Organic psychosis occurs against the background of brain damage due to infectious diseases (meningitis, encephalitis, syphilis, etc.)

1. Functional psychosis - with a physically intact brain, paranoid deviations occur.

2. Intoxication. The cause of intoxication psychosis is the abuse of alcohol, drug-containing drugs, and poisons. Under the influence of toxins, nerve fibers are affected, which leads to irreversible consequences and complicated psychoses.

3. Reactive. Psychosis, panic attacks, hysteria, and increased emotional excitability often occur after psychological trauma.

4. Traumatic. Due to traumatic brain injuries, psychosis can manifest itself in the form of hallucinations, unreasonable fears, and obsessive-compulsive states.

Self-damaging behavior "Patomimia"

Self-harmful behavior in adolescents is expressed in self-hatred, and self-infliction of pain as a punishment for their weakness. V adolescence children are not always able to show their love, hate, or fear, and self-aggression helps to cope with this problem. Often, pathomimia is accompanied by alcoholism, drug addiction, or dangerous sports.

seasonal depression

Behavioral disorder is expressed in apathy, depression, fatigue, and the overall decrease vital energy. All these are signs of seasonal depression, which affects mainly women. The causes of seasonal depression lie in the reduction of daylight hours. If the breakdown, drowsiness and melancholy began from the end of autumn and last until the very spring - this is seasonal depression. The production of serotonin and melatonin, hormones responsible for mood, is affected by the presence of bright sunlight, and if it is not there, the necessary hormones fall into a “hibernation”.

Sexual perversions

The psychology of sexual perversion changes from year to year. Separate sexual inclinations do not correspond to modern standards of morality and generally accepted behavior. V different times and in different cultures their understanding of the norm. What can be considered a sexual perversion today:

Fetishism. The object of sexual attraction is clothing or an inanimate object.
Egsbizionism. Sexual satisfaction is achieved only in public, by demonstrating one's genitals.
Voyeurism. Does not require direct participation in sexual intercourse, and is content with spying on the sexual intercourse of others.

Pedophilia. Painful longing to satisfy one's sexual passion with pre-pubescent children.
Sadomasochism. Sexual satisfaction is possible only in the case of causing or receiving physical pain or humiliation.

Senestopathy

Senestopathy is in psychology one of the symptoms of hypochondria or depressive delirium. The patient feels pain, burning, tingling, for no particular reason. In a severe form of senestopathy, the patient complains of freezing of the brain, itching of the heart, and itching in the liver. Diagnosis of senestopathy begins with a complete medical examination to exclude somatics and non-specific symptoms of diseases internal organs.

negative twin syndrome

The delusional negative twin syndrome is also known as Capgras syndrome. In psychiatry, they have not decided whether to consider this an independent disease or a symptom. A patient with the negative twin syndrome is sure that one of his relatives, or himself, has been replaced. All negative actions (crashed the car, stole a candy bar in the supermarket), all this is attributed to the double. From possible causes this syndrome is called the destruction of the connection between visual perception and emotional, due to defects in the fusiform gyrus.

irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation is expressed in bloating, flatulence, and impaired defecation. The most common cause of IBS is stress. Approximately 2/3 of all TCS sufferers are women, and more than half of them suffer from mental disorders. Treatment for TCS is systemic and includes medication to treat constipation, flatulence, or diarrhea, and antidepressants to relieve anxiety or depression.

chronic fatigue syndrome

Already reaching epidemic proportions. This is especially noticeable in large cities, where the rhythm of life is more rapid and the mental burden on a person is enormous. The symptoms of the disorder are quite variable and home treatment is possible if this is the initial form of the disease. Frequent headaches, sleepiness throughout the day, fatigue even after vacations or weekends, food allergies, memory loss and inability to concentrate are all symptoms of CFS.

Burnout Syndrome

The syndrome of emotional burnout in medical workers occurs after 2-4 years of work. The work of doctors is associated with constant stress, often doctors feel dissatisfied with themselves, the patient, or feel helpless. After a certain time, they are overtaken by emotional exhaustion, expressed in indifference to someone else's pain, cynicism, or outright aggression. Doctors are taught to treat other people, but they don't know how to deal with their own problem.

Vascular dementia

It is provoked by a violation of blood circulation in the brain, and is a progressive disease. Those who have increased arterial pressure, blood sugar or, one of the close relatives suffered from vascular dementia. How long they live with such a diagnosis depends on the severity of the brain damage, and on how carefully loved ones care for the patient. On average, after diagnosis, the life of the patient is 5-6 years, subject to appropriate treatment and care.

Stress and adjustment disorder

Stress and impaired behavioral adaptation are quite persistent. Violation of behavioral adaptation usually manifests itself within three months, after the stress itself. As a rule, this is a strong shock, loss loved one, suffered a catastrophe, violence, etc. A disorder of behavioral adaptation is expressed in violation of the rules of morality accepted in society, senseless vandalism, and actions that endanger one's life or others.
Without appropriate treatment, stress disorder can last up to three years.

Suicidal behavior

As a rule, adolescents have not yet fully formed the idea of ​​​​death. Frequent suicide attempts are caused by the desire to relax, take revenge, get away from problems. They do not want to die forever, but only temporarily. Nevertheless, these attempts may be successful. To prevent suicidal behavior in adolescents, prevention should be carried out. Trusting relationships in the family, learning to cope with stress and resolve conflict situations - this greatly reduces the risk of suicidal ideation.

Madness

Insanity is an outdated concept for the definition of a whole complex of mental disorders. Most often, the term madness is used in painting, in literature, along with another term - "madness". By definition, insanity or insanity can be temporary, caused by pain, passion, possession, and is mostly treated with prayer or magic.

Tapophilia

Tapophilia manifests itself in attraction to the cemetery and funeral rituals. The reasons for tapophilia mainly lie in the cultural and aesthetic interest in monuments, in rites and rituals. Some old necropolises are more like museums, and the atmosphere of the cemetery pacifies and reconciles with life. Tapophiles are not interested in dead bodies, or thoughts about death, and show only cultural and historical interest. As a general rule, taphophylia does not require treatment unless visiting cemeteries develops into compulsive behavior with OCD.

Anxiety

Anxiety in psychology is unmotivated fear, or fear for minor reasons. There is a “useful anxiety” in a person’s life, which is a protective mechanism. Anxiety is the result of an analysis of the situation, and a forecast of the consequences, how real the danger is. In the case of neurotic anxiety, a person cannot explain the reasons for his fear.

Trichotillomania

What is trichotillomania and is it a mental disorder? Of course, trichotillomania belongs to the OCD group and is aimed at pulling out one's hair. Sometimes hair is pulled out unconsciously, and the patient can eat personal hair, which leads to gastrointestinal problems. As a rule, trichotillomania is a reaction to stress. The patient feels a burning sensation in the hair follicle on the head, on the face, body, and after pulling out, the patient feels calm. Sometimes patients with trichotillomania become recluses, as they are embarrassed by their appearance, and they are ashamed of their behavior. Recent studies have revealed that patients with trichotillomania have damage in a particular gene. If these studies are confirmed, the treatment of trichotillomania will be more successful.

hikikomori

To fully study such a phenomenon as hikikomori is quite difficult. Basically, hikikomori deliberately isolate themselves from the outside world, and even from members of their family. They do not work, and do not leave the limits of their room, except for an urgent need. They maintain contact with the world via the Internet, and can even work remotely, but they exclude communication and meetings in real life. It is not uncommon for hikikomori to suffer from autism spectrum disorder, social phobia, and anxiety disorder. In countries with an underdeveloped economy, hikikomori is practically not found.

Phobia

A phobia in psychiatry is fear, or excessive anxiety. As a rule, phobias are classified as mental disorders that do not require clinical research and psychocorrection will do better. The exception is already rooted phobias that get out of control of a person, disrupting his normal life.

Schizoid personality disorder

Diagnosis - schizoid personality disorder is based on the signs characteristic of this disorder.
In schizoid personality disorder, the individual is characterized by emotional coldness, indifference, unwillingness to socialize, and a tendency to retire.
Such people prefer to contemplate their own inner world and does not share experiences with loved ones, and is also indifferent to their appearance and how society reacts to it.

Schizophrenia

On the question: is it a congenital or acquired disease, there is no consensus. Presumably, for the appearance of schizophrenia, several factors must come together, such as genetic predisposition, living conditions, and socio-psychological environment. It is impossible to say that schizophrenia is an exclusively hereditary disease.

selective mutism

Selective mutism in children aged 3-9 years is manifested in selective verbality. As a rule, at this age, children go to kindergarten, school and find themselves in new conditions for themselves. Shy children experience difficulties in socialization, and this is reflected in their speech and behavior. At home they may talk incessantly, but at school they won't utter a single sound. Selective mutism is classified as a behavioral disorder, and psychotherapy is indicated.

Encoprese

Sometimes parents ask the question: "Encopresis - what is it, and is it a mental disorder?" With encopresis, the child cannot control his or her stool. He can "go big" in his pants, and not even understand what's wrong. If such a phenomenon is observed more than once a month, and lasts at least six months, the child needs a comprehensive examination, including a psychiatrist. During potty training, parents expect the child to get used to it the first time, and scold the baby when he forgets about it. Then the child has a fear of both the potty and defecation, which can be expressed in encopresis on the part of the psyche, and a host of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Enuresis

As a rule, it disappears by the age of five, and special treatment is not required here. It is only necessary to observe the regime of the day, do not drink a lot of liquid at night, and be sure to empty the bladder before going to bed. Enuresis can also be caused by neurosis against the background of stressful situations, and psychotraumatic factors for the child should be excluded.

Of great concern is enuresis in adolescents and adults. Sometimes in such cases there is an anomaly in the development of the bladder, and, alas, there is no treatment for this, except for the use of an enuretic alarm clock.

Often, mental disorders are perceived as a person’s character and they blame him for what, in fact, he is not guilty. The inability to live in society, the inability to adapt to everyone is condemned, and the person, it turns out, is alone with his misfortune. The list of the most common ailments does not cover even a hundredth of mental disorders, and in each case, symptoms and behavior may vary. If you are concerned about the condition of a loved one, do not let the situation take its course. If the problem interferes with life, then it must be solved together with a specialist.

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If a neuropsychiatric disorder is identified at a young age, when the disease is at an early stage, treatment will be more effective and efficient. In addition, it will be possible to avoid many complications, for example, the complete collapse of the personality, the ability to think, to perceive reality.

It usually takes about ten years from the moment the first, barely noticeable symptoms appear until the day when the neuropsychiatric disorder manifests itself in full force. But then the treatment will be less effective if this stage of the disorder can be cured at all.

How to determine?

So that parents can independently identify the symptoms of mental disorders and help their child in time, psychiatrists have published a simple test consisting of 11 questions. The test will help you easily recognize warning signs that are common to a wide range of mental disorders. Thus, it is possible to qualitatively reduce the number of suffering children by adding them to the number of children who are already undergoing treatment.

Test "11 signs"

1. Have you noticed in a child a state of deep melancholy, isolation, which lasts more than 2-3 weeks?
2. Has the child exhibited uncontrolled, violent behavior that is dangerous to others?
3. Was there a desire to harm people, participation in fights, perhaps even with the use of weapons?
4. Has the child, adolescent attempted to harm his body or committed suicide, or expressed intentions to do so?
5. Perhaps there were attacks of sudden causeless all-consuming fear, panic, while the heartbeat and breathing quickened?
6. Has the child refused to eat? Perhaps you found laxatives in his things?
7. Does the child have chronic states of anxiety and fear that inhibit normal activity?
8. The child cannot concentrate, is restless, is characterized by school failure?
9. Have you noticed that the child repeatedly used alcohol and drugs?
10. Does the child's mood often change, is it difficult for him to build and maintain normal relationships with others?
11. Did the child's personality and behavior often change, were the changes abrupt and unreasonable?

This technique was created to help parents determine what behavior for a child can be considered normal, and what requires special attention and observation. If most of the symptoms regularly appear in the child's personality, parents are advised to seek a more accurate diagnosis from specialists in the field of psychology and psychiatry.

Mental retardation

Mental retardation is diagnosed from an early age, manifested by the underdevelopment of general mental functions, where thinking defects predominate. Mentally retarded children they are distinguished by a low level of intelligence - below 70, they are not socially adapted.

Symptoms

Symptoms of mental retardation (oligophrenia) are characterized by disorders of emotional functions, as well as significant intellectual insufficiency:

• impaired or absent cognitive need;
• slows down, narrows perception;
• having difficulty with active attention;
• the child remembers information slowly, unstable;
• poor vocabulary: words are used inaccurately, phrases are undeveloped, speech is characterized by an abundance of cliches, agrammatisms, pronunciation defects are noticeable;
• moral, aesthetic emotions are poorly developed;
• there are no stable motivations;
• the child is dependent on external influences, does not know how to control the simplest instinctive needs;
• having difficulty predicting the consequences of one's own actions.

