Bipolar disorder gets its name because the condition of the person suffering from it fluctuates from extreme to extreme, from one pole to the other. This disease is considered one of the most difficult to treat. Previously, it was called manic-depressive psychosis, which more accurately characterizes its symptoms. In a person with this disorder, the period of mania is replaced by depression. This causes a lot of discomfort and can even prevent you from living a normal social life.

What is bipolar affective disorder (BD)

Bipolar affective disorder is a fairly common mental illness. Previously, it was called manic-depressive psychosis, which much better reflects the essence of this phenomenon. The patient experiences mood swings, fluctuations in two phases: mania and depression. They replace each other, and sometimes, mainly with the right treatment, the condition returns to normal and the person can live a normal life. The duration of the phases of bipolar disorder can vary and range from 2-3 days to a year (and sometimes more). However, the disease does not necessarily occur in regular periods.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by cyclical phases with periodic stabilization of the mental state

A very important criterion when deciding whether a person has bipolar affective disorder is the intensity of his feelings. Mild depression, followed by emotional uplift, does not at all indicate the presence of any mental problems, and certainly not a reason for taking potent medications. In patients with bipolar disorder, painful conditions reach extremes. For them, depression is not a bad mood at all, but complete apathy, loss of interest in life and reluctance to do anything (for example, a person may completely refuse food, quit work, etc.), suicide attempts. And the manic phase can be accompanied by panic attacks (for some, on the contrary, they are present in the depression phase), hallucinations and other extremely unpleasant things. Therefore, bipolar affective disorder should not be confused with ordinary emotional instability.

Often, bipolar disorder extends beyond the mental manifestations to the physical level, especially when panic attacks occur against a background of depression or mania.

Video: A first-person account of bipolar disorder

Causes of bipolar disorder

The neural connections in the human brain are very sensitive and quite easy to disrupt. Especially if there are genetic or organic prerequisites for this. Any mental illness, as a rule, has a number of reasons, which together lead to a person falling ill.

Causes and symptoms of psychosomatic illness:

The main ones:

1. Heredity. As a rule, all mental disorders are passed down through the family, sometimes through several generations. Often, descendants do not take on the disease itself, but only a predisposition to it. A person is absolutely healthy for the time being, and only under the influence of provoking factors (prolonged stress, endocrine diseases, etc.) does his psyche begin to malfunction. At the same time, if such factors did not exist, the disorder would not have arisen.
2. Stress, especially long-term. Serves as a trigger for the development of bipolar disorder.
3. Endocrine diseases and hormonal fluctuations. Unfortunately, even illnesses that are completely unrelated to the psyche can have an extremely negative impact on it. For example, diseases of the thyroid gland with a long and complex course can provoke bipolar disorder. As for the influence of hormones, in the presence of a genetic predisposition, bipolar disorder manifests itself precisely at the peak of hormonal fluctuations: adolescence, postpartum or menopause.
4. Autointoxication. This means poisoning the body with poisons produced in the process of life. For example, this is possible during pregnancy or diabetes. Toxins negatively affect the brain, causing mental disorders.
5. Alcohol or drug addiction. Systematic use of substances that destroy brain cells and neural connections contributes to the occurrence of bipolar disorder.
6. Head injuries. Very often they are the cause of a sudden onset of the disease.
7. Diseases of the nervous system. For example, bipolar disorder can develop against the background of epilepsy.

In order not to provoke the onset of bipolar disorder (or not to aggravate an existing disease), it is important to learn how to relax in stressful situations

Formation mechanism

Before the onset of one of the phases of bipolar disorder, a dysfunction of special chemicals, neurotransmitters (conductors of nerve impulses) in the brain occurs. As a result, the necessary balance of serotonin and dopamine, which provide a good mood, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction with life, as well as norepinephrine, which is responsible for stress, activity, and rage, is no longer maintained. During the period of depression, the patient experiences a lack of serotonin and dopamine, but during the manic phase, norepinephrine goes out of control.

Learn more about obsessive-compulsive disorder:

These are the general features of the mechanism of BAR formation, but to date this process has not been fully studied.

