Psychology is the study of mind ,soul and behaviours. Abnormal psychology is the department of psychology that caters for psychiatric problems and this cut across mental diseases and disorders. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, hebaphrenia, avoidance disorders, OCD, post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) etc.
Alzheimer's disease is associated with mental diseases characterized with break down or gradual weighing of brain cells, epilepsy is also kind of mental disease which occurs as a result of chaotic or disarrayed brain chemistry and electrical activities. There are other sorts of mental diseases.
However, mental disorders are treatable during it's early phase. And can be treated (depends on the sort) through cognitive therapy, lifestyle adjustments/changes and medications.
In the world today, many people are living with different sorts of mental illness and looking at the cause of the illness. Many factors contributes to psychological disorders, they include the following:-
Hereditary: According to studies, people that has history of mental illness in their family are likely to suffer the same fate. This happens because of DNA transmission of genetical and phenotypical traits from one generation to next. So mental illness or diseases can run from genes.
Lost of loved one:- People that have been traumatized one way or the other has significant traces of mental disorders. The most suffered psychotic is anxiety and depression. Anxiety is characterized by abnormal anxious of things which sometimes accompanied with panic attacks. While depression is persistent sad and negative/disturbing thoughts which happens because individual lost the capacity to take control or solve problematic situations over a long period of time.
Accident:- Concussion are severe damage to head which can damage the vital brain components and thus, can lead to any mental conditions.
Impoverishness:- Poverty have reported to contribute to mental health problems such like anxiety and depression, which if not properly treated can link to other severe psychotics (like schizophrenia). Destitutes are always hopeless and helpless, and by this, can lead to feeling of worthlessness, from there comes suicidal feelings (danger phase) ; and individual will opt to take his/her life in order to relieve him\her of the troubling problems.
Poor Nutrition
Lack of goal or aim accomplishments
Hatred or oppression from friends and family (close people)
Unemployment
Intake of hard substances (psychedelic drugs)
However, in recent times, a Psychiatrist, Dr Kenneth Uwaje, says many depressed people in Nigeria are not seeking medical help due to misunderstanding, poor education and stigma.
Uwaje, who is a resident doctor at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba in Lagos, spoke in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.
He said studies show that 14 per cent, which translates to about 22 million people, are clinically depressed in the country.
“However, these people rarely seek medical help; this is founded on misunderstanding, poor education, and predominantly stigma.
“People know that they feel sad, bad, tired for no apparent reason, and they do not enjoy what they used to enjoy.
“They have negative thoughts of the past, present and future, and they begin to feel hopeless, helpless and sometimes worthless, even to the point where they contemplate taking their lives, “ he said.
The psychiatrist said that if depression was not treated, it could lead from moderate to severe depression with psychotic symptoms.
According to him, these symptoms are associated with bizarre manifestations including hearing strange voices and seeing faces; but it can lead to suicide. “Overall impaired quality of life is the case of people who are depressed and because the mortality is not so high, the illness persists for so long.
“These are some of the implications of not treating depression on the social setting, “ he said.
Uwaje said that hospital was the safest place for people who were depressed to visit.
He said: “In Nigeria, we do not have the three tiers of health system fully active.
“Otherwise, the primary healthcare centres should be able to cater for some to an extent, then moving to the secondary and tertiary.
“However, if one is depressed enough, you seek help. More importantly, we need to spread the word about depression that it is an illness like malaria, typhoid and it appears to affect lots of people.
“It is also, non-communicable and it is treatable. “