Causes

Mental retardation occurs due to any damage to the brain during fetal development, during childbirth, or in the first year of life. The main causes of oligophrenia are due to:

• genetic pathology - "fragile x-chromosome".
• taking alcohol, drugs during pregnancy (fetal alcohol syndrome);
• infections (rubella, HIV and others);
• physical damage to brain tissue during childbirth;
• CNS diseases, brain infections (meningitis, encephalitis, mercury intoxication);
• the facts of socio-pedagogical neglect are not a direct cause of oligophrenia, but significantly exacerbate other probable causes.

Can it be cured?

Mental retardation is a pathological condition, the signs of which can be detected many years after exposure to likely damaging factors. Therefore, it is difficult to cure oligophrenia, it is easier to try to prevent pathology.

However, the condition of the child can be significantly alleviated by special training and education, to develop in a child with mental retardation the simplest hygiene and self-care skills, communication and speech skills.

Treatment with drugs is used only in case of complications, such as behavioral disorders.

Impaired mental function

With a delay in mental development (ZPR), the child has a pathologically immature personality, the psyche develops slowly, the cognitive sphere is disturbed, and tendencies of reverse development are manifested. Unlike oligophrenia, where violations predominate intellectual sphere, ZPR affects mainly the emotional and volitional sphere.

Mental infantilism

Often children manifest mental infantilism, as one of the forms of mental retardation. The neuropsychic immaturity of an infantile child is expressed by disorders of the emotional and volitional spheres. Children prefer emotional experiences, games, while cognitive interest is reduced. An infantile child is not able to make strong-willed efforts to organize intellectual activity at school, and does not adapt well to school discipline. Other forms of mental retardation are also distinguished: delayed development of reading, writing, reading and counting.

What is the prognosis?

Predicting the effectiveness of the treatment of mental retardation, it is necessary to take into account the causes of violations. For example, signs of mental infantilism can be completely smoothed out by organizing educational and training activities. If the developmental delay is due to a serious organic insufficiency of the central nervous system, the effectiveness of rehabilitation will depend on the degree of damage to the brain by the main defect.

How to help a child?

Comprehensive rehabilitation of children with mental retardation is carried out by several specialists at once: a psychiatrist, a pediatrician and a speech therapist. If a referral to a special rehabilitation institution is necessary, the child is examined by doctors from the medical and pedagogical commission.

Effective treatment of a child with mental retardation begins with daily homework with parents. It is supported by visits to specialized speech therapy and groups for children with mental retardation in preschool institutions, where the child is assisted and supported by qualified speech pathologists and teachers.

If by school age the child has not been completely relieved of the symptoms of neuropsychic developmental delay, you can continue your education in special classes, where the school curriculum is adapted to the needs of children with pathologies. The child will be provided with ongoing support, ensuring the normal formation of personality and self-esteem.

attention deficit disorder

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) affects many preschool children, schoolchildren and adolescents. Children are not able to concentrate attention for a long time, they are excessively impulsive, hyperactive, not attentive.

signs

ADD and hyperactivity are diagnosed in a child if:

• excessive excitability;
• restlessness;
• the child is easily distracted;
• not able to restrain himself and his emotions;
• unable to follow instructions;
• distracted attention;
• easily jumps from one thing to another;
• does not like quiet games, prefers dangerous, mobile affairs;
• excessively chatty, in conversation interrupts the interlocutor;
• does not know how to listen;
• does not know how to keep order, loses things.

Why does ADD develop?

The causes of Attention Deficit Disorder are related to many factors:

• the child is genetically predisposed to ADD.
• during childbirth there was a brain injury;
• The central nervous system is damaged by toxins or a bacterial-viral infection.

Consequences

Attention deficit disorder is an intractable pathology, however, using modern methods of education, over time, manifestations of hyperactivity can be significantly reduced.

If the ADD condition is left untreated, the child may have difficulties with learning, self-esteem, adaptation in the social space, and family problems in the future. As adults, children with ADD are more likely to experience drug use and alcohol addiction, conflicts with the law, antisocial behavior and divorce.

Types of treatment

The approach to the treatment of attention deficit disorder should be comprehensive and versatile, include the following techniques:

• vitamin therapy and antidepressants;
• teaching children self-control using various methods;
• supportive environment at school and at home;
• special strengthening diet.

Autism

Children with autism are in a state of constant "extreme" loneliness, they are not able to establish emotional contact with others, they are not socially and communicatively developed.

Autistic children do not look into the eyes, their gaze wanders, as if in an unreal world. There is no expressive facial expressions, speech has no intonation, they practically do not use gestures. It is difficult for a child to express his emotional state, especially to understand the emotions of another person.

How is it manifested?

Children with autism exhibit stereotypical behavior, it is difficult for them to change the environment, living conditions to which they are accustomed. The smallest changes cause panic fear and resistance. Autistic people tend to perform monotonous speech and motor actions: shake their hands, jump, repeat words and sounds. In any activity, a child with autism prefers monotony: he becomes attached and performs monotonous manipulations with certain objects, chooses the same game, topic of conversation, drawing.

Violations of the communicative function of speech are noticeable. It is difficult for autistic people to communicate with others, to ask their parents for help, but they are happy to recite their favorite poem, constantly choosing the same work.

Children with autism have echolalia, they constantly repeat the words and phrases they hear. Incorrect use of pronouns, may refer to themselves as "he" or "we". Autistic people never ask questions, and practically do not react when others turn to them, that is, they completely avoid communication.

Reasons for development

Scientists have put forward many hypotheses about the causes of autism, identified about 30 factors that can provoke the development of the disease, but none of them is an independent cause of autism in children.

It is known that the development of autism is associated with the formation of a special congenital pathology, which is based on CNS insufficiency. Such a pathology is formed due to genetic predisposition, chromosomal abnormalities, organic disorders of the nervous system during pathological pregnancy or childbirth, against the background of early schizophrenia.

Treatment

It is very difficult to cure autism, it will require huge efforts on the part of parents, in the first place, as well as the teamwork of many specialists: a psychologist, speech therapist, pediatrician, psychiatrist and speech pathologist.

Specialists face many problems that need to be solved gradually and comprehensively:

• correct speech and teach the child to communicate with others;
• develop motor skills with the help of special exercises;
• using modern teaching methods to overcome intellectual underdevelopment;
• solve problems within the family in order to remove all obstacles for the full development of the child;
• using special drugs to correct behavioral disorders, personality and other psychopathological symptoms.

Schizophrenia

With schizophrenia, personality changes occur, which are expressed by emotional impoverishment, a decrease in energy potential, a loss of unity of mental functions, and the progression of introversion.

Clinical signs

Preschoolers and schoolchildren have the following signs schizophrenia:

• infants do not respond to wet diapers and hunger, rarely cry, sleep restlessly, often wake up.
• at a conscious age, the main manifestation is unreasonable fear, which is replaced by absolute fearlessness, the mood often changes.
• states of motor depression and excitation appear: the child freezes for a long time in an absurd pose, practically immobilized, and at times they suddenly begin to run back and forth, jump, and scream.
• there are elements of a "pathological game", which is characterized by monotony, monotony and stereotypical behavior.

Students with schizophrenia behave as follows:

• suffer from speech disorders, using neologisms and stereotypical phrases, sometimes agrammatism and mutism appear;
• even the child's voice changes, becomes "singing", "chanting", "whispering";
• thinking is inconsistent, illogical, the child is inclined to philosophize, philosophize on sublime topics about the universe, the meaning of life, the end of the world;
• suffers from visual, tactile, occasionally auditory hallucinations of an episodic nature;
• somatic disorders of the stomach appear: lack of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, incontinence of feces and urine.

Schizophrenia in adolescents is manifested by the following symptoms:

• on the physical level headache appears, fast fatiguability, distraction;
• depersonalization and derealization - the child feels that he is changing, he is afraid of himself, walks like a shadow, school performance decreases;
• delusional ideas occur, a frequent fantasy “foreign parents”, when the patient believes that his parents are not his relatives, it seems to the child that others around him are hostile, aggressive, dismissive;
• there are signs of olfactory and auditory hallucinations, obsessive fears and doubts that make the child do illogical actions;
• affective disorders appear - fear of death, insanity, insomnia, hallucinations and painful sensations in various organs of the body;
• visual hallucinations are especially tormenting, the child sees terrible unrealistic pictures that inspire fear in the patient, pathologically perceives reality, suffers from manic states.

Treatment with drugs

For the treatment of schizophrenia, antipsychotics are used: haloperidol, chlorazine, stelazin and others. For younger children, weaker antipsychotics are recommended. With sluggish schizophrenia, treatment with sedatives is added to the main therapy: indopan, niamid, etc.

During the period of remission, it is necessary to normalize the home environment, apply educational and educational therapy, psychotherapy, and labor therapy. Supportive treatment with prescribed neuroleptic drugs is also carried out.

Disability

Patients with schizophrenia can completely lose their ability to work, while others retain the opportunity to work and even grow creatively.

• Disability is given for continuously ongoing schizophrenia, if the patient has a malignant and paranoid form of the disease. Usually, patients are referred to the II group of disability, and if the patient has lost the ability to independently serve himself, then to the I group.
• With recurrent schizophrenia, especially during acute attacks, patients are completely unable to work, so they are assigned a group II disability. During remission, a transfer to group III is possible.

Epilepsy

The causes of epilepsy are mainly related to genetic predisposition and exogenous factors: CNS damage, bacterial and viral infections, complications after vaccination.

Seizure symptoms

Before an attack, the child experiences a special state - an aura, which lasts 1-3 minutes, but is conscious. The condition is characterized by a change in motor restlessness and fading, excessive sweating, hyperemia of the facial muscles. Toddlers rub their eyes with their hands, older children talk about gustatory, auditory, visual or olfactory hallucinations.

After the aura phase, there is a loss of consciousness and an attack of convulsive muscle contractions. During the attack, the tonic phase predominates, the complexion becomes pale, then purplish-cyanotic. The child wheezes, foam appears on the lips, possibly with blood. Pupillary reaction to light is negative. There are cases of involuntary urination and defecation. An epileptic seizure ends with a sleep phase. Waking up, the child feels broken, depressed, his head hurts.

Urgent care

Epileptic seizures are very dangerous for children, there is a threat to life and mental health, so emergency care is urgently needed during seizures.

As an emergency, early therapy measures, anesthesia, and the introduction of muscle relaxants are used. First, you need to remove all squeezing things from the child: a belt, unfasten the collar so that there are no obstacles to admission fresh air. Insert a soft barrier between the teeth so that the child does not bite the tongue during a seizure.

Preparations

You will need an enema with a solution of chloral hydrate 2%, as well as an intramuscular injection of magnesium sulfate 25%, or diazepam 0.5%. If the attack does not stop after 5-6 minutes, you need to enter a half dose of an anticonvulsant drug.

neuroses

Neurosis in a child manifests itself in the form of mental discoordination, emotional imbalance, sleep disturbances, symptoms of neurological diseases.

How are

The reasons for the formation of neuroses in children are psychogenic in nature. Perhaps the child had a mental trauma or he was haunted for a long time by failures that provoked a state of severe mental stress.

The development of neurosis is influenced by both mental and physiological factors:

• Prolonged mental stress can be expressed in violations of the functions of internal organs and provoke peptic ulcer, bronchial asthma, hypertension, neurodermatitis, which in turn only aggravate the mental state of the child.
• There are also disorders vegetative system: blood pressure is disturbed, pains in the heart appear, palpitations, sleep disorders, a headache, fingers tremble, fatigue and discomfort in the body. This condition is quickly fixed and it is difficult for the child to get rid of the feeling of anxiety.
• The level of stress resistance of the child significantly affects the formation of neuroses. Emotionally unbalanced children experience petty quarrels with friends and relatives for a long time, so neuroses form more often in such children.
• It is known that neurosis in children occurs more often during periods that can be called "extreme" for the child's psyche. So most of the neuroses occur at the age of 3-5 years, when the child's "I" is formed, as well as at the period of puberty - years.

Among the most common neurotic disorders in children, they distinguish: neurasthenia, hysterical arthrosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders mainly affect teenagers, whose self-esteem is severely underestimated due to negative thoughts about their own weight and appearance. As a result, a pathological attitude to nutrition is developed, habits that contradict each other are formed. normal functioning organism.

It was believed that anorexia and bulimia were more characteristic of girls, but in practice it turns out that boys suffer from eating disorders with equal frequency.

This type of neuropsychiatric disorders spreads very dynamically, gradually becoming threatening. Moreover, many teenagers successfully hide their problem from their parents for many months, and even years.