Types of BAR

Depending on the type of illness, bipolar disorder can occur in different ways. There are three types of it:

1. Bipolar I disorder. In this case, the patient will have predominant manic episodes. Sometimes they come one after another, bypassing the depression phase. It can also be shorter and, moreover, inhibition processes do not necessarily develop against its background. On the contrary, it can be quite alarming.
2. BAR type II. In this case, on the contrary, depressive episodes predominate. As a rule, they are protracted, and the patient is practically not in a normal state. They alternate with periods of hypomania, that is, states of inadequate hyperactivity. At the same time, hypomania is still a fairly mild manic form.
3. Type III bipolar disorder. It is allocated conditionally. It is characterized by cyclothymia, that is, sharp mood swings between mild depression (subdepression) and hyperthymia. The latter is not mania at all, but an elevated mood accompanied by hyperactivity.

The absence of the depressive triad does not allow the patient to be diagnosed with depression and, therefore, excludes the possibility of bipolar II disorder

Stages of the disease and symptoms

Depending on the type of bipolar disorder and the mental characteristics of the patient, the disease can progress differently. Thus, a more or less uniform alternation of phases of mania and depression, interspersed with a normal state, is possible. It happens that periods do not follow any order. But in any case, bipolar disorder has only two stages (not counting remissions, characterized by the restoration of a balanced mental state): manic and depressive.

During depression, you may experience:

• apathy;
• slow thinking;
• feeling of melancholy and depression;
• inhibition of speech and motor activity;
• decreased appetite up to complete indifference or even aversion to food;
• decreased libido;
• sleep disturbance;
• persistent reluctance to communicate with people;
• weakening of memory or complete failures in it in individual episodes;
• suicidal and other destructive thoughts (without a hint of aggression).

The symptoms characteristic of the depressive phase are listed above, however, depending on personal predisposition, the condition may also be accompanied by physiological manifestations:

• panic attacks or constant feeling of anxiety;
• pressure surges (both upward and downward);
• tachycardia or, conversely, bradycardia;
• lack of oxygen, suffocation;
• headaches and dizziness;
• a feeling of derealization (the world is perceived as unreal);
• trembling in the body;
• slight blurred vision.

The listed signs of so-called vegetative-vascular dystonia, which can appear against the background of a depressive phase, overtake the patient in separate outbreaks, more often in the evening and at night. The rest of the time he is in a depressed, inhibited state.

Although pregnancy can serve as a stimulus for exacerbation of bipolar disorder, in most cases, with properly selected therapy, it proceeds smoothly in patients with this disorder

The manic phase is characterized by the following symptoms:

• uplifting mood;
• inappropriate enthusiasm for what is happening around you or about one or more individual ideas;
• acceleration of mental performance;
• some absent-mindedness, up to complete inability to concentrate;
• increasing social activity;
• talkativeness, with speech becoming rapid;
• disturbance of sleep and wakefulness (not insomnia, just a person does not feel the need for rest);
• increased libido;
• megalomania.

The listed symptoms, at first glance, are relatively harmless, but this is far from the case. Manic phase symptoms can be so intense that they reach a critical point. If this happens, they are accompanied by psychotic symptoms of severe mania (occur only in advanced cases and in the absence of treatment for the disease):

• hallucinations and delusions;
• lack of logic;
• aggression and attempts at violence;
• the so-called delusion of grandeur (when a person claims that he belongs to a famous family, is a unique personality, etc.).

Video: clinical picture and psychological background of bipolar disorder

Treatment options

Since bipolar disorder can occur in different ways, there is no single medication regimen in this case. In addition, each person needs to choose a drug taking into account the individual characteristics of the body and psyche. However, if we describe in general terms the treatment of bipolar disorder, it involves the need to take drugs of three groups:

• neuroleptics;
• antidepressants;
• tranquilizers.

Neuroleptics relieve agitation, helping to overcome the manic phase, while antidepressants are prescribed during periods of depression. Tranquilizers have proven themselves well in the fight against concomitant symptoms of bipolar disorder (insomnia, anxiety, etc.). Lithium preparations and antiepileptic drugs are also often used in therapy. It is not necessary to take medications from all of the listed groups at the same time or even alternate them. Sometimes there is no need for this. For example, if a person has prolonged severe depression, and the manic phase is mild, which gives him the opportunity to cope with his mental state on his own, then it is enough to limit himself to taking antidepressants. Everything is very individual, and a psychiatrist must choose the right therapy. Almost all people suffering from bipolar disorder sooner or later have to go to a medical facility, since the medications they need are available in pharmacies only by prescription.

