Treatment of psychological personality disorders. Symptoms

The list of such pathologies includes health disorders associated with disorders occurring in the psyche. They can be triggered by social, biological or psychological factors. People who have difficulty coping with accepting the realities of real life are most often susceptible to illness. They are often unable to recover from failures that have occurred. There is some inadequacy in actions, behavior and thinking.

Psychological developmental disorders

These pathologies in ICD-10 are included in the heading F80-F89. The diseases included in it always begin in childhood, including infancy. Their development requires a delay in the development of the nervous system or its damage associated with pathological maturation. They are characterized by a constant course, there are no relapses.

The lesions affect motor functions, speech, and visual-spatial skills. In most cases, environmental factors in this pathology are important, but not decisive. At the same time, the etiology of the lesion is not precisely defined, due to which an exact determination of the causes of developmental disorders cannot be established at the moment. Today it is also common to include autistic disorders among such pathologies.

Mental disorders in adolescents

One in six people affected by a mental disorder are in the 10-19 age group, one of the most difficult transition periods of adulthood. The main reason for the mental disorder of a teenager is the process of personality formation, which can be negatively influenced by the people around him, as well as a manic desire to try prohibitive drugs for the first time in his life.

Mental disorders in adolescents can only be treated in a comprehensive manner by professionals together with parents. During this period, it is important to create a safe atmosphere for the life of a teenager, to protect him from possible risks and negative factors from others.

Psychological disorders treatment

Treatment of psychological disorders in patients of any age can only be prescribed by an experienced specialist. Previously, the patient undergoes a thorough health examination. It is carried out in order to exclude the possibility of the presence of a physiological disease. Passing symptoms can be provoked, for example, by endocrine or neurological disorders.

After eliminating physiological causes, the patient's psychological state is examined. An important part is collecting a family history. The fact of hereditary damage to psychological diseases has not been confirmed at the moment, but there are cases of familial predisposition. Doctors suggest that they may be associated with family habits and hereditary character traits.

The following are used in therapy:

• medications: antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers;
• psychological classes, both individual and in groups;
• Physical therapy classes are shown.

Often patients may be advised to find an additional hobby. It can distract the patient from unpleasant thoughts.

Treatment of mental disorders in women

Most often, women experience mental disorders associated with depression or constant anxiety. These species are the most resistant to drug treatment. Any treatment is based only on an individual approach, based on the woman’s condition, her age and previous injuries to the disease.

Treatment of mental disorders in women is based on a specific scheme, which includes the use of antidepressants, a combination of other pharmacological agents and mandatory psychotherapeutic techniques.

Psychological personality disorders

After confirmation of the diagnosis, pathology refers to severe psychological deviations in the psychological sphere of a person’s consciousness. They are found in human popularity and are diagnosed in about 12% of the population. Disorders are more often diagnosed in males.

They are characterized by obvious violations of destructive behavior patterns. This list does not include personality disorders caused by pathologies or brain injuries.

According to ICD10, psychological disorders are divided into:

• Schizoid, characterized primarily by disturbances of contact in society, a tendency to recluse and complete isolation. Patients lack a proper sense of reality. A schizoid can be continuously busy with endless and meaningless mental work.
• Paranoid disorders accompanied by an increased level of suspicion. Patients are characterized by increased sensitivity, high ambition, and inability to accept personal failures. Over time, the severity of the reaction does not dull, but appears regularly with increasing force.
• Dissocial, characterized by a disdainful attitude towards social, personal, and everyday responsibilities.
• Emotionally unstable, in which instincts and feelings become the determining reasons for actions.
• Hysterical, in which patients are characterized by dramatization of what is happening, excessive pretense in the manifestation of feelings.
• Anankastnye, a striking feature of which is pedantry at the level of pathology. Petty scrupulousness contradicts a real love of order.
• Anxious, which is accompanied by a constant feeling of fear and personal tension. A person constantly assumes that something tragic might happen to him. Accompanied in most cases by an inferiority complex.
• Dependents, characterized by a personality’s tendency to completely subordinate to others, pathological passivity, and the inability to make adequate decisions independently.