Anorexia

Children suffering from anorexia are tormented by a constant sense of shame and fear, illusions about overweight and a distorted view of one's own body, size, and shape. The desire to lose weight sometimes reaches the point of absurdity, the child brings himself to a state of dystrophy.

Some teenagers use the most severe diets, multi-day fasts, limiting the amount of calories consumed to a deadly low limit. Others, trying to lose "extra" pounds, endure excessive physical exercise bringing your body to dangerous level overwork.

bulimia

Adolescents with bulimia are characterized by periodic drastic weight swings because they combine periods of binge eating with periods of fasting and purging. Experiencing a constant need to eat whatever they can get their hands on, and at the same time feeling uncomfortable and ashamed of being noticeably rounded, children with bulimia often use laxatives and emetics to cleanse themselves and compensate for the amount of calories they eat.

In fact, anorexia and bulimia manifest themselves in almost the same way, with anorexia, the child can also use the methods of artificial cleansing of food that he has just eaten, by artificial vomiting and the use of laxatives. However, children with anorexia are extremely thin, and bulimics are often completely normal or slightly overweight.

Eating disorders are very dangerous for the life and health of the child. Such neuropsychiatric diseases are difficult to control and very difficult to overcome on their own. Therefore, in any case, you will need professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Prevention

In order to prevent children who are at risk, you need regular monitoring by a child psychiatrist. Parents should not be afraid of the word "psychiatry". You should not turn a blind eye to deviations in the development of the personality of children, behavioral features, convince yourself that these features “just seem” to you. If something worries you in the behavior of the child, you notice the symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders, do not hesitate to ask a specialist about it.

Psychoneurological disorders in children, their prevention

1. The main manifestations of neuropsychiatric disorders.

2. The concept of psychopathy, their types, causes, signs, prevention.

3. Neuroses and neurotic states in children and adolescents

The main manifestations of neuropsychiatric disorders

In recent years, teachers and physicians have been concerned about the deterioration in the health of schoolchildren, which is closely related to their neuropsychic status: most children have various forms of neurosis and neurotic conditions, which not only form their clinic, but also contribute to the development of disorders of vital organs and body systems. . The relationship between the state of health of children and adolescents and their academic success is noted. The state of neuropsychic health of children affects their social adaptation, reproductive opportunities. The vulnerability and sensitivity of the child and adolescent nervous system make schoolchildren especially vulnerable in modern conditions of information overload, lack of time, etc. All mental processes are inextricably linked and represent different aspects of a single mental activity person:

Intellectual (cognitive);

emotional, thanks to which the attitude of a person to the surrounding influences and to himself is manifested;

strong-willed, that determine human activity.

Therefore, mental health disorders can be divided into

1. disorders of cognitive activity

volitional disorders.

Cognitive disorders can be:

- perception disorders (illusions- distorted perception of real-life objects - visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory; hallucinations(imaginary perceptions) - a pathological disorder consisting in the perception of objects that are in this moment do not affect the corresponding sense organs);

memory disorders (memory impairment- the ability to learn new material is lost; playback violation, c (including amnesia - loss of memories);

thinking disorders(accelerated thinking, slow thinking, fragmented thinking, obsessive-compulsive states, delirium, dementia, i.e. a decrease in the ability to understand the connection between phenomena, to separate the main from the secondary).

Emotional disorders can manifest themselves:

-increased emotionalityeuphoria - increased joyful cheerful mood, a state of complacency and carelessness, when everything around is perceived in iridescent colors, which does not correspond to objective circumstances; anxiety, fear)

reduced emotionality (emotional dullness, indifference- an extreme degree of decrease in emotionality, there are no plans for the future, patients are cold and callous even to relatives; depression- an affective state characterized by a negative emotional background, a change in the motivational sphere, and a general passivity of behavior).

Disorders of volitional activity are observed in psychosis, neurasthenia, organic lesions of the brain and can manifest themselves:

increased volitional activity arises motor and speech stimulation, the activity is purposeful, but the violation of attention deprives the activity of completeness);

decrease in volitional activity(a person can sit for hours in one position, doing nothing, answers questions slowly, in monosyllables).

The prevalence of mental disorders among the population of developed countries is very significant. However, most people are unaware of the manifestations of these diseases, so they remain unrecognized and untreated, although such children, adolescents and adults could be helped.

Mental disorders do not go away on their own. If you do not pay attention to them, then they become heavier, and the prognosis worsens. Timely diagnosis is especially important in childhood and adolescence. Many mental disorders in adults are a consequence of the fact that they were not treated in a timely manner in childhood. All this also applies to the so-called borderline states (psychopathies, neuroses).

Knowledge of borderline mental disorders will help teachers and educators to objectively assess the characteristics of the child's character and find the right approach to him.

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Psychoneurological diseases in children

Mental disorders in children arise due to special factors that provoke violations in the development of the child's psyche. The mental health of children is so vulnerable that the clinical manifestations and their reversibility depend on the age of the baby and the duration of exposure to special factors.

The decision to consult a child with a psychotherapist, as a rule, is not easy for parents. In the understanding of parents, this means the recognition of suspicions that the child has neuropsychiatric disorders. Many adults are afraid of registering a baby, as well as the limited forms of education associated with this, and in the future a limited choice of profession. For this reason, parents often try not to notice the peculiarities of behavior, development, oddities, which are usually manifestations of mental disorders in children.

If parents are inclined to believe that the child should be treated, then at first, as a rule, attempts are made to treat neuropsychiatric disorders with home remedies or advice from familiar healers. After unsuccessful independent attempts to improve the condition of the offspring, the parents decide to seek qualified help. Turning to a psychiatrist or psychotherapist for the first time, parents often try to do this anonymously, unofficially.

Responsible adults should not hide from problems and, when recognizing early signs of neuropsychiatric disorders in children, consult a doctor in a timely manner and then follow his recommendations. Every parent must have necessary knowledge in the field of neurotic disorders, in order to prevent deviations in the development of your child and, if necessary, seek help at the first sign of a disorder, since the issues that relate to the mental health of babies are too serious. It is unacceptable to experiment in treatment on your own, so you should contact specialists in time for advice.

Often, parents attribute mental disorders in children to age, implying that the child is still small and does not understand what is happening to him. Often this condition is perceived as a common manifestation of whims, however, modern experts argue that mental disorders are very noticeable with the naked eye. Often these deviations have a negative impact on social opportunities baby and his development. With timely seeking help, some disorders can be completely cured. If suspicious symptoms are detected in a child in the early stages, serious consequences can be prevented.

Mental disorders in children are divided into 4 classes:

Causes of mental disorders in children

The appearance of mental disorders can be caused by various reasons. Doctors say that all sorts of factors can influence their development: psychological, biological, socio-psychological.

The provoking factors are: genetic predisposition to mental illness, incompatibility in the type of temperament of the parent and child, limited intelligence, brain damage, family problems, conflicts, traumatic events. Last but not least is family education.

Mental disorders in children of primary school age often arise due to the divorce of parents. Often there is an increased chance of mental disorders in children from single-parent families, or if one of the parents has a history of any mental illness. To determine what kind of help you need to give your baby, you should accurately determine the cause of the problem.

Symptoms of mental disorders in children

These disorders in a baby are diagnosed by the following symptoms:

• anxiety disorders, fears;
• tics, obsession syndrome;
• ignoring the established rules, aggressiveness;
• for no apparent reason, often changing mood;
• decreased interest in active games;
• slow and unusual body movements;
• deviations associated with impaired thinking;
• childhood schizophrenia.

The periods of greatest susceptibility to mental and nervous disorders occur during age-related crises, which cover the following age periods: 3-4 years, 5-7 years, years. From this it is clear that adolescence and childhood are the right time for the development of psychogenies.

Mental disorders in children under one year old are due to the existence of a limited range of negative and positive needs (signals) that babies must satisfy: pain, hunger, sleep, the need to cope with natural needs.

All these needs are of vital importance and cannot be satisfied, therefore, the more pedantically parents follow the regimen, the faster a positive stereotype is developed. Failure to satisfy one of the needs can lead to a psychogenic cause, and the more violations are noted, the more severe the deprivation. In other words, the reaction of a baby up to a year old is due to the motives for satisfying instincts and, of course, in the very first place - this is the instinct of self-preservation.

Mental disorders in children 2 years of age are noted if the mother retains excessive communication with the child, thereby contributing to infantilization and inhibition of its development. Such attempts by the parent, creating obstacles to the self-affirmation of the baby, can lead to frustration, as well as elementary psychogenic reactions. While maintaining a sense of overdependence on the mother, the passivity of the child develops. Such behavior under additional stress can take pathological character, which often happens in children who are insecure and shy.

Mental disorders in children of 3 years old reveal themselves in capriciousness, disobedience, vulnerability, increased fatigue, irritability. It is necessary to carefully suppress the growing activity of a baby at the age of 3, since in this way it is possible to contribute to a lack of communication and a deficit of emotional contact. A lack of emotional contact can lead to autism (isolation), speech disorders (delayed development of speech, refusal to communicate or speech contact).

Mental disorders in children of 4 years old are manifested in stubbornness, in protest against the authority of adults, in psychogenic breakdowns. There are also internal tension, discomfort, sensitivity to deprivation (restriction), which causes frustration.

The first neurotic manifestations in 4-year-old children are found in behavioral reactions of refusal and protest. Minor negative impacts are enough to disturb the mental balance of the baby. The baby is able to respond to pathological situations, negative events.

Mental disorders in children of 5 years old reveal themselves in advance of the mental development of their peers, especially if the interests of the baby become one-sided. The reason for seeking help from a psychiatrist should be the loss of previously acquired skills by the baby, for example: aimlessly rolls cars, vocabulary becomes poorer, becomes untidy, stops role-playing games, communicates little.

Mental disorders in children 7 years of age are associated with the preparation and admission to school. Instability of mental balance, fragility of the nervous system, readiness for psychogenic disorders may be present in children aged 7 years. The basis for these manifestations is a tendency to psychosomatic asthenization (disturbances in appetite, sleep, fatigue, dizziness, reduced performance, a tendency to fear) and overwork.

Classes at school then become the cause of neurosis when the requirements for the child do not correspond to his abilities and he lags behind in school subjects.

Mental disorders in children are manifested in the following features:

Tendency to sharp mood swings, anxiety, melancholy, anxiety, negativism, impulsiveness, conflict, aggressiveness, inconsistency of feelings;

Sensitivity to others' assessment of their strength, appearance, skills, abilities, excessive self-confidence, excessive criticality, disregard for the judgments of adults;

Combination of sensitivity with callousness, irritability with painful shyness, desire for recognition with independence;

Rejection of generally accepted rules and the deification of random idols, as well as sensual fantasy with dry sophistication;

Schizoid and cycloid;

The desire for philosophical generalizations, a tendency to extreme positions, the internal inconsistency of the psyche, the egocentrism of youthful thinking, the uncertainty of the level of claims, the inclination to theorizing, maximalism in assessments, the variety of experiences associated with awakening sexual desire;

Intolerance to guardianship, unmotivated mood swings.

Often the protest of adolescents grows into ridiculous opposition and senseless stubbornness to any reasonable advice. Self-confidence and arrogance develop.

Signs of a mental disorder in children

The likelihood of developing mental disorders in children at different ages varies. Given that the mental development of children is uneven, then at certain periods it becomes disharmonic: some functions are formed faster than others.

Signs of a mental disorder in children can manifest themselves in the following manifestations:

Feeling of isolation and deep sadness, lasting more than 2-3 weeks;

Attempts to kill or harm yourself;

All-consuming fear for no reason, accompanied by rapid breathing and a strong heartbeat;

Participation in numerous fights, the use of weapons with the desire to harm someone;

Uncontrolled, violent behavior that harms both oneself and others;

Refusing to eat, using laxatives, or throwing away food in order to lose weight;

Severe anxiety that interferes with normal activities;

Difficulty concentrating, as well as the inability to sit still, which is a physical danger;

Alcohol or drug use;

Severe mood swings leading to relationship problems

Changes in behavior.

Based on these signs alone, it is difficult to establish an accurate diagnosis, so parents should, having found the above manifestations, contact a psychotherapist. These signs do not necessarily have to appear in babies with mental disabilities.

Treatment of mental problems in children

For help in choosing a method of treatment, you should contact a child psychiatrist or psychotherapist. Most disorders require long-term treatment. For the treatment of small patients, the same drugs are used as for adults, but in smaller doses.

How to treat mental disorders in children? Effective in the treatment of antipsychotics, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, various stimulants and mood stabilizers. Family psychotherapy is of great importance: parental attention and love. Parents should not ignore the first signs of disorders developing in a child.

With the manifestations of incomprehensible symptoms in the behavior of the child, you can get advice on exciting issues from child psychologists.