Bipolar disorder is not a reason for hospitalization of the patient, unless, of course, we are talking about extremely severe cases when the person becomes dangerous to himself or others. Therefore, all fears about a visit to a psychiatrist are groundless. In fact, there is nothing terrible: when turning to a specialist, a person simply receives a consultation, a prescription for the medications he needs and continues to live an ordinary life, visiting a doctor exclusively voluntarily as the need arises. Problems can only arise for those people whose work requires complete mental health and the need to periodically provide a certificate confirming this.

Will psychotherapy help?

Unfortunately, if the symptoms of bipolar disorder are pronounced and cause significant discomfort, it is almost impossible to do without drug therapy. Moreover, if the patient is in a state of emotional distress, working with him through the use of various psychotechniques will not bring results, since he is simply not able to perceive them. First you need to stop the exacerbations. But at the same time, we must not forget that the psychological background is an important criterion that determines the course of the disease. If the emotional state is not normalized, the disorder will worsen. Therefore, psychotherapy (cognitive, interpersonal, social, etc.) is in some cases an indispensable addition to drug treatment.

A healthy lifestyle and proper rest will help normalize your mental state (however, they will not replace basic treatment)

How to live with bipolar disorder

In addition to basic treatment, people suffering from manic-depressive disorder should take care of themselves, especially during periods of manic exacerbations. It is recommended to adhere to the following simple rules to help maintain a calm state of mind:

1. Need to get enough sleep. Research shows that mania is associated with lack of sleep. A long night's rest and an established routine help prevent the onset of a manic state. You need to go to bed no later than ten in the evening and sleep 8 or 9 hours. Some patients are recommended to first sleep for twelve hours, gradually reducing the time to 10 hours. The bedtime and morning rise times must remain the same. If a person falls asleep at ten in the evening and gets up at seven in the morning, then he should do this constantly. Since many people with bipolar disorder suffer from insomnia, it is necessary to develop certain evening rituals: a bath, silence and a favorite book will help set the mood for rest. The computer must be turned off no later than 8 pm and no longer use gadgets. Experts in the field of neuroscience note that light from the screen stimulates the brain and interferes with the mood for sleep. Therefore, it is better not to use e-books in the evening. People with bipolar disorder are very sensitive and should be careful with LCD screens. There have been cases when long evening work at the computer caused manic states the next day.
2. Avoid noisy places. Hyperactivity is not the best option for those who need to calm down. After all, it's not that hard to find a place where you can be alone for 10-15 minutes. A short break will be a kind of meditation that will help normalize your emotional state and prevent manic behavior.
3. Pay attention to your body's signals and control your breathing. Manic states are usually preceded by certain symptoms: a sharp increase in performance and rapid pulse. It is necessary to take immediate action: take slow inhalations and exhalations. By changing the rate of breathing, we send specific messages to the brain and, through the respiratory system, we can influence the centers responsible for emotions and behavior.
4. Do not drink coffee or alcohol. Caffeine and other stimulants can trigger a manic state. In addition, coffee disrupts the sleep-wake pattern and throws you off balance.
5. Use a shopping list. One of the most common cases of compulsive behavior is buying a lot of unnecessary things. Therefore, it is useful to make a list in advance. This will help protect you from unnecessary expenses, and most importantly, from subsequent unpleasant thoughts about unnecessary purchases.
6. Some experts would add one more item to the list - exercise. There are several studies that show that exercise is good for people with bipolar disorder. But it happens that long hours of training become another manifestation of manic behavior. For example, someone cannot fall asleep unless they do 300 laps around the stadium. But, in principle, if such mania helps to increase self-esteem and does not harm the body, it is quite tolerable.

Mixed disorder is a concept that combines symptoms and manifestations of various types of mental disorders. This diagnosis is used by psychotherapists when the patient’s behavior and characteristics do not clearly fit into any category of personality disorders.