According to ICD 10, “other disorders” include narcissism, eccentricity, infantilism, psychoneurotic and passive-aggressive disorders. Doctors also separately identify pathologies of an unspecified type.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

This includes:

1. Schizophrenia. Characterized by gross disturbances of thinking, emotions, will and social life.
2. Schizotypal disorder. Characterized by social isolation, flatness of emotions, and inappropriate behavior.
3. Chronic delirium. Includes diseases that manifest themselves only as delirium.
4. Acute and transient psychoses. It manifests itself as temporary acute psychotic disorders with a predominance of delusions, hallucinations and disorders of consciousness.
5. Induced delirium. It is characterized by the fact that delusion occurs in a mentally healthy person, but this delirium is inspired by the sick.
6. Schizoaffective disorder. Characterized by inappropriate emotional reactions and behavior, a tendency to social isolation.

Causes of psychological disorders

The list of provoking factors may include:

• severe pregnancy in the patient’s mother;
• birth injuries;
• presence of genetic predisposition;
• severe stressful situations;
• experiences, including in childhood, of psychological or physical violence.

The presence of one or even several provoking factors at once does not guarantee the onset of a psychological disorder.

In such patients, disturbances are caused by the characterological constitution, the habitual model of behavior used, and a certain personal structure.

Mental disorders in children

Mental disorders in children under 10 years of age may be indicated by symptoms such as impaired attention and hyperreactivity, which manifests itself in the form of extreme mobility or fussiness. Starting from the very birth of a child, it is very important not to miss the moment of the onset of pathological deviations in his behavior.

The doctor is faced with the task of promptly and correctly dividing mental disorders due to improper pedagogical upbringing of parents or genetic predisposition. The initial signs of the disease in children include decreased appetite, which occurs repeatedly in the form of vomiting or complete refusal to eat.

Symptoms and signs of psychological disorder

At the moment, doctors are not ready to strictly define the specific symptoms and signs of a psychological personality disorder. Manifestations in each patient are strictly individual. But there are general points that suggest the need to seek advice.

According to ICD10, the main symptoms and signs include disturbances in behavioral reactions, mental activity, and actions that go beyond the recognized framework of current cultural and moral beliefs and norms. Physical, cognitive and neurological symptoms are observed. They are prone to increased levels of fatigue. They often feel excessively happy or excessively unhappy without a specific reason. Logical relationships are broken.

ICD10 calls the signs:

• spatiotemporal disorientation;
• quick and groundless changes in mood;
• inadequate attitude towards one’s own physical and emotional state;
• the appearance of hallucinations;
• cases of confusion;
• confusion;
• fright;
• lack of reaction to what is happening.

Sleep is often disturbed. This can equally manifest itself as increased levels of drowsiness and insomnia. A common trigger is depression associated with serious stress, for example, the loss of a close relative. There may be a violation of the order of self-identification. The patient creates an alternative personality that has nothing to do with what happened. The weakening of memory to the level of its complete absence is diagnosed. Mental interest is disturbed, often accompanied by delirium. In some cases, the patient suffers from bouts of unreasonable laughter or a tendency to unreasonably increased tearfulness. Doctors include alcohol and drug abuse among psychological disorders.

Signs characteristic only of men are highlighted separately. They may be associated with untidiness in appearance and violation of hygiene standards. Men experience failures especially painfully and tend to blame the entire world around them for what happened. They become irritable and tend to offend and humiliate their interlocutors.

Types of mental disorders

Currently, the most common diseases include some types of human mental disorders. These data can always be tracked in the reports of the World Health Organization, where schizophrenia is among the top five most common diseases among the entire world population. It can originate during early human development, but in the transition period its signs will begin to increase.