91 comments on the entry “Mental disorders in children”

Hello! My middle son is 10 years old. He completely ceased to obey, does not want to do anything on his own, he only gives orders either to me or to his older brother. Pour me some tea, help me with the lessons, I don’t want this, I don’t know how, this is mine, buy me a tablet, a new jacket, etc. As a result, there are constant fights with the older one, the younger one hugs, kisses, then beats (and the youngest is only 2 years old). I explain that he is still small, everything is useless. There is no more strength to endure. And at school, this is a completely different child, quiet, obedient. At home, a real tyrant. Where should I go? How to determine the disease is it or something else?

Hello. My granddaughter constantly transforms into the image of a dog. Runs with his tongue out, barks, wags his imaginary tail. This worries me a lot. And more love. He hugs and kisses everyone. At home please, but she behaves the same way at school. Where should we turn? Where to begin?

My child is a year and a month old, but for about half a year he has a strange reaction to both “good and bad” .. He seems to twitch from the cold, while he presses his chin to his chest and then shakes his head, you can even say that he is shaking his head as if the muscles of the neck were completely relaxed. I used to think that these twitches start when he pisses, but now it’s always when he sees something good that he likes or when I make a remark to him, like “aaaaaaa, you can’t do this, well, well.” The child is reactive enough, if something I don’t like it, I’m already shaking all over with anger, but a very sociable and cheerful, very patient kid, in in public places he is always calm and does not throw tantrums even when we are for a long time. he can play in a crib or on the floor while sitting, but only somehow monotonously - he rolls a ball or throws it on the floor and so he can sit for a long time, attempts to play cubes, a pyramid, etc. are not very attract, speech - mom dad woman and so on, show parts of the body and how the cat says the dog, etc. only when he wants or is in the mood, sometimes it seems that he doesn’t know, although every day I work with him and books and rhymes rhymes .. But there is no reaction. .makes patties, magpie, waves goodbye and hello .. I'm worried about jerking and shaking my head; leans forward and talks back and forth) for a short time but until I say or shout by name ((do we need to worry about this? She said nothing to the pediatrician with a lost look ..

Hello Christina. Address internally on the problem with the child to the children's neurologist.

Hello! My name is Oksana, I just have a cry of the soul. My story is very similar to Elena's story above, which has no answer. Only my daughter is already 8, not 5. Well, from birth, everything is very similar, she screamed always and everywhere, she didn’t sit in a stroller, but the most similarity is that the look changes before the “frills”. Then it became a little easier, around the age of 5. Then she had a fear of being left without me ... It happened after she started going to the theater studio. From there she was taken away and recorded for dancing. There, the fear continued, but thanks to the coach, everything passed with time. And then the school began ... There they prepared her both grammatically and psychologically. On September 1, it went great, after 2 weeks I even stayed in the aftercare. And then the fear began again, I won’t go to school tantrums ... And where I just didn’t take her and they were in the hospital, nothing. So until the end of the year and sat at school with her. Summer passed, we were at sea, everything was fine there. I thought it was over, but no. On September 1, everything again, only they forbade me to sit at school, they began to study at home, with the permission of the school, without any special documents. But every day it gets worse, aggression and hysteria returned, it is not known when everything will start, he refuses to do homework, and if he sits down, this psycho will definitely arrange it. He starts throwing everything, yelling in a voice that is not his own, repeats do not touch me, even if I do not touch it anyway, in general horror. Then he asks for forgiveness, but the most incomprehensible thing is that everything does not begin with anything. And one more thing, this never happens in public, no matter what the situation is. Maybe just cry, if something. I forgot to write that, unlike Elena's case, my daughter, on the contrary, is a very affectionate and gentle girl. All the time fawning, hugging, and we also hug her all the time. And when it is bridged, just another person. Thanks in advance.

Hello Oksana. We recommend that you and your daughter visit a practical child psychologist. The specialist will conduct psychodiagnostics and if the problem is within his competence, he will carry out corrective work, if not, he will refer you to a neuropsychiatrist or psychotherapist, since practical psychologists work only with the norm or borderline state of their clients.

I know that no one can help me, but I want to talk about my situation, perhaps a banal desire to "pour out my soul", to cry to strangers will help me, because. I can’t talk about my oppressed thoughts and feelings to others.
I am 29 years old, I have a mentally ill child, a son, 6.5 years old. how much time and effort was spent, but society stubbornly does not accept it. he is not retarded, he is specific - autistic. does not speak, understands everything, but is not interested in anything, although they have tried all the methods and activities. everything he learns he goes through on his own. no matter how we beat our heads, until it ripens, you won’t squeeze anything out of it. The problems were exacerbated when they tried to expel him from a rehabilitation center for disabled children. Deal in is, that he very utsperty, whimsical and emotional. neither teachers nor educators like it. frankly, I partly understand them, but, on the other hand, I don't know what to do. he goes to a group, like in a kindergarten (from 9 to 5). I go to work and this is my only outlet, only at work can I unload my sick brain and thoughts. in the rehab center they strongly advise me to quit my job and sit at home with him. I do not want to do this, because we have already gone through this and it does not give anything - he needs a team.
now we have problems with sleep, he does not sleep, I do not sleep, no one sleeps. but the only thing that saves me is work. At home, I turn into a crazy hysteric.
what to do? I am at a dead end, I don’t know what will happen next .. how to be, or spit on everything, quit and isolate myself and him from the environment?
I think about suicide, my nerves are on edge ... I described the situation rather dryly, especially my feelings, thoughts and emotions, I just can’t, I don’t want to, I don’t know what to do
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Zarina, age: 29 / 13.02.2014

Responses:

Zarina, of course, has a very difficult time when life focuses on one problem, and the problem is really complex. How can you help yourself first? Find time at least once a week to "reboot". At least one hour in a temple, in a museum, in a cafe... Another hour of a leisurely walk through the park, square, river bank... Another hour of drawing or weaving, knitting, embroidery, reading your favorite book... Remember what exactly you liked to do before? Maybe try to remember? Try to arrange this hour with someone, with a nurse after all. Expand your view of the world - that's your task now. So?
Secondly, I think that you can contact the parents of the same special children, consult with them. Who, if not them, who are experiencing the same difficulties, will tell you from their experience how exactly you can help yourself and your son. I just typed in the search engine "Parents of autistic children", more than a dozen sites and forums immediately appeared. Read them, choose the one that seems more reliable, consult knowledgeable people there. God help.

Elena, age: 57 / 02/13/2014

Hello Zarina! No need to spit on everything, isolate and think about suicide! You are fighting and you are on the right track! You are strong, you are great! What can be advised here? In your case, I would count only on the help of God. Only Faith will bring you the desired peace. You know, a mother's prayers for a child, they are the strongest! They are able to work miracles of healing! And I would also contact people on the forums with similar problems. There you will be given effective advice and share your experience. Don't be discouraged, don't give up! Your baby needs you so much! With all my heart I wish you strength, endurance and patience, and your son health! I believe that you will definitely win!

magnolia, age: 39 / 13.02.2014

Probably it makes sense to write to the forum where the mothers of such children communicate. It is easier for them to understand from their own experience how best to act in this situation. The fact that the child does not sleep at night, it is possible that he sleeps during the day, because it is impossible not to sleep for a long time. I don’t have children, I just wrote it logically, maybe the children can’t sleep, I don’t know for sure. If the job saves, then I probably would not quit it. It is impossible to live in constant stress.

Sonya, age: 33 / 13.02.2014

Zarina, keep fighting! Your son needs you. Apart from you, few people can help him. Are there families with autistic children in your city? Maybe you can try to establish contact with one of them, they will understand you better than others? Ask someone to sit with your son for at least an hour, and then spend this time on yourself. You probably have relatives, at worst friends? Can't they give you this hour at least once a week? Understand this is not the end. It's very hard, but you have to fight. I have heard (sorry if I got this wrong) that autistic children often grow up to be gifted individuals. Your son needs you, don't try to lay hands on yourself.

Yuriy, age: 37 / 02/13/2014

What definitely should not be done is to isolate yourself and the child from society. Then you just degrade. Look for communication with the same parents as you. Take advice, learn from their experience. It's easier together. Just don't isolate yourself, I beg you!

Natalia, age: * / 02/13/2014

Zarina, hold on. It is clear from your post that it is very difficult for you. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with the problem, I work with a colleague who has Asperger's syndrome, he is very smart, it is interesting to communicate with him, although sometimes it is difficult, but as far as I know this syndrome is slightly different from autism. It seems to me that your inner voice tells you that it is better not to deprive yourself or your child of communication with the team, so listen to yourself and most likely you will find the right answer. I wish you the strength to cope with the situation and problems.

Daria, age: 28 / 14.02.2014

Zarina, why not stop fighting, then the tension will go away. You know, they say if you want to get something, let go of the situation. This does not mean that the development of the child should not be dealt with, but it’s just worth doing it without strain. The child can become more learnable if you you won’t break down .... try it, it won’t work right away, there will be breakdowns, and then get used to it.

Eliya, age: 02/23/2014

Zarinochka, I sympathize with you! Try to find a psychologist who specializes in pathopsychology or psychogenetics. He can help by working with your child. There is a chance to slightly adjust his behavior.

I don't think it's worth quitting your job. You are also a person who deserves a normal life. And if work is your outlet, then use it and breathe there! Why punish yourself? Work and don't quit.

And pour out your soul more often. It really helps. Maybe you will find someone with similar problems - will share. And the situation is no longer so terrible.

Olga, age: 27/14.02.2014

Dear Zarinochka!
DO make contact with parents of autistic children! I know from my own experience what it is like to live next to a person who has a mental illness. In my case, the situation could not be corrected, it was a progressive Alzheimer's disease in an elderly person. I felt cornered, crying all the time and not a single joyful thought. But when I found comrades in misfortune, I first felt human warmth from people who understand the situation. It just got easier, honestly! Everyone knows the characteristics of patients, share news, successes and failures with each other, and support each other. And secondly, I received a lot of information, practical advice from experienced people, it also helped a lot. And in your case, the situation is more favorable - autistic children can be corrected, but for a long time, but not easy, but it's worth it! Just please don't try to separate yourself from the world! This will lead to even more discouragement. Collect joy bit by bit from everywhere - at work, from a good book, a movie, from kind people, from a walk! You will have enough of these crumbs of joy to hold out until better times! They will definitely come and warm your heart! God bless you!
(In the latest March issue of Domashny Ochag magazine there is an article written by the mother of an autistic girl "I believe in motherhood", which tells a real and inspiring story of victory over the disease.)

Elena, age: 37 / 02/14/2014

Hello dear Zarina!
I would advise you to take your son to receive communion as often as possible, and also try to confess and take communion yourself. I know of a case when a child did not sleep until the age of 3, and the first peaceful night was after Communion. His parents decided to take him to church. At first they did not understand what had happened at all! their little one slept through the night, and so did they! It was a shock for them. But they did not understand that the reason for this is Communion. Again they had a series of sleepless nights, again they decided to take the child to communion, and ... again they slept all night!!! Then they understood what was going on... :) The miracle of Holy Communion!
And I advise you to confess and receive communion, because the bond between mother and child is very, very strong. And it becomes easier for the child when his mother takes communion.
Find out how to prepare for these Sacraments, go to a church shop, ask the seller there, buy a book, or read it on the Internet, for example, here briefly .shtml
I agree with the above, I think you should not lock your baby at home, he needs communication! And work is an outlet for you, you cannot deprive yourself of this.
I think we need to continue to work with him in a rehabilitation center, and at home! Darling, drop your black thoughts about leaving. You are not alone now, you are responsible for your son, whom God has entrusted to you! And who will warm your little one when you are gone? Who will need it? How will he live without his mother?
No, Zarinochka, we must fight!
Can you take a leave of absence from work? Let the baby go to the center, and at least you get a good night's sleep at home!
I wish you health, strength and God's help!