Mixed personality disorder is included in the ICD 10 (International Classification of Diseases) and its description can be found under F61. Practicing doctors note the fact that such a diagnosis occurs quite often, because a person can behave differently in individual situations, and also does not combine only pure traits of a certain type of behavior and deviations.

A personality disorder is a deviation in a person’s behavior, thoughts and actions, and this diagnosis belongs to a group of mental disorders. Patients with such deviations are not able to behave adequately; they perceive stressful and conflict situations too acutely, unlike mentally healthy people.

It is this fact that is the main reason for failures in the family, in a career and in communicating with other people - excessive conflict and manifestations of various types of mental disorders make a person incomprehensible, inadequate, and sometimes dangerous.

The main problem is that the diagnosis of mixed personality disorder is sometimes made too late, just as treatment for existing mental disorders is not started in a timely manner. Patients with such disorders are confident that they are absolutely healthy and do not seek help from doctors, and when their loved ones suggest they go to a psychologist, they react with violent protest and conflict. Meanwhile, the help of psychotherapists for such patients is really necessary; the doctor’s task in this situation is to help the patient in social adaptation and analysis of his own personal qualities, without causing harm to loved ones and himself.

The manifestation of behavioral abnormalities is observed in patients in childhood, and overt symptoms become noticeable closer to 18 years of age. But doctors are in no hurry to make a diagnosis of a mental disorder at this age - after all, this is a period of personality formation and such an entry in the medical record will be incorrect. At a more mature age, if the symptoms of the disorders have not gone away on their own and they can no longer be attributed to manifestations of a transitional crisis age, these manifestations will only progress, which leads to a diagnosis of a mixed personality disorder.

Organic personality disorder of mixed origin is approximately the same diagnosis, but the difference lies in the etiology of the disease. If the usual mixed deviation is the result of congenital or acquired mental disorders, then the organic one develops against the background of damage to individual foci of the brain.

Personality disorders in connection with mixed diseases are a pathology that accompanies a person throughout his life; one of such diseases may be depression. But the patient is not aware of the presence of a problem, since it occurs in waves, and periods of exacerbation are replaced by persistent remission.

Causes of Personality Disorder

Social factors influencing the development of behavioral deviations are improper upbringing, stress, conflicts, rejection by parents and peers. If a child is brought up in an environment of neglect, is not listened to, and his ideas and actions are ridiculed, he develops aggression, deviant behavior and maladjustment. Conversely, perceiving a child as an idol, condoning his whims and being spoiled lead to the development of psychopathic personality traits in adulthood.

If in childhood a child was subjected to physical violence, moral pressure, he had frequent stressful and conflict situations, as well as other psychological traumas - these factors lead to similar problems with the development of personality disorders. According to medical statistics, 90% of patients with a similar diagnosis experienced violence in childhood.

Organic disorders occur due to brain injuries caused by accidents or falls. Moreover, the disorder can develop at any age, after changes have occurred in the structure of the brain due to damage.

Symptoms of deviations

Patients with a mixed personality disorder most often have concomitant psychological diseases - depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue and nervous tension, all of these pathologies result in frequent conflicts at work and at home. It is important that patients with mental disorders themselves do not believe that these concomitant diseases are the culprits of their problems; they attribute all failures and conflicts to external factors.

What are the manifestations of mixed personality disorder:

Patients show constant dissatisfaction with the conditions of their lives; they attribute all failures and mistakes to external circumstances and blame the people around them for everything. If earlier doctors believed that such behavior could not be corrected, now the opinion has changed and the condition is considered reversible.

In addition to the listed symptoms, this personality disorder can manifest itself in many different ways. The pathological features that can be expressed with this deviation are also inherent in other types of disorders, which will be discussed further. It is precisely because of the whole complex of symptoms belonging to different types of personality disorders that this disorder is called mixed.

Classification of disorders

To understand what symptoms may appear in a patient diagnosed with a mixed disorder, it is necessary to describe the main manifestations of all known types of disorders:

If one patient has symptoms characteristic of different types of personality disorders, in this case a diagnosis of mixed personality disorder is made.