In second place in popularity are types of disorders associated with the abolition of dependence on psychotropic or narcotic substances, including alcohol. Depression, as a type of mental disorder, occurs in every fifth inhabitant of the planet and is accompanied by pessimistic views of life and an apathetic mood.

Diagnosis of psychological disorders

When diagnosing psychological disorders, doctors must first prescribe an examination of all body systems. This is necessary to exclude physiological causes of pathology.

Patients are prescribed ECHO, MRI, CT, and examination by an endocrinologist and neurologist is recommended. A study of the medical history is carried out. Psychological manifestations often become side effects of taking certain medications. For example, prescribed in the treatment of neurological diagnoses.

An important part of the diagnosis is a personal conversation with the patient. It is recommended to involve close relatives and those people with whom the patient is in constant contact.

Signs of a mental disorder

Every second person with a mental disorder, starting from the early stages of the disease, experiences characteristic symptoms. They can appear with different intensities and frequency, but they are easy to notice with constant observation of a person. If one of the signs appears, you cannot leave it unnoticed and you should seek professional help.

Signs of a mental disorder most often go beyond certain cultural norms or beliefs in modern society. It is customary to identify the main signs of the course of the disease, which are most common among people with this diagnosis - memory impairment and sound thinking, sudden changes in a person’s behavior and mood for no known reason.

Types of psychological disorders

In modern medicine, there are several main types of psychological disorders, which differ in symptoms and types of manifestation. Often, to eliminate the disease or enter a state of stable remission, depending on the type, different treatment options are required.

Neuropsychological disorder

Differs in manifestations of destructive behavior. In most cases, it is caused by improper functioning of the brain. Stand out:

• Exogenous or external causes associated with head injuries, illnesses, chemical poisoning, psychological trauma. May be associated with disorders of the cardiovascular system, leading to impaired blood supply to the brain.
• Endogenous or internal causes, which are mostly genetic, caused by a violation in the set of chromosomes.

Due to the commonality of psychotypes, they can often be transmitted from parents to children. Among the provoking factors are some diseases, including cerebral vascular sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular accidents, and infectious diagnoses. Can be triggered by taking drugs and alcohol.

Mixed developmental disorders

In ICD13 they are classified as F83. The first manifestation is most often noted in childhood or infancy. Typically associated with chromosomal or genetic disorders. Accompanied by speech and school skills impairments. Motor functions may be impaired. They are diagnosed only in the case of a complete combination of several psychological disorders aggravated by life circumstances.

Specific psychological development disorder

Today, this category of pathological disorders has been poorly studied. An accurate diagnosis is complicated by the unreasonable combination of violations of the proper and timely acquisition of language skills, accompanied by motor disorders. But it is not recognized as intellectual retardation as such.

Mixed specific psychological development disorders

They are also established in the case of a combination of several factors recognized in the ICD10. Verbal intelligence suffers, and there are disturbances in the development of speech functions. There may be cases of disorientation and problems with logic are identified. Memory suffers.

Types of mental disorders

These species are divided into several groups. Endogenous disorders that are caused by physiological internal causes, most often genetic. This could be schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, dementia, as well as age-related changes that occur in older people. There are also exogenous disorders that occur due to exposure to external factors. These impacts may be due to traumatic brain injuries and serious infections. In this case, a person develops reactive psychoses, neuralgia and behavioral disorders.

Psychological development disorder in a child

They are diagnosed when a child has a combination of impairments in school skills, poor speech development, and problems with motor functions. In this case, it is impossible to establish an accurate diagnosis due to the lack of predominance of one of these disorders.

Additionally, a certain level of cognitive impairment is detected. The disadvantage of diagnosis is the frequent use of diagnosis in the absence of a real opportunity to establish the exact cause and the leading predominant factor. Often such children are diagnosed with mental retardation. An important condition is the identification of the first signs of pathology at a very early, often infancy, age.

The leading causes are called biological factors. Including minor tissue damage to brain structures, which provoked a disruption in the formation of interanalyzer connections.