Serafima, age: 02/24/2014

Zarina, I work with casters of disabled children. And I also have a 6-year-old reenok suffering from autism. Expert advice is not
groundless. If he is emotional and if there is an opportunity not to work, my advice is to quit. Better you it be in the center
drive for three hours than for a full day. It's hard for him to be there all day. I don’t know what city you are from, but mother of children
autistic people in Moscow and the Moscow region, if possible, try to be with their children. My child is talking.
He spoke at the age of 5. I already thought that this would not happen. An autist just needs to be loved and cared for, and he
will gradually open up to the world.

marina, age: 44/15.02.2014

My dear:D I have autism, although a small degree. I work, they got used to me, and with age it smoothed out a lot. I can fall into my thoughts, yes, some situations scare me a lot, to the point of hysteria, I try to avoid them. For example, I am afraid of horses to the point of shaking. But still, better than when I was a kid. This nightmare is not forever. And autists can be very interesting, even very over time. He will be able to work and become your support. My mother didn't believe me either :-)
Hold on. It is a pity that you are faced with this, but this is not the case when there is no progress forever. For me, you can’t even tell now, unless, of course, in certain moments fright ... But healthy ones seem to squeal from mice and cockroaches?)

dalmatian, age: 31 / 16.02.2014

Dear Zarina! Firstly, you are a big smart girl and you can be understood. But you delivered such a direct “sentence” to your child, “Pikhichek sick.” He is not Sick, but extraordinary, not like everyone else. He needs a special approach and a lot of warmth and love. What does it mean want to be kicked out of the center? What kind of specialists are there? Maybe they need to be kicked out of this center? Do not back down and of course you don’t need to quit your job. These unusual children are very interesting, if you look closely at them, they are very deep in their world, to force, inspire, punish - all this is not for them. But you have to suffer that he is like that .... You are right, he needs society, why he will completely lose adaptation ... Someone here wrote that such children often grow up to be geniuses, this is true ..... because they are unpredictable ... Think, but God does not give someone at all children .... And he just gave you something unusual .... not every mother is able to raise such ... So you were chosen from above and you are very strong ... Love him very much. You see a normal lifestyle - read, walk, communicate. ..do not withdraw into yourself...parts to you and your son

Natalia, age: 29 / 31.07.2014

I will answer late. I have the same problem, only the child is 14 years old. He was also "special": somewhere smarter than others, somewhere incomprehensibly aggressive. Although I worked hard with him, I tried to develop motor skills and logic. Went to regular DC. There were tantrums, and trials with other parents. At the age of 7, the child became very interested in reading: encyclopedias, detective stories, he read a lot and without interruption. Autists have such a fad: if something fascinates, then they don’t know the measures. But it lasted until 10-11. The countdown started from 10: I stopped reading, then I stopped taking care of myself (washing my face, etc.). Sits at the PC or lies if the PC is turned off. Rude, deceiving. Studying for him no longer exists (teachers are generally surprised how he could study in a regular school). Now I need to apply for disability. Diagnosed with a mental disorder, but the psychiatrist says that apparently also with schizophrenia. In general, my child is already lost to society - he lives in his own world. And so I also think everything - did I do everything I could and should I give up or is there still an opportunity to change something?
your problems are nonsense. The main thing is that you see a personality in your child and do not give up under the onslaught of others. The opinion of others is also nonsense. For me, it already means nothing, or rather, having gone through many humiliations and problems, I realized that only a person who has experienced the same thing (not approximately, but in the same strength) can understand me. Yes, I also wanted to isolate myself (leave for the village), but as usual, trouble does not come alone, so everything came to me and I myself lay down in a psychiatric hospital, but I realized that you can’t run away from problems ... I don’t feel sorry for myself, I feel sorry for the child. But apparently - this is such a test given to us ... It's cruelly over ..

Nadine, age: 40 / 21.10.2014

Hello, my name is Elena. I have already gone through all this, I have a son, he is already 15 years old. A tortured child was waiting for him very much. We have mental retardation, psychosis is very violent. I've been at home with him for 6 years now. And I didn't go crazy. In your case, you need to pull yourself together, you don’t need to think about anything bad, put it out of your head. You need to be strong for the sake of your child. Well, the fact that he does not sleep may be worth drinking some sleep teas for a start. Well, it makes no sense to be offended by people; they will never accept children with disabilities. they also look at us, but we have learned not to pay attention. So we have one more positive life. All the best to you.

elena, age: 38 / 31.07.2015

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Department of Health of the Tyumen Region

State medical institution of the Tyumen region

"Tyumen Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital"

State educational institution of higher vocational education"Tyumen Medical Academy"

Early manifestations of mental illness

in children and adolescents

medical psychologists

Tyumen - 2010

Early manifestations of mental illness in children and adolescents: guidelines. Tyumen. 2010.

Rodyashin E.V. chief physician GLPU TO TOKPB

Raeva T.V. head Department of Psychiatry, Dr. med. Sciences of the State educational institution higher professional education "Tyumen Medical Academy"

Fomushkina M.G. chief freelance child psychiatrist of the Department of Health of the Tyumen region

V guidelines a brief description of the early manifestations of major mental and developmental disorders in childhood and adolescence is given. The manual can be used by pediatricians, neurologists, clinical psychologists and other specialists in "childhood medicine" to establish preliminary diagnoses of mental disorders, since the establishment of a final diagnosis is within the competence of a psychiatrist.

Introduction

neuropathy

Hyperkinetic disorders

Pathological habitual actions

Childhood fears

Pathological fantasizing

Organ neuroses: stuttering, tics, enuresis, encopresis

Neurotic sleep disorders

Neurotic disorders of appetite (anorexia)

Mental underdevelopment

Mental infantilism

Violation of school skills

Decreased mood background (depression)

Withdrawal and vagrancy

Painful attitude to an imaginary physical handicap

Anorexia nervosa

Syndrome of early childhood autism

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix

Scheme of pathopsychological examination of a child

Diagnosing the presence of fears in children

Introduction

The state of mental health of children and adolescents is essential to ensure and support the sustainable development of any society. At the present stage, the effectiveness of providing psychiatric care to the child population is determined by the timeliness of the detection of mental disorders. The earlier children with mental disorders are identified and receive appropriate comprehensive medical, psychological and pedagogical assistance, the higher the likelihood of good school adaptation and the lower the risk of maladaptive behavior.

Analysis of the incidence of mental disorders in children and adolescents living in the Tyumen region (without autonomous regions), over the past five years has shown that early diagnosis this pathology is not well organized. In addition, in our society there is still a fear, both of direct appeal to a psychiatric service, and of possible condemnation of others, leading to active avoidance of parents from consulting a psychiatrist of their child, even if it is undeniably necessary. Late diagnosis of mental disorders in the child population and delayed treatment lead to the rapid progression of mental illness, early disability of patients. It is necessary to increase the level of knowledge of pediatricians, neurologists, medical psychologists in the field of basic clinical manifestations mental illness in children and adolescents, since if there are any deviations in the health (somatic or mental) of a child, his legal representatives seek help first of all from these specialists.

An important task of the psychiatric service is the active prevention of neuropsychiatric disorders in children. It should start from the perinatal period. The identification of risk factors when taking anamnesis in a pregnant woman and her relatives is very important for determining the likelihood of neuropsychiatric disorders in newborns (hereditary burden of both somatic and neuropsychiatric diseases in families, the age of a man and woman at the time of conception, the presence of them bad habits, features of the course of pregnancy, etc.). Infections transmitted in utero by the fetus appear in the postnatal period perinatal encephalopathy hypoxic-ischemic genesis with varying degrees damage to the central nervous system. As a result of this process, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity disorder may occur.

Throughout the life of a child, there are so-called "critical periods of age-related vulnerability", during which the structural, physiological and mental balance in the body is disturbed. It is during such periods, when exposed to any negative agent, that the risk of mental disorders in children increases, and also, in the presence of a mental illness, its more severe course. The first critical period is the first weeks of intrauterine life, the second critical period is the first 6 months after birth, then from 2 to 4 years, from 7 to 8 years, from 12 to 15 years. Toxicosis and other hazards that affect the fetus in the first critical period are often the cause of severe congenital developmental anomalies, including severe brain dysplasia. Mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, occurring at the age of 2 to 4 years, are characterized by a malignant course with a rapid disintegration of the psyche. There is a preference for the development at a certain age of the child of specific age-related psychopathological conditions.

Early manifestations of mental illness in children and adolescents

neuropathy

Neuropathy is a syndrome of congenital childhood "nervousness" that occurs before the age of three. The first manifestations of this syndrome can be diagnosed already in infancy in the form of somatovegetative disorders: sleep inversion (drowsiness during the day and frequent awakenings and anxiety at night), frequent regurgitation, temperature fluctuations to subfebrile, hyperhidrosis. There is frequent and prolonged crying, increased capriciousness and tearfulness with any change in the situation, changing the regimen, conditions of care, placing the child in a children's institution. A fairly common symptom is the so-called “rolling up”, when a reaction of discontent occurs to a psychogenic stimulus, associated with resentment and accompanied by a cry, which leads to an affective-respiratory attack: at the height of exhalation, tonic tension of the muscles of the larynx occurs, breathing stops, the face turns pale, then acrocyanosis appears. The duration of this state is several tens of seconds, ending with a deep breath.

Children with neuropathy often have an increased tendency to allergic reactions, infectious and colds. If neuropathic manifestations persist in preschool age under the influence of adverse situational influences, infections, injuries, etc. various monosymptomatic neurotic and neurosis-like disorders easily arise: nocturnal enuresis, encopresis, tics, stuttering, night terrors, neurotic appetite disorders (anorexia), pathological habitual actions. The syndrome of neuropathy is relatively often included in the structure of residual organic neuropsychiatric disorders resulting from intrauterine and perinatal organic brain lesions, accompanied by neurological symptoms, increased intracranial pressure and, often, delayed psychomotor and speech development.

hyperkinetic disorders.

Hyperkinetic disorders (hyperdynamic syndrome) or psychomotor disinhibition syndrome occurs mainly at the age of 3 to 7 years and is manifested by excessive mobility, restlessness, fussiness, lack of concentration, leading to impaired adaptation, instability of attention, distractibility. This syndrome occurs several times more often in boys than in girls.

The first signs of the syndrome appear at preschool age, but before entering school, they are sometimes difficult to recognize due to the variety of normal variants. At the same time, the behavior of children is characterized by a desire for constant movements, they run, jump, sit down for a short while, then jump up, touch and grab objects that fall into their field of vision, ask many questions, often not listening to the answers to them. Due to the increased motor activity and general excitability, children easily enter into conflicts with their peers, often violate the regime of children's institutions, poorly learn the school curriculum. Hyperdynamic syndrome up to 90% occurs with the consequences of early organic damage of the brain (pathology of intrauterine development, birth trauma, asphyxia at birth, prematurity, meningoencephalitis in the first years of life), accompanied by scattered neurological symptoms and, in some cases, a lag in intellectual development.

Pathological habitual actions.

The most common pathological habitual actions in children are thumb sucking, nail biting, masturbation, hair pulling or plucking, head and torso rocking rhythmically. The common features of pathological habits are their arbitrary nature, the ability to stop them temporarily by an effort of will, the child's understanding (starting from the end of preschool age) as negative and even bad habits, in the absence in most cases of the desire to overcome them and even active resistance to attempts by adults to eliminate them.

Thumb or tongue sucking as a pathological habit occurs mainly in children of early and preschool age. Thumb sucking is the most common. Long-term presence of this pathological habit can lead to bite deformation.

Yactation is an arbitrary rhythmic stereotypical swaying of the body or head, observed mainly before falling asleep or upon awakening in young children. As a rule, rocking is accompanied by a feeling of pleasure, and attempts by others to prevent it cause discontent and crying.

Nail biting (onychophagia) is most common during puberty. Often, not only the protruding parts of the nails, but partially adjacent areas of the skin are bitten, which leads to local inflammation.

Onanism (masturbation) consists in irritating the genital organs with hands, squeezing the legs, rubbing against various objects. In young children, this habit is the result of fixation of playful manipulation of body parts and is often not accompanied by sexual arousal. With neuropathy, masturbation occurs due to increased general excitability. Starting from the age of 8-9 years, irritation of the genital organs may be accompanied by sexual arousal with a pronounced vegetative reaction in the form of facial flushing, increased sweating, and tachycardia. Finally, at puberty, masturbation begins to be accompanied by representations of an erotic nature. Sexual arousal and orgasm contribute to the consolidation of a pathological habit.

Trichotillomania - the desire to pull out the hair on the scalp and eyebrows, often accompanied by a feeling of pleasure. It is observed mainly in girls of school age. Hair pulling sometimes results in localized baldness.

Childhood fears.

Relative ease of occurrence of fears - salient feature childhood age. Fears under the influence of various external, situational influences arise the easier, the younger the child. In young children, fear can be caused by any new, suddenly appeared object. In this regard, an important, although not always easy, task is to distinguish between "normal", psychological fears and fears of a pathological nature. Signs of pathological fears are their causelessness or a clear discrepancy between the severity of fears and the intensity of the impact that caused them, the duration of the existence of fears, a violation of the general condition of the child (sleep, appetite, physical well-being) and the child's behavior under the influence of fears.

All fears can be divided into three main groups: obsessive fears; fears with overvalued content; delusional fears. Obsessive fears in children are distinguished by the specificity of the content, a more or less distinct connection with the content of the psychotraumatic situation. Most often, these are fears of infection, pollution, sharp objects (needles), enclosed spaces, transport, fear of death, fear of verbal answers at school, fear of speech in stutterers, etc. Obsessive fears are perceived by children as "superfluous", alien, they fight with them.