Treatment

Psychiatrists tend to agree that mixed type disorder cannot be completely cured, but it is possible to correct the patient’s condition and bring him into stable remission with timely initiation of therapy. What is important is the patient’s desire to eliminate existing problems and his contact with the doctor.

Drug therapy helps relieve the main clinical manifestations of diseases - depression, anxiety, hysteria. When prescribing medications, the exact dosage must be observed, since mixed disorders involve the rapid development of the patient’s dependence on medications. What drugs are used to treat this disorder:

All these drugs are aimed at eliminating the patient’s manifestations of aggression, affective instability, anger, anxiety and excessive impulsivity.

Psychotherapeutic treatment involves DBT – dialectical behavior therapy. It is aimed at treating patients who have developed a personality disorder due to severe psychological trauma. If the patient cannot recover from the suffering he has experienced, the specialist directs his thinking and actions in a different direction in order to improve his life and avoid similar situations in the future.

Family psychotherapy aims to change the relationship between the patient and the relatives and friends around him. Treatment lasts about 12 months, while the doctor tries to identify the root of the problem and eliminate it. As a result of treatment, the patient can be relieved of mistrust, paranoia, manipulativeness, and arrogance.

In order for a patient with a mixed type of disorder to lead a full life, work, drive a car (when this diagnosis is made, the patient is often prohibited from obtaining a driver’s license), it is necessary to help him in time. If symptoms of various abnormalities are pronounced - hysteria, frequent anxiety, depression, mood swings and outbursts of anger, you need to convince your loved one to consult a psychologist. The consequences of an untreated disorder can be disastrous - alcoholism, drug addiction, promiscuity, psychosis, cruelty, therefore, the reversibility of the disorder depends on timely contact with a doctor and the start of therapy.

Mental disorder is a wide range of illnesses that are characterized by changes in the psyche that affect habits, performance, behavior and position in society. In the international classification of diseases, such pathologies have several meanings. ICD 10 code – F00 - F99.

A wide range of predisposing factors can cause the appearance of one or another psychological pathology, ranging from traumatic brain injuries and family history to addiction to bad habits and poisoning by toxins.

There are a lot of clinical manifestations of diseases associated with personality disorder, and they are extremely diverse, which is why we can conclude that they are individual in nature.

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

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

Etiology

Personality disorder means a disease of the soul and a state of mental activity that differs from a healthy one. The opposite of this condition is mental health, which is characteristic of those individuals who can quickly adapt to daily life changes, solve various daily issues or problems, and achieve their goals and goals. When such abilities are limited or completely lost, one can suspect that a person has some kind of mental pathology.

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

Pathological reasons against which mental disorders can develop include:

• the course of various infectious diseases, which can either themselves negatively affect the brain or appear in the background;
• damage to other systems, for example, leaking or previously suffered, can cause the development of psychoses and other mental pathologies. Often they lead to the appearance of one or another disease in older people;
• traumatic brain injuries;
• brain oncology;
• congenital defects and anomalies.

Among the external etiological factors it is worth highlighting:

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

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

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

Classification

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

Thus, the classification of mental disorders includes:

• mental changes caused by drinking alcohol or using drugs;
• organic mental disorders - caused by disruption of normal brain function;
• affective pathologies – the main clinical manifestation is frequent mood swings;
• and schizotypal diseases - such conditions have specific symptoms, which include a sharp change in personality and lack of adequate actions;
• phobias and Signs of such disorders may arise in relation to an object, phenomenon or person;
• behavioral syndromes associated with disturbances in eating, sleeping or sexual relations;
• . This disorder refers to borderline mental disorders, since they often arise against the background of intrauterine pathologies, heredity and childbirth;
• disorders of psychological development;
• Disorders of activity and concentration are the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents. It is expressed in disobedience and hyperactivity of the child.

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

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

Types of mental disorders in children are presented:

• mental retardation;

Varieties of such deviations in elderly people:

• marasmus;
• Pick's disease.

The most common mental disorders associated with epilepsy are:

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

Long-term drinking of alcohol-containing drinks leads to the development of the following psychological personality disorders:

• delirium;
• hallucinations.

Brain injury can be a factor in the development of:

• twilight state;
• delirium;
• oneiroid.