An additional provocateur is the lack of information associated with the low family level. Manifestations include:

• speech disorder dyslexia;
• dysgraphia, which manifests itself in the occurrence of problems with the development of written speech skills;
• dyscalculation disorders.

Such children should be under constant supervision of a psychiatrist. The course of treatment includes psychotherapy sessions and drug therapy. It is difficult for children to master the curriculum of a secondary school. They successfully master the rules of acquiring school skills in Type VIII schools. Although such a translation is recommended only in situations where the level of pathology is on the same level as mental retardation.

There is a clear trend towards a decrease in the level of impairments in adolescence; often the pathology can eventually be smoothed out completely, but problems with cognitive efficiency can remain in adulthood.

Family and group psychotherapy

Group therapy involves forming a group of people under the supervision of a psychotherapist.
The group members communicate with each other about the most secret things that they did not dare to tell anyone before. Participants in the conversation talk about their problems, feelings and experiences. By opening up to others, they get to know themselves, their world, and look for solutions to their problems. The basis of successful group therapy is sincerity in statements. Family therapy is based on the opinion that the family is an integral structure that lives according to its own laws. The relationships between its members play a special role in the dynamics of the mental disorder of one of them.

Family psychotherapy allows you to analyze relationships in the family and find out what exactly leaves a negative imprint on the patient, and forces him to turn on compensatory mechanisms in order to survive conflict in the family.

It has been established that the most common problem in family relationships is spouses copying the behavior patterns of their parents. They transfer to their spouse and children the same actions that were carried out by their mothers or fathers. That is, it is a kind of transfer. And the marriage partner or child is perceived in a special, mostly unflattering light (capricious, demanding, tyrant, etc.). Because of this, difficulties then appear in family relationships, leaving a destructive imprint on the psyche of one of its members.

Along with psychotherapy, patients with mental disorders in remission are subjected to social rehabilitation. It gives them the opportunity to develop basic behavioral skills. For example, taking care of your appearance, cleaning the apartment, going to the store, traveling on public transport, as well as gaining knowledge that will help patients finish school or get a profession.

Major psychological disorders

Currently, experts suggest that by 2021, psychological disorders may take fifth place in the list of diseases leading to disability. According to Russian doctors, pathologies can be diagnosed in at least every resident of modern Russia. Approximately similar levels of indicators are observed in all developed countries of the world.

All the reasons for the occurrence of such pathologies are not known to modern doctors today. Conducted research shows that the list of provocateurs may equally include genetic predisposition and external life events. Diseases of the nervous system, leading to psychological pathologies, are caused by all factors that disrupt the activity of the central nervous system.

Despite the inability to identify the exact cause of the onset of psychological disorders, these pathologies can now be successfully treated. Depending on the degree of damage, treatment uses only courses of psychotherapy or medications, including antipsychotics and antidepressants.

Currently, psychiatrists are highlighting an increase in the number of confirmations of diagnoses of depressive disorders and phobias. They can often be accompanied by bipolar disorder.

The danger of each of these diagnoses is a violation of the patient’s socialization. Even a violation at the mildest level leads to a decrease in the level of performance. Patients become socially isolated. They often prefer loneliness and family ties are disrupted. Pathology leads to the appearance of suicidal thoughts.

Another large group is fears. They are established whenever a level of panic is detected in the perception of objects, natural phenomena, or events. Modern man often becomes pathologically afraid of spiders, the dark, water, and some animals. The reason can actually be any factor. Moreover, in such a situation, fear is not caused by a natural sense of self-preservation. It is inexplicable and appears unreasonably. The concern is that in reality there is no threat to health, much less life.

The number of diseases associated with unreasonable feelings of fear is incredibly large. Many of us also encounter their manifestations during rush hour in a subway car or in a large chain store. The crowds of people that surround us here are unpleasant even for healthy people. But it is not rejection that speaks of pathology, but rather fear at the level of a panic attack, in which the patient may begin to choke and may faint.