Children do not treat fears of overvalued content as alien, painful, they are convinced of their existence, they do not try to overcome them. Among these fears in children of preschool and primary school age, fears of darkness, loneliness, animals (dogs), fear of school, fear of failure, punishment for violation of discipline, fear of a strict teacher predominate. Fear of school can be the cause of stubborn refusals to attend school and the phenomena of school maladaptation.

Fear of delusional content is characterized by the experience of a hidden threat both from people and animals, and from inanimate objects and phenomena, accompanied by constant anxiety, alertness, timidity, suspicion of others. Young children are afraid of loneliness, shadows, noise, water, various everyday objects (faucets, electric lamps), strangers, characters from children's books, fairy tales. The child treats all these objects and phenomena as hostile, threatening his well-being. Children hide from real or imaginary objects. Delusional fears arise outside the traumatic situation.

Pathological fantasy.

The emergence of pathological fantasizing in children and adolescents is associated with the presence of a painfully altered creative imagination (fantasy) in them. In contrast to the mobile, rapidly changing fantasies of a healthy child closely related to reality, pathological fantasies are persistent, often divorced from reality, bizarre in content, often accompanied by behavioral and adaptation disorders and manifest themselves in various forms. Most early form pathological fantasizing is a playful reincarnation. A child for a time, sometimes for a long time (from several hours to several days), reincarnates into an animal (wolf, hare, horse, dog), a character from a fairy tale, a fictional fantastic creature, an inanimate object. The behavior of the child imitates the appearance and actions of this object.

Another form of pathological play activity is monotonous stereotypical manipulations with objects that have no play value: bottles, pots, nuts, strings, etc. Such "games" are accompanied by obsession, difficulty switching, discontent and irritation of the child when trying to tear him away from this activity.

In children of senior preschool and primary school age, pathological fantasizing usually takes the form of figurative fantasizing. Children vividly imagine animals, little men, children with whom they mentally play, give them names or nicknames, travel with them, getting into unfamiliar countries, beautiful cities, to other planets. In boys, fantasies are often associated with military themes: scenes of battles, troops are presented. Warriors in the colorful clothes of the ancient Romans, in the armor of medieval knights. Sometimes (mainly in prepubertal and pubertal age) fantasies have a sadistic content: natural disasters, fires, scenes of violence, executions, torture, murders, etc. are presented.

Pathological fantasizing in adolescents can take the form of self-incrimination and slander. More often these are detective-adventure self-incriminations of teenage boys who talk about alleged participation in robberies, armed attacks, car thefts, belonging to spy organizations. To prove the truth of all these stories, teenagers write in altered handwriting and enclose notes to relatives and friends allegedly from gang leaders, which contain all kinds of demands, threats, obscene expressions. Teenage girls have slander in rape. In both self-incrimination and slander, adolescents at times almost believe in the reality of their fantasies. This circumstance, as well as the colorfulness and emotionality of reports of fictitious events, often convince others of their veracity, in connection with which investigations begin, appeals to the police, etc. Pathological fantasizing is observed in various mental illnesses.

Organ neuroses(systemic neuroses). Organ neuroses include neurotic stuttering, neurotic tics, neurotic enuresis and encopresis.

neurotic stuttering. Stuttering is a violation of the rhythm, pace and fluency of speech associated with muscle spasms involved in the speech act. The causes of neurotic stuttering can be both acute and subacute mental trauma (fear, sudden excitement, separation from parents, a change in the habitual stereotype of life, for example, placing a child in a preschool child care institution), and long-term traumatic situations (conflict relations in the family, incorrect upbringing). Contributing internal factors are a family history of speech pathology, primarily stuttering. Important in the origin of stuttering also belongs to a number of external factors, especially the unfavorable "speech climate" in the form of information overload, attempts to speed up the pace of the child's speech development, a sharp change in the requirements for his speech activity, bilingualism in the family, parents' excessive demands on the child's speech. As a rule, an increase in stuttering occurs in conditions emotional stress, unrest, increased responsibility, and, if necessary, make contact with strangers. At the same time, in a familiar home environment, when talking with friends, stuttering may become less noticeable. Neurotic stuttering is almost always combined with other neurotic disorders: fears, mood swings, sleep disorders, tics, enuresis, which often precede the onset of stuttering.

neurotic tics. Neurotic tics are called various automatic habitual elementary movements: blinking, wrinkling the forehead, licking the lips, twitching the head, shoulders, coughing, "hunting", etc.). In the etiology of neurotic tics, the role of causative factors is played by prolonged psychotraumatic situations, acute mental trauma accompanied by fright, local irritation (conjunctiva, respiratory tract, skin, etc.) that cause a protective reflex motor reaction, as well as imitation of tics in one of the surrounding. Tics usually occur as a direct or somewhat delayed in time from the action of a traumatic neurotic factor. More often, such a reaction is fixed, there is a tendency to develop tics of a different localization, other neurotic manifestations join: mood instability, tearfulness, irritability, episodic fears, sleep disturbances, asthenic symptoms.

neurotic enuresis. The term "enuresis" refers to the state of unconscious loss of urine, mainly during a night's sleep. To neurotic enuresis are those cases in the occurrence of which the causal role belongs to psychogenic factors. Enuresis, as a pathological condition, is spoken of with urinary incontinence in children from the age of 4 years, since at an earlier age it can be physiological, associated with age-related immaturity of the mechanisms of urination regulation and the lack of a strengthened ability to hold urine.

Depending on the time of occurrence of enuresis, it is divided into "primary" and "secondary". In primary enuresis, urinary incontinence is noted with early childhood without intervals of the period of the formed skill of neatness, characterized by the ability not to retain urine not only during wakefulness, but also during sleep. Primary enuresis (dysontogenetic), in the genesis of which, the delay in the maturation of urination regulation systems plays a role, often has a family-hereditary character. Secondary enuresis occurs after a more or less long period of at least 1 year of neatness. Neurotic enuresis is always secondary. The clinic of neurotic enuresis is distinguished by a pronounced dependence on the situation and environment in which the child is located, on various influences on his emotional sphere. Urinary incontinence, as a rule, sharply increases with an exacerbation of a traumatic situation, for example, in the event of a parental breakup, after another scandal, in connection with physical punishment, etc. On the other hand, the temporary removal of a child from a traumatic situation is often accompanied by a noticeable decrease or cessation of enuresis. Due to the fact that the emergence of neurotic enuresis is facilitated by such character traits as inhibition, timidity, anxiety, timidity, impressionability, self-doubt, low self-esteem, children with neurotic enuresis relatively early, already in preschool and primary school age, begin to experience pain their lack, embarrassed by it, they have a feeling of inferiority, as well as an anxious expectation of a new urination. The latter often leads to disruption of falling asleep and disturbing night sleep, which, however, does not ensure the timely awakening of the child when an urge to urinate occurs during sleep. Neurotic enuresis is never the only neurotic disorder, it is always combined with other neurotic manifestations, such as emotional lability, irritability, tearfulness, capriciousness, tics, fears, sleep disturbances, etc.

It is necessary to distinguish neurotic enuresis from neurosis-like. Neurosis-like enuresis occurs in connection with previous cerebro-organic or general somatic diseases, is characterized by a greater monotony of the course, the absence of a clear dependence on changes in the situation with a pronounced dependence on somatic diseases, frequent combination with cerebrosthenic, psycho-organic manifestations, focal neurological and diencephalic-vegetative disorders, the presence of organic EEG changes and signs of hydrocephalus on the x-ray of the skull. With neurosis-like enuresis, the reaction of the personality to urinary incontinence is often absent until puberty. Children do not pay attention to their defect for a long time, they are not ashamed of it, despite the natural inconvenience.

Neurotic enuresis should also be distinguished from urinary incontinence as one of the forms of passive protest reactions in preschool children. In the latter case, urinary incontinence is observed only during the daytime and occurs mainly in a traumatic situation, for example, in a nursery or kindergarten in case of unwillingness to visit them, in the presence of an undesirable person, etc. In addition, there are manifestations of protest behavior, dissatisfaction with the situation, and negative reactions.

Neurotic encopresis. Encopresis is the involuntary discharge of bowel movements that occurs in the absence of anomalies and diseases of the lower intestine or anal sphincter. The disease occurs about 10 times less often than enuresis. The cause of encopresis is in most cases chronic traumatic situations in the family, excessively strict requirements of parents to the child. Contributing factors of the "soil" may be neuropathic conditions and residual-organic cerebral insufficiency.

The clinic of neurotic encopresis is characterized by the fact that in a child who had skills of neatness before, periodically in daytime there is a small amount of bowel movements on linen; more often parents complain that the child only "slightly soils his pants", in rare cases more abundant stools are found. As a rule, the child does not feel the urge to defecate, at first does not notice the presence of bowel movements, and only after some time feels an unpleasant odor. In most cases, children painfully experience their lack, are ashamed of it, and try to hide soiled linen from their parents. A peculiar reaction of the personality to encopresis may be the child's excessive desire for cleanliness and accuracy. In most cases, encopresis is combined with a low mood background, irritability, tearfulness.

Neurotic sleep disorders.

The physiologically necessary duration of sleep varies significantly with age from 16-18 hours a day in a child of the first year of life to 10-11 hours - at the age of 7-10 years and 8-9 hours - in adolescents 14-16 years old. In addition, with age, sleep shifts towards predominantly night time, and therefore most children over 7 years of age do not feel like sleeping during the daytime.

To establish the presence of a sleep disorder, it is not so much its duration that matters, but the depth, determined by the speed of awakening under the influence of external stimuli, as well as the duration of the period of falling asleep. In young children, the immediate cause of the onset of a sleep disorder is often various psycho-traumatic factors that affect the child in the evening hours, shortly before bedtime: quarrels of parents at this time, various reports of adults frightening the child about any incidents and accidents, watching movies on television, etc.

The clinic of neurotic sleep disorders is characterized by sleep disturbance, sleep depth disorders with nocturnal awakenings, night terrors, as well as sleepwalking and sleep-talking. Sleep disturbance is expressed in a slow transition from wakefulness to sleep. Falling asleep can last up to 1-2 hours and is often combined with various fears and concerns (fear of the dark, fear of suffocation in a dream, etc.), pathological habitual actions (sucking a finger, curling hair, masturbation), obsessive actions such as elementary rituals ( repeated good night wishes, putting certain toys to bed and certain actions with them, etc.). Sleepwalking and sleepwalking are common manifestations of neurotic sleep disorders. As a rule, in this case they are associated with the content of dreams, reflect individual traumatic experiences.

Nocturnal awakenings of neurotic origin, unlike epileptic ones, are devoid of sudden onset and cessation, are much longer, and are not accompanied by a distinct change in consciousness.

Neurotic disorders of appetite (anorexia).

This group of neurotic disorders is widespread and includes various disorders of "eating behavior" in children associated with a primary decrease in appetite. In the etiology of anorexia, various psycho-traumatic moments play a role: the separation of the child from the mother, placement in a children's institution, an uneven educational approach, physical punishment, insufficient attention to the child. The immediate cause for the emergence of primary anorexia nervosa is often an attempt by the mother to force-feed the child when he refuses to eat, overfeeding, an accidental coincidence of feeding with some unpleasant impression (a sharp cry, fear, quarrel between adults, etc.). The most important contributor internal factor is a neuropathic condition (congenital or acquired), which is characterized by a sharply increased autonomic excitability and instability of autonomic regulation. In addition, a certain role belongs to somatic weakness. Of the external factors, the excessive anxiety of parents regarding the state of nutrition of the child and the process of his feeding, the use of persuasion, stories and other distractions from food, as well as improper upbringing to satisfy all the whims and whims of the child, leading to his excessive spoiled.

The clinical manifestations of anorexia are quite similar. The child has no desire to eat any food or he shows great selectivity in food, refusing many conventional products. As a rule, he reluctantly sits down at the table, eats very slowly, “rolls” food in his mouth for a long time. Due to the increased gag reflex, vomiting often occurs during meals. Eating causes a child to have a low mood, capriciousness, tearfulness. The course of a neurotic reaction can be short-lived, not exceeding 2-3 weeks. At the same time, in children with neuropathic conditions, as well as those spoiled in conditions of improper upbringing, anorexia nervosa can acquire a protracted course with a long stubborn refusal to eat. In these cases, weight loss is possible.

Mental underdevelopment.

Signs of mental retardation appear already at the age of 2-3 years, there is no phrasal speech for a long time, skills of neatness and self-service are slowly developed. Children are not inquisitive, have little interest in surrounding objects, games are monotonous, there is no liveliness in the game.

At preschool age, attention is drawn to the poor development of self-service skills, phrasal speech is poor vocabulary, the absence of detailed phrases, the impossibility of a coherent description of plot pictures, there is an insufficient supply of everyday information. Contact with peers is accompanied by a misunderstanding of their interests, meaning and rules of games, poor development and non-differentiation of higher emotions (sympathy, pity, etc.).