The classification of mental disorders that arise against the background of somatic illnesses includes:

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

Malignant neoplasms can cause:

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

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

• vascular dementia;
• cerebrovascular psychosis.

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

• episodic - a person takes photographs more than three times a day, but does not post the resulting images to the public;
• medium-heavy – differs from the previous one in that the person posts photos on social networks;
• chronic – photographs are taken throughout the day, and the number of photographs posted on the Internet exceeds six.

Symptoms

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

The most obvious manifestations of such violations are:

• causeless changes in mood or the appearance of hysterical laughter;
• difficulty concentrating, even when performing simple tasks;
• conversations when no one is around;
• hallucinations, auditory, visual or combined;
• decreased or, conversely, increased sensitivity to stimuli;
• lapses or lack of memory;
• learning disabilities;
• misunderstanding of events happening around;
• decreased performance and adaptation in society;
• depression and apathy;
• feeling of pain and discomfort in various areas of the body, which in reality may not exist;
• the emergence of unjustified beliefs;
• sudden feeling of fear, etc.;
• alternation of euphoria and dysphoria;
• acceleration or inhibition of the thought process.

Such manifestations are characteristic of psychological disorders in children and adults. However, several of the most specific symptoms are identified, depending on the gender of the patient.

Representatives of the fairer sex may experience:

• sleep disorders such as insomnia;
• frequent overeating or, conversely, refusal to eat;
• addiction to alcohol abuse;
• sexual dysfunction;
• irritability;
• severe headaches;
• unreasonable fears and phobias.

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

• sloppy appearance;
• avoidance of hygiene procedures;
• isolation and touchiness;
• blaming everyone except yourself for your own problems;
• sudden changes in mood;
• humiliation and insult of interlocutors.

Diagnostics

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

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

In addition, a person’s ability to tell or describe his illness is of great importance in diagnosis.

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

Instrumental methods include:

Psychological diagnostics are necessary to identify the nature of changes in individual processes of mental activity.

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

Treatment

Treatment tactics for mental disorders will be drawn up individually for each patient.

Drug therapy in most cases involves the use of:

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

In addition, it is widely used:

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

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

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

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

Prevention

In addition, it is necessary to follow several simple rules for the prevention of mental disorders:

• completely give up bad habits;
• take medications only as prescribed by the clinician and strictly adhere to the dosage;
• Avoid stress and nervous tension if possible;
• follow all safety rules when working with toxic substances;
• undergo a full medical examination several times a year, especially for those people whose relatives have mental disorders.

Only by following all the above recommendations can a favorable prognosis be achieved.

Etc.).

People with personality disorders often have other mental health problems, especially mental health symptoms such as depression and substance abuse (alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse, etc.).

When and why personality disorders occur.

Personality disorders most often begin to appear during adolescence and continue into adulthood.

Personality disorders can be mild, moderate or severe, and may have periods of “remission” where they may decline significantly or not appear at all.

Types of personality disorders.

Several different types of personality disorders are recognized. They can be grouped into one of three groups - A, B or C - which are given below.

Cluster A personality disorders.

A person with Cluster A personality disorder tends to have difficulty interacting with other people and would normally be considered strange and eccentric by most people. They can be described as living in a fantasy world of their own illusions.

An example is paranoid personality disorder, when a person, against the background of “exemplary behavior,” becomes extremely distrustful and suspicious.

Cluster B personality disorder.

A person with Cluster B personality disorder struggles to regulate their feelings and often fluctuates between the positive and negative opinions of others. This can lead to patterns of behavior that can be described as dramatic, unpredictable and disturbing.

A prime example is borderline personality disorder, where a person is emotionally unstable, has impulses to harm himself, and has intense, unstable relationships with others.

Cluster C personality disorder.

A person with a Cluster C personality disorder struggles with persistent and overwhelming feelings of anxiety and fear. Such people can rarely show patterns of behavior; most people with this class will have antisocial and withdrawn behavior.

An example is avoidant personality disorder, where a person is painfully shy, feels socially inhibited, inadequate, and is extremely sensitive. A person may and often wants to be a good family man, but lacks the confidence to form close relationships.