The list of major pathological disorders includes alcohol and drug addiction, bulimia, anorexia, and obesity. Doctors often encounter pathological sleep disorders.

Bipolar disorder

This type of mental disorder affects 45 million people worldwide1. It is characterized by alternating manic and depressive episodes with periods of normal life. Manic episodes include an agitated or irritable mood, excessive activity, rapid rate of speech, inflated self-esteem, and decreased need for sleep. Patients with manic episodes but no depressive episodes are also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

There are effective treatments for treating acute symptoms of bipolar disorder and preventing relapses. These are medications for mood stabilization. An important element of treatment is psychosocial support.

Psychological disorders list

This list is currently incredibly wide, but experts identify the largest groups:

• Alcohol addiction, caused by a pathological passion for drinking alcoholic beverages, often caused by a violation of social adaptation. This also includes drug addiction. Admission leads to persistent mental disorders.
• Schizophrenia, in which the patient most often experiences perceptual disturbances. Often accompanied by fantastic delusions and hallucinations.
• Pathologies of the brain, most often first manifested in childhood, sometimes in adolescents, the pathology intensifies as they grow older.
• Disorders that occur in the emotional sphere, often called affective disorders. This section includes bipolar disorder, which is increasingly being diagnosed today.
• Neuroses and numerous variants of phobias that arise from a combination of internal and external conflicts.
• Physiological disorders associated with pathologies of eating, sexual, labor, and sleep dysfunction.
• Disorders that occur in adults are associated with pathological conditions in the field of social adaptation, and there is a lack of development in the emotional sphere. Patients often deny the presence of problems and refuse any medical care options.
• Cases of mental retardation. In such a situation, all areas of life suffer, the patient needs constant monitoring, and is almost always unable to care for himself.

In the modern world, everyone can sometimes suspect one or another type of psychological illness. But an accurate diagnosis can only be established in a medical institution by a qualified doctor. If you suspect the presence of a pathology, it is recommended to immediately contact a specialist.

Treatment of mental disorders

If you find signs of mental illness, you need to see a psychotherapist who will find out the causes of neuropsychiatric illness. In this case, you can count on a full and correct way out of the situation.

After you and a specialist find out the causes of mental disorders, you will be prescribed appropriate therapy, which can be either medication or psychotherapy. Do not be alarmed if a specialist prescribes medication for you, because this method, together with psychotherapy, helps to cope with even severe mental illnesses or at least facilitate their further development. The following medications can be used:

• Neuroleptics. Necessary in order to reduce psychomotor agitation, aggressive state, and impulsivity.
• Tranquilizers. Reduce stress levels, improve sleep, relieve nightmares.
• Antidepressants. Restore psychological processes, normalize mood.

Another way to treat the disease is therapy using hypnosis. Many diseases are treated in this way. But not everyone, because not every person is susceptible to hypnosis. But in medical practice there are many cases in which this method really helped. Hypnosis helps to clarify old traumas in the subconscious and redirect a person's train of thought, so the symptoms of the development of the disease will be reduced.

In order to carry out the prevention of mental illness, it is necessary to organize a clear organization of work and rest, learn to devote a certain amount of time per day to mental stress, not to overload, and timely identify the development of neurosis, stress and anxiety. You can also study your ancestry and find out about the health problems that your ancestors had.

Affective disorders

The most common:

• Depression. Characterized by depressed mood, low motor activity and slowed mental processes.
• Bipolar affective disorder. Characterized by alternating depressive and manic syndromes.
• Seasonal affective disorder. It manifests itself as low mood and disturbance of emotions in the autumn-spring period of the year.

Treatment

Treatment for mental disorders includes three components: lifestyle changes, psychotherapy, and drug therapy.

Lifestyle

Not all people are able to change their lifestyle through willpower. However, in most cases it is possible. Doctors recommend that patients give up unhealthy foods and bad habits. Above we talked about the influence of intestinal microflora, the composition of which depends on the food consumed. Research shows that people who eat a high diet of vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains are less likely to experience depression5.