At primary school age, there is an inability to understand and assimilate the program of primary classes of a mass school, a lack of basic everyday knowledge (home address, parents' professions, seasons, days of the week, etc.), an inability to understand the figurative meaning of proverbs. Kindergarten teachers and school teachers can help diagnose this mental disorder.

Psychic infantilism.

Mental infantilism is a delayed development of a child's mental functions with a predominant lag in the emotional-volitional sphere (personal immaturity). Emotional-volitional immaturity is expressed in lack of independence, increased suggestibility, the desire for pleasure as the main motivation for behavior, the predominance of gaming interests at school age, carelessness, immaturity of a sense of duty and responsibility, a weak ability to subordinate one's behavior to the requirements of the team, school, inability to restrain direct manifestations of feelings , inability to volitional tension, to overcome difficulties.

The immaturity of psychomotor skills is also characteristic, manifested in the insufficiency of fine hand movements, the difficulty in developing motor school (drawing, writing) and labor skills. These psychomotor disorders are based on the relative predominance of the activity of the extrapyramidal system over the pyramidal system due to its immaturity. Intellectual insufficiency is noted: the predominance of a concrete-figurative type of thinking, increased exhaustion of attention, some memory loss.

The socio-pedagogical consequences of mental infantilism are insufficient "school maturity", lack of interest in learning, poor progress at school.

Violations of school skills.

Violations of school skills are typical for children of primary school age (6-8 years). Disorders in the development of reading skills (dyslexia) manifest themselves in the lack of recognition of letters, the difficulty or impossibility of the ratio of the image of letters to the corresponding sounds, the replacement of some sounds by others when reading. In addition, there is a slow or accelerated pace of reading, rearrangement of letters, swallowing of syllables, incorrect placement of stresses during reading.

The disorder in the formation of the writing skill (dysgraphia) is expressed in violations of the correlation of the sounds of oral speech with their writing, gross disorders of independent writing from dictation and presentation: there is a replacement of letters corresponding to sounds similar in pronunciation, omissions of letters and syllables, their rearrangement, dismemberment of words and fusion writing two or more words, replacing graphically similar letters, mirroring letters, fuzzy writing, slipping off a line.

Violation of the formation of counting skills (dyscalculia) is manifested in the special difficulties in the formation of the concept of number and understanding the structure of numbers. Particular difficulties are caused by digital operations associated with the transition through a dozen. Difficulty writing multi-digit numbers. Often there is a mirror spelling of numbers and digital combinations (21 instead of 12). Often there are violations of the understanding of spatial relationships (children confuse the right and left sides), the relative position of objects (in front, behind, above, below, etc.).

Decreased mood background - depression.

In children of early and preschool age, depressive states manifest themselves in the form of somatovegetative and motor disorders. The most atypical manifestations of depressive conditions in young children (up to 3 years), they occur during prolonged separation of the child from the mother and are expressed by general lethargy, bouts of crying, motor anxiety, refusal to play activities, disturbances in the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, loss of appetite, weight loss, susceptibility to colds and infectious diseases.

At preschool age, in addition to sleep disorders, appetite, enuresis, encopresis, and depressive psychomotor disorders are observed: children have a suffering facial expression, walk with their heads down, dragging their legs, without moving their hands, speak in a quiet voice, can be observed discomfort or pain in different parts of the body. In children of primary school age, behavioral changes come to the fore in depressive states: passivity, lethargy, isolation, indifference, loss of interest in toys, learning difficulties due to impaired attention, slow learning of educational material. Some children, especially boys, are dominated by irritability, resentment, a tendency to aggression, as well as leaving school and home. In some cases, there may be a resumption of pathological habits characteristic of a younger age: thumb sucking, nail biting, hair pulling, masturbation.

In prepubertal age, a more distinct depressive affect appears in the form of a depressed, dreary mood, a peculiar feeling of low value, ideas of self-abasement and self-blame. Children say: “I am incapable. I am the weakest among the guys in the class.” For the first time, suicidal thoughts arise (“Why should I live like this?”, “Who needs me like this?”). At puberty, depression is manifested by its characteristic triad of symptoms: depressed mood, intellectual and motor retardation. A large place is occupied by somatovegetative manifestations: sleep disorders, loss of appetite. constipation, complaints of headaches, pain in various parts of the body.

Children fear for their health and life, become anxious, fixated on somatic disorders, fearfully ask their parents if their hearts can stop, if they will suffocate in their sleep, etc. In connection with persistent somatic complaints (somatic, "masked" depression), children undergo numerous functional and laboratory examinations, examinations of narrow specialists to identify any somatic disease. The test results are negative. At this age, against the background of a reduced mood, adolescents develop an interest in alcohol, drugs, they join the companies of adolescent delinquents, and are prone to suicidal attempts and self-harm. Depression in children develops in severe psychotraumatic situations, in schizophrenia.

Leaving and vagrancy.

Leaving and vagrancy are expressed in repeated departures from home or school, boarding school or other children's institution, followed by vagrancy, often for many days. Mostly seen in boys. In children and adolescents, withdrawal may be associated with resentment, hurt feelings, representing a reaction of passive protest, or with fear of punishment or anxiety about some misconduct. With mental infantilism, there are mainly departures from school and absenteeism due to fear of difficulties associated with study. Shoots in adolescents with hysterical character traits are associated with the desire to attract the attention of relatives, to arouse pity and sympathy (demonstrative shoots). Another type of initial withdrawal motivation is "sensory craving", i.e. the need for new, constantly changing experiences, as well as the desire for entertainment.

Departure can be "unmotivated", impulsive, with an irresistible desire to escape. They are called dromomanias. Children and teenagers run away together or in a small group, they can leave for other cities, spend the night in porches, attics, basements, as a rule, they do not return home on their own. They are brought by police officers, relatives, strangers. Children do not experience fatigue, hunger, thirst for a long time, which indicates that they have a pathology of drives. Care and vagrancy violate the social adaptation of children, reduce school performance, lead to various forms of antisocial behavior (hooliganism, theft, alcoholism, substance abuse, drug addiction, early sexual relations).

Painful attitude to an imaginary physical defect (dysmorphophobia).

The painful idea of ​​an imaginary or unreasonably exaggerated physical defect in 80% of cases occurs at puberty, more often occurs in adolescent girls. The very ideas of physical deficiency can be expressed in the form of thoughts about facial defects (long, ugly nose, large mouth, thick lips, protruding ears), physique (excessive fullness or thinness, narrow shoulders and short stature in boys), insufficient sexual development (small, "curved" penis) or excessive sexual development (large mammary glands in girls).

A special kind of dysmorphophobic experiences is the insufficiency of certain functions: fear of not keeping intestinal gases in the presence of strangers, fear bad smell from the mouth or the smell of sweat, etc. The experiences described above affect the behavior of adolescents, who begin to avoid crowded places, friends and acquaintances, try to walk only after dark, change clothes and hairstyles. More sthenic teenagers are trying to develop and use various methods of self-treatment, special physical exercises for a long time, persistently turn to cosmetologists, surgeons and other specialists demanding plastic surgery, special treatment, for example, growth hormones, drugs that reduce appetite. Adolescents often look at themselves in the mirror (“mirror symptom”) and also refuse to be photographed. Episodic, transient dysmorphophobic experiences associated with a prejudiced attitude towards real minor physical defects occur normally at puberty. But if they have a pronounced, persistent, often absurd pretentious character, determine behavior, disrupt the social adaptation of a teenager, and are based on a reduced background of mood, then these are already painful experiences that require the help of a psychotherapist, psychiatrist.

Anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a deliberate, extremely persistent desire for a qualitative and/or quantitative refusal to eat and reduce body weight. It is much more common in adolescent girls and young women, much less common in boys and children. The leading symptom is belief in overweight body and the desire to correct this physical “flaw”. In the early stages of the condition, appetite persists for a long time, and abstinence from food is occasionally interrupted by bouts of overeating (bulimia nervosa). Then the fixed habitual nature of overeating alternates with vomiting, leading to somatic complications. Adolescents tend to eat alone, try to quietly get rid of it, carefully study the calorie content of foods.

The fight against weight occurs in various additional ways: exhausting physical exercises; taking laxatives, enemas; regular artificial induction of vomiting. The feeling of constant hunger can lead to hypercompensatory forms of behavior: feeding younger brothers and sisters, increased interest in cooking various foods, as well as irritability, increased excitability, and a decrease in mood. Gradually, signs of somatoendocrine disorders appear and increase: disappearance of subcutaneous fat, oligo-, then amenorrhea, dystrophic changes in the internal organs, hair loss, change biochemical parameters blood.

Syndrome of early childhood autism.

The syndrome of early childhood autism is a group of syndromes of different origin (intrauterine and perinatal organic brain damage - infectious, traumatic, toxic, mixed; hereditary-constitutional) observed in children of early, preschool and primary school age within different nosological forms. The syndrome of early childhood autism manifests itself most clearly from 2 to 5 years, although some signs of it are also noted at an earlier age. So, already in infants, there is a lack of a characteristic healthy children"complex of revival" upon contact with the mother, they do not smile at the sight of their parents, sometimes there is a lack of an indicative reaction to external stimuli, which can be taken as a defect in the senses. Children have sleep disturbances (sleep discontinuity, difficulty falling asleep), persistent appetite disorders with its decrease and special selectivity, lack of hunger. There is a fear of novelty. Any change in the usual environment, for example, in connection with the rearrangement of furniture, the appearance of a new thing, a new toy, often causes dissatisfaction or even violent protest with crying. A similar reaction occurs when changing the order or time of feeding, walking, washing and other moments of the daily routine.

The behavior of children with this syndrome is monotonous. They can spend hours doing the same actions, vaguely reminiscent of a game: pouring water into and pouring out of dishes, sorting through pieces of paper, matchboxes, cans, strings, arranging them in a certain order, not allowing anyone to remove them. These manipulations, as well as an increased interest in certain objects that usually do not have a game purpose, are an expression of a special obsession, in the origin of which the role of the pathology of drives is obvious. Children with autism actively seek solitude, feeling better when they are left alone. Typical psychomotor disturbances are manifested in general motor insufficiency, clumsy gait, stereotypy in movements, shaking, rotation of the hands, jumping, rotation around its axis, walking and running on tiptoe. As a rule, there is a significant delay in the formation of elementary self-service skills (self-catering, washing, dressing, etc.).

The child's facial expressions are poor, inexpressive, characterized by an "empty, expressionless look", as well as a look, as it were, past or "through" the interlocutor. In speech there are echolalia (repetition of the heard word), pretentious words, neologisms, drawn out intonation, the use of pronouns and verbs in the 2nd and 3rd person in relation to themselves. In some children, there is a complete refusal to communicate. The level of development of intelligence is different: normal, exceeding the average norm, there may be a lag in mental development. Syndromes of early childhood autism have different nosological affiliations. Some scientists attribute them to the manifestation of the schizophrenic process, others - to the consequences of early organic brain damage, atypical forms of mental retardation.

Conclusion

Making a clinical diagnosis in child psychiatry is based not only on complaints from parents, guardians and the children themselves, the collection of an anamnesis of the patient's life, but also on observing the child's behavior and analyzing his appearance. When talking with the parents (other legal representatives) of the child, it is necessary to pay attention to the facial expression, facial expressions of the patient, his reaction to your examination, the desire to communicate, the productivity of contact, the ability to comprehend what he heard, follow the given instructions, the volume of vocabulary, the purity of pronunciation of sounds, the development of fine motor skills , excessive mobility or lethargy, slowness, awkwardness in movements, reaction to the mother, toys, children present, desire to communicate with them, the ability to dress, eat, develop neatness skills, etc. If signs of a mental disorder are detected in a child or adolescent, parents or guardians should be advised to seek advice from a child psychotherapist, child psychiatrist or psychiatrists at regional hospitals in rural areas.

Child psychotherapists and child psychiatrists serving the child and adolescent population of the city of Tyumen work in the outpatient department of the Tyumen Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital, Tyumen, st. Herzen, d. 74. Telephone registry of child psychotherapists: 50-66-17; telephone registry of child psychiatrists: 50-66-35; helpline: 50-66-43.

Bibliography

1. Bukhanovsky A.O., Kutyavin Yu.A., Litvan M.E. General psychopathology. - Publishing house "Phoenix", 1998.
2. Kovalev V.V. Psychiatry of childhood. – M.: Medicine, 1979.
3. Kovalev V.V. Semiotics and diagnosis of mental illness in children and adolescents. – M.: Medicine, 1985.
4. Levchenko I.Yu. Pathopsychology: Theory and practice: textbook. — M.: Academy, 2000.
5. Problems of diagnostics, therapy and instrumental research in child psychiatry / Scientific materials all-Russian conference. -Volgograd, 2007.
6. Eidemiller E.G. Child psychiatry. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2005.