How many people have a personality disorder?

Personality disorders are common mental health problems.

It is estimated that approximately one in 20 people have a personality disorder. However, many people have only minor changes, which often only become apparent during times of stress (such as bereavement). Other people, with more serious problems, will need specialist help for a long time.

Prognosis of the course of personality disorder.

Most people who receive treatment recover from their personality disorder over time.

Psychotherapeutic or medical treatments provide significant relief and can often be recommended even for people with mild personality disorders as a form of support. This depends on the severity of the disease, and on the presence of other ongoing problems.
Some people with mild to moderate personality disorder benefit from specific psychotherapy, which is very helpful.

However, there is no single approach or any unified psychotherapeutic techniques that could suit everyone, so treatment must be selected taking into account the individual characteristics of personality development. It is very important that therapy for personality disorders is carried out by a qualified psychotherapist.

More information about treating personality disorders.

All people have their own special characters. People's characters may be similar, but they will never be the same. Some personal characteristics differ so greatly from the expected norm and from generally accepted rules of behavior that they cause irritation, misunderstanding and discomfort to others. Some character traits can cause problems that affect not only the originals themselves, but also their immediate and distant surroundings.

Personality disorders are conditions that last a lifetime, decreasing or increasing in their manifestations, depending on the external environment and concomitant diseases. Such character disorders place unpredictable pressure on daily life, when the need for qualified help inevitably arises. The task of a psychotherapist is to understand, understand and determine the path to compensation for a special personality and its adaptation. There are different ways: psychological and pedagogical, pharmacological and complex.

As already mentioned, personality disorder is a type of mental illness associated with problems in perceiving situations, people, including oneself.

There are many specific types of personality disorders. These mental disorders, which are sometimes considered personality traits - unhealthy ways of thinking and behaving, no matter what the situation, lead to significant problems and limitations in relationships, communication with others, work and school.

In most cases, a person is not able to understand that he has a personality disorder because the way of thinking and behavior seems natural to himself, and he most often blames others for certain problems that arise in the process of interpersonal contact.

If you have questions, please call or write to us. If you need help, we will be happy to help.

Patient

How to tell a teenager about the need to visit a psychiatrist? There are indications (F21). He is 17 years old, not a drug addict, a smart, positive child.

Doctor

About 10% of people suffer from personality disorders (otherwise known as constitutional psychopathy). Pathologies of this kind are externally manifested by persistent behavioral disorders that negatively affect the life of the patient himself and his environment. Of course, not every person who behaves eccentrically or unusually for others is a psychopath. Deviations in behavior and character are considered pathological if they can be traced from youth, extend to several aspects of life and lead to personal and social problems.

Source: depositphotos.com

Paranoid disorder

A person with paranoid personality disorder does not trust anyone or anything. He is sensitive to any contact, suspects everyone of ill will and hostile intentions, and negatively interprets any actions of other people. We can say that he considers himself the object of a worldwide villainous conspiracy.

Such a patient is constantly dissatisfied or afraid of something. At the same time, he is aggressive: he actively accuses others of exploiting him, offending him, deceiving him, etc. Most of such accusations are not only unfounded, but also directly contradict the real state of affairs. A person suffering from paranoid disorder is very vindictive: he can remember his real or imaginary grievances for years and settle scores with the “offenders.”

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

An obsessive-compulsive personality is prone to absolute pedantry and perfectionism. Such a person does everything with exaggerated accuracy and strives to subordinate his life once and for all to established patterns. Any little thing, for example, changing the arrangement of dishes on the table, can infuriate him or cause hysterics.

A person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder considers his lifestyle to be absolutely correct and the only acceptable one, so he aggressively imposes similar rules on others. At work, he bothers his colleagues with constant nagging, and in the family he often becomes a real tyrant, not forgiving his loved ones even the slightest deviation from his ideal.

Antisocial disorder

Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by aversion to any rules of behavior. Such a person does not study well because of a lack of ability: he simply does not complete the teacher’s assignments and does not go to classes, because this is a mandatory condition of learning. For the same reason, he does not come to work on time and ignores the instructions of his superiors.

Antisocial behavior is not protest: a person violates all norms in a row, and not just those that seem wrong to him. And he very quickly comes into conflict with the law, starting with petty hooliganism and damage or appropriation of someone else's property. Crimes usually have no real motivation: a person hits a passer-by for no reason and takes his wallet without needing the money. Those who suffer from antisocial disorder are not kept even in criminal communities - after all, they also have their own rules of behavior, which the patient is unable to observe.

Schizoid disorder

The schizoid personality type is characterized by a refusal to communicate. The person seems unfriendly, cold, and distant to others. He usually has no friends, has no contact with anyone except his closest relatives, and chooses work so that he can do it alone, without meeting people.

The schizoid shows little emotion, is equally indifferent to criticism and praise, and has virtually no interest in sex. It is difficult to please a person of this type with anything: he is almost always indifferent or dissatisfied.

Schizotypal disorder

Like schizoids, people suffering from schizotypal disorder avoid creating friendships and family connections, preferring loneliness, but their initial message is different. Individuals with schizotypal deviations are extravagant. They often share the most ridiculous superstitions, consider themselves psychics or magicians, can dress strangely and express their views in detail and artistically.

People with schizotypal disorder have a variety of fantasies, visual or auditory illusions that are almost unrelated to reality. Patients imagine themselves as the main characters in events that have nothing to do with them.

Hysteroid disorder

A person suffering from hysterical personality disorder believes that he is deprived of the attention of others. He is ready to do anything to be noticed. At the same time, the hysterical person does not see a significant difference between real achievements worthy of recognition and scandalous antics. Such a person perceives criticism painfully: if he is condemned, he falls into rage and despair.

A hysterical personality is prone to theatricality, pretentious behavior, and exaggerated demonstration of emotions. Such people are very dependent on other people's opinions, selfish and very indulgent towards their own shortcomings. Usually they try to manipulate loved ones, using blackmail and scandals to get them to fulfill any of their whims.

Narcissistic disorder

Narcissism manifests itself in the belief in unconditional superiority over other people. A person suffering from this disorder is confident in his right to universal admiration and demands worship from everyone he encounters. He is incapable of understanding other people's interests, empathy and critical attitude towards himself.

People prone to narcissism constantly boast about their achievements (even if in reality they do nothing special) and demonstrate themselves. The narcissist explains any failure by envy of his success, by the fact that others are unable to appreciate him.

Borderline disorder

This pathology manifests itself in extreme instability of the emotional state. A person instantly moves from joy to despair, from stubbornness to gullibility, from calm to anxiety, and all this without real reasons. He often changes his political and religious beliefs, constantly offends his loved ones, as if deliberately pushing them away from himself, and at the same time is terrified of being left without their support.

Borderline disorder means that a person will periodically become depressed. Such individuals are prone to repeated suicide attempts. Trying to find comfort, they often fall into drug or alcohol addiction.

Avoidance disorder

A person suffering from avoidant disorder believes that he or she is completely worthless, unattractive, and unsuccessful. At the same time, he is very afraid that others will confirm this opinion, and as a result he avoids any communication (except for contacts with people who are guaranteed not to express a negative opinion), in fact he hides from life: he does not meet anyone, tries not to take on new ones things, fearing that nothing will work out.

Addictive disorder

A person with dependent personality disorder suffers from a completely unfounded belief in his own helplessness. It seems to him that without the advice and constant support of his loved ones he will not survive.

The patient completely subordinates his life to the demands (real or imaginary) of those persons whose help he thinks he needs. In the most severe cases, a person cannot remain alone at all. He refuses to make independent decisions and demands advice and recommendations even on small things. In a situation where he is forced to show independence, the patient panics and begins to follow any advice, regardless of what result they may lead to.

Psychologists believe that the origins of personality disorders lie in childhood and youth experiences, in the circumstances that accompanied a person for the first 18 years of his life. Over the years, the condition of such patients remains almost unchanged. Personality disorders are not corrected with medication. These patients are treated using psychotherapeutic methods (family, group and individual sessions) and methods such as environmental therapy (living in special communities). However, the likelihood of improvement in the condition of most patients is low: 3 out of every 4 people suffering from personality disorders do not consider themselves sick and refuse diagnosis and help from specialists.

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