APPENDIX

1. Scheme of pathopsychological examination of a child according to

Contact (speech, gesture, mimic):

- does not make contact

- shows speech negativism;

- formal contact (purely external);

- does not come into contact immediately, with great difficulty;

- does not show interest in contact;

- selective contact;

- easily and quickly establishes contact, shows interest in it, willingly obeys.

Emotional-volitional sphere:

active / passive;

active / inert;

cheerful / lethargic;

motor disinhibition;

aggressiveness;

spoiled;

mood swings;

conflict;

Hearing condition(normal, hearing loss, deafness).

Vision condition(normal, myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, optic nerve atrophy, low vision, blindness).

Motor skills:

1) leading hand (right, left);

2) development of the manipulative function of the hands:

- there is no grasping;

- sharply limited (cannot manipulate, but there is grasping);

- limited;

- insufficient, fine motor skills;

- safe;

3) coordination of the actions of the hands:

- missing;

- norm (N);

4) tremor. Hyperkinesis. Impaired coordination of movements

Attention (concentration duration, persistence, switching):

- the child concentrates poorly, with difficulty keeping attention on the object (low concentration and instability of attention);

- attention is not stable enough, superficial;

- quickly depleted, requires switching to another type of activity;

- poor switching of attention;

- attention is quite stable. The duration of concentration and switching of attention is satisfactory.

Reaction to approval:

- adequate (rejoices at approval, waits for it);

- inadequate (does not respond to approval, is indifferent to it). Reaction to remark:

- adequate (corrects behavior in accordance with the remark);

Adequate (offended);

- no response to the remark;

- negative reaction (does it out of spite).

Dealing with failure:

evaluates failure (notices the incorrectness of his actions, corrects mistakes);

- there is no assessment of failure;

- a negative emotional reaction to failure or one's own mistake.

Health:

- extremely low;

- reduced;

- sufficient.

Nature of activity:

- lack of motivation to work;

- works formally;

- activity is unstable;

- the activity is stable, works with interest.

Learnability, use of assistance (during examination):

- Lack of learning. Help does not use;

- there is no transfer of the shown method of action to similar tasks;

- learning is low. Help is underused. The transfer of knowledge is difficult;

- the child is taught. Uses the help of an adult (transitions from a lower way of completing tasks to a higher one). Carries out the transfer of the received method of action to a similar task (N).

Activity development level:

1) showing interest in toys, selectivity of interest:

- persistence of play interest (whether he is engaged in one toy for a long time or passes from one to another): does not show interest in toys (does not work with toys in any way. In joint game with adults is not included. Does not organize an independent game);

- shows a superficial, not very persistent interest in toys;

- shows persistent selective interest in toys;

- performs inadequate actions with objects (ridiculous, not dictated by the logic of the game or the quality of the subject of the action);

- uses toys adequately (uses the object in accordance with its purpose);

3) the nature of actions with objects-toys:

- non-specific manipulations (it acts the same with all objects, stereotypically - taps, pulls in the mouth, sucks, throws);

- specific manipulations - takes into account only the physical properties of objects;

- object actions - uses objects in accordance with their functional purpose;

- procedural actions;

- a chain of game actions;

- game with plot elements;

- role-playing game.

stock general ideas:

- low, limited;

- somewhat reduced;

- corresponds to age (N).

Knowledge of parts of the body and face (visual orientation).

visual perception:

color perception:

- there is no idea of ​​color;

- compares colors;

- distinguishes colors (selects by word);

- recognizes and names the primary colors (N - at 3 years old);

size perception:

- there is no idea of ​​the size;

- compares objects by size; - differentiates objects by size (selection by word);

- names the size (N - at 3 years old);

shape perception:

- no idea of ​​the form;

- correlates objects in shape;

- distinguishes geometric shapes (selects by word); names (planar and volumetric) geometric shapes (N - at 3 years old).

Folding nesting dolls (three-piece– from 3 to 4 years; four-part– 4 to 5 years; six-part– from 5 years):

- ways to complete the task:

- action by force;

- selection of options;

- targeted samples (N - up to 5 years);

- trying on;

Inclusion in a row (six-piece matryoshka– from 5 years):

- actions are inadequate / adequate;

- ways to complete the task:

- without taking into account the size;

- targeted samples (N - up to 6 years);

- visual correlation (mandatory from 6 years old).

Folding the pyramid (up to 4 years old - 4 rings; from 4 years old - 5-6 rings):

- actions are inadequate / adequate;

- without taking into account the size of the rings;

- taking into account the size of the rings:

- trying on;

- visual correlation (N - mandatory from 6 years old).

Insert Cubes(samples, enumeration of options, trying on, visual correlation).

Mailbox (from 3 years old):

- action by force (permissible in N up to 3.5 years);

- selection of options;

- trying on;

- visual correlation (N from 6 years is mandatory).

Paired pictures (from 2 years old; choice according to the model from two, four, six pictures).

Construction:

1) construction from building material(by imitation, by model, by representation);

2) folding figures from sticks (by imitation, by model, by representation).

Perception of spatial relationships:

1) orientation in the sides of one's own body and mirror image;

2) differentiation of spatial concepts (higher - lower, further - closer, right - left, front - behind, in the center);

3) a holistic image of the object (folding cut pictures from 2-3-4-5-6 parts; cut vertically, horizontally, diagonally, broken line);

4) understanding and use of logical and grammatical constructions (N from 6 years old).

Time representations:

- parts of the day (N from 3 years);

- seasons (N from 4 years old);

- days of the week (N from 5 years old);

— understanding and use of logical and grammatical constructions (N from 6 years old).

Quantitative representations:

— ordinal counting (orally and counting items);

- determination of the number of items;

- selection the right amount from the multitude;

- correlation of objects by quantity;

- the concepts of "a lot" - "little", "more" - "less", "equally";

- counting operations.

Memory:

1) mechanical memory (within N, reduced);

2) mediated (verbal-logical) memory (N, reduced). Thinking:

- level of development of thinking:

- visual and effective;

- visual-figurative;

- elements of abstract-logical thinking.

1. Diagnosis of the presence of fears in children.

To diagnose the presence of fears, a conversation is held with the child with a discussion of the following questions: Tell me, please, are you afraid or not afraid:

1. When are you alone?
2. Get sick?
3. Die?
4. Some children?
5. Any of the educators?
6. That they will punish you?
7. Babu Yaga, Kashchei the Immortal, Barmaley, Serpent Gorynych?
8. Terrible dreams?
9. Darkness?
10. Wolf, bear, dogs, spiders, snakes?
11. Cars, trains, planes?
12. Storms, thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods?
13. When is it very high?
14. In a small cramped room, a closet?
15. Water?
16. Fire, fire?
17. Wars?
18. Doctors (except dentists)?
19. Blood?
20. injections?
21. Pain?
22. Unexpected sharp sounds (when something suddenly falls, knocks)?

Processing of the technique "Diagnosis of the presence of fears in children"

Based on the answers to the above questions, a conclusion is made about the presence of fears in children. The presence of a large number of various fears in a child - important indicator preneurotic state. Such children should be classified as a “risk” group and special (correctional) work should be carried out with them (it is advisable to consult them with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist).

Fears in children can be divided into several groups: medical(pain, injections, doctors, diseases); associated with physical harm(unexpected sounds, transport, fire, fire, elements, war); of death(his); animals and fairytale characters; nightmares and darkness; socially mediated(people, children, punishment, being late, loneliness); "spatial fears"(heights, water, confined spaces). In order to make an unmistakable conclusion about the emotional characteristics of the child, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the entire life activity of the child as a whole.

In some cases, it is advisable to use a test that allows you to diagnose the anxiety of a child aged four to seven years in relation to a number of typical life situations of communication with other people. The authors of the test consider anxiety as a kind of emotional state, the purpose of which is to ensure the safety of the subject at the personal level. An increased level of anxiety may indicate a lack of emotional adaptation of the child to certain social situations.

The main types of mental disorders that are characteristic of adults are found in childhood and in teenagers. Timely diagnosis in this case is of great importance, since it affects the treatment and further prognosis of the development of severe psychopathology. Mental disorders in school-age children are most often limited to the following categories: schizophrenia, anxiety, and social behavior disorders. Also, adolescents often have psychosomatic disorders that do not have organic causes.

Most common in adolescence are mood disorders (depressions), which can have the most dangerous consequences. At this time, his whole existence seems hopeless to a teenager, he sees everything in black colors. A fragile psyche is the cause of suicidal thoughts among young people, and this problem has acquired important medical significance.

In most cases, depression begins with the child's complaints about his neuropsychic state and subjective feelings. The teenager is isolated from others and withdraws into himself. He feels inferior, depressed and often aggressive, while his self-critical attitude further exacerbates the difficult mental state. If a teenager is not provided with medical care at this moment, then you can lose him.

Early symptoms of the disease can indicate a problem:

• The child's behavior changes for no apparent reason.
• Performance is deteriorating.
• There is also a constant feeling of fatigue.
• The child moves away, withdraws into himself, can lie idle for days on end.
• The teenager shows increased aggressiveness, irritability, tearfulness.
• He does not share experiences, becomes detached, forgetful, ignores requests, is silent all the time, does not devote himself to his affairs and gets annoyed if he is asked.
• A teenager suffers from bulimia or a complete lack of appetite.

The list can be continued, but if a teenager has most of the listed signs, then you should immediately contact a specialist. Childhood mental disorders should be treated by a doctor who specializes in the treatment of adolescent psychopathology. Treatment of depression most often involves a combination of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic effects..

Schizophrenia

Timely detection and pharmacotherapy of the initial stage of schizophrenia in childhood and adolescence improves the prognosis in the future. The early signs of this disorder are vague and similar to common puberty problems. However, after a few months, the picture changes, and the pathology becomes more distinct.

It is believed that schizophrenia always manifests itself as delusions or hallucinations, but in reality, the early signs of schizophrenia can be very diverse: from obsessions, anxiety disorders to emotional impoverishment, etc.

Signs of a mental disorder in school-age children and adolescents:

• The child's warm feelings towards parents weaken, the personality changes. There is groundless aggression, anger, irritation, although relationships with peers may remain the same.
• Initial symptoms can be expressed in the form of a loss of former interests and hobbies, while new ones do not appear. Such children may wander aimlessly down the street or loaf without leaving the house.
• In parallel, the lower instincts are weakened. Patients lose interest in food. They don't feel hungry and may skip meals. In addition, teenagers become sloppy, forget to change dirty things.

A characteristic sign of pathology is a sharp decline in academic performance and loss of interest in school life, unmotivated aggression and personality change. As the disease progresses, the symptoms become more pronounced, and the specialist will be able to easily recognize the signs of schizophrenia.

Psychosomatic disorders

In adolescence, psychosomatic disorders often occur: pain in the abdomen or head, sleep disorders. These somatic problems are caused by psychological causes associated with age-related changes in the body.

stress and nervous tension, caused by school and family troubles, result in insomnia and feeling unwell. The student has difficulty falling asleep in the evening or waking up too early in the morning. In addition, he may suffer from nightmares, enuresis, or sleepwalking. All of these disorders are indications for seeking medical attention.

Schoolchildren, both girls and boys, often suffer from persistent headaches. In girls, it is sometimes associated with a certain period menstrual cycle. But mostly they occur without organic causes, as in respiratory diseases, but are caused by psychosomatic disorders.

These painful sensations are caused by an increase in muscle tone, and prevent the child from doing normal schoolwork and doing homework.

Examination of children up to 6 years

Evaluation is a more complex task than examining an adult patient. Toddlers lack the language and cognitive capacity to describe their emotions and feelings. Thus, the doctor should rely mainly only on the data of observation of the child by parents and caregivers.

The first signs of the disease in preschool children:

• Nervous and mental disorders after 2 years arise due to the fact that the mother limits the independence of the child and overprotects him, continuing breastfeeding a grown baby. Such a child is shy, dependent on the mother, and often lags behind peers in the development of skills.
• At the age of 3 years, mental disorders are expressed in increased fatigue, capriciousness, irritability, tearfulness, and speech disorders. If you suppress the sociability and activity of a three-year-old child, this can lead to isolation, autism, and future problems in interacting with peers.
• Neurotic reactions in 4-year-old children are expressed in protest against the will of adults and hypertrophied stubbornness.
• The reason for seeking medical help for disorders in a 5-year-old child is the occurrence of symptoms such as the impoverishment of vocabulary, the loss of previously acquired skills, the refusal of role-playing games and joint activities with peers.

When assessing the mental state of babies, we must not forget that they develop within the family framework, and this greatly affects the behavior of the child.

A child with a normal psyche, living in a family of alcoholics and periodically subjected to violence, at first glance, may have signs of mental disorders. Fortunately, in most cases, childhood mental disorders are mild and respond well to treatment. In severe forms of pathology, treatment is carried out by a qualified child psychiatrist.