It is important to set up a daily routine and set aside time for rest. If you have sleep disorders, you should give up coffee, tea or energy drinks (or at least significantly reduce their consumption). An evening walk and a warm shower 30-40 minutes before bedtime will help you fall asleep faster.

For some patients, even these measures will be sufficient. In more severe cases, doctors resort to psycho- and drug therapy.

Computer and social networks - under control

Spending too much time on the computer or compulsively using smartphones can lead to poor mental health, causing depression, insomnia and anxiety disorders. Therefore, giving up excessive passion for computer games or social networks is an important part of lifestyle correction.

Excessive use of smartphones worsens mental health. Photo: HayDmitriy / Depositphotos

Psychotherapy - treatment with words

In most cases, specialists practice one of six types of psychotherapy:

• Behavioral therapy aims to change the patient's behavior. With the help of a psychotherapist, a person gradually comes to new, adaptive behavior. Behavioral therapy is often used for phobias.
• Cognitive therapy helps the patient eliminate distortions in thinking. For example, remove excessive categoricalness (“all or nothing”), which prevents a person from getting along with others and with himself.
• Interpersonal therapy is often used for depression. This technique helps the patient cope with grief, conflicts and difficulties in communicating with other people.
• Psychoanalysis is a form of psychotherapy that helps understand how the past affects the present. The patient tells the doctor everything that comes to his mind. The therapist then analyzes the information and identifies key issues. Further work of the specialist and the patient is aimed at finding new, adaptive ways of functioning.
• Psychodynamic therapy is also based on psychoanalysis. The therapist helps the patient identify unconscious patterns in their thoughts, actions, and behavior.
• Supportive psychotherapy focuses on resisting negative thought processes and actions. In this case, the doctor helps the patient develop a better state, given the current mental disorder.

At an appointment with a psychotherapist. Photo: Elnur_ / Depositphotos

Drug therapy

In the treatment of mental disorders, a psychiatrist may prescribe one or more of the following groups of medications to a patient:

• Antipsychotics (neuroleptics) are drugs for the treatment of psychosis. Used for hallucinations, mania and other psychoses.
• Tranquilizers are drugs that relieve anxiety, fear, and excessive tension. Tranquilizers help the patient better adapt to stressful factors (for example, boarding a plane with aerophobia).
• Antidepressants are medications that affect the level of neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine). Used to treat depression, as well as anxiety disorders and phobias.
• Mood stabilizers are drugs that regulate mood. Used for affective disorders.
• Nootropic drugs improve cognitive functions of the brain, memory and resistance to adverse factors.

Psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist: who to contact?

The activities of each of these specialists have their own characteristics.
A psychologist is not a doctor, which means he cannot prescribe medications or make a diagnosis. To do this, he must refer the person to a psychiatrist. Psychologists work in schools, in enterprises, conduct trainings and help people better understand themselves. A psychiatrist is a specialist with higher medical education. This is a doctor who can work with both healthy and sick (usually severe) patients. A psychiatrist has the right to prescribe medications (for example, antidepressants, antipsychotics and others).

A psychotherapist is a specialist who has undergone special training in the field of psychotherapy. In Russia, he must have a medical psychiatric education. Most often, a psychotherapist deals with patients with depression, phobias, panic attacks or neuroses.

If you are confused in life and your own experiences, or simply don’t know what profession to choose, contact a psychologist. A psychiatrist deals with mental disorders.

F60-F69 PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS IN ADULTAGE

This block includes various states and behavioral patterns of clinical significance that tend to be stable and arise as an expression of the individual’s characteristic lifestyle and his relationships with others. Some of these conditions and behavior patterns emerge early in the course of individual development as a result of the simultaneous influence of constitutional factors and social experiences, while others are acquired later in life. Specific personality disorders (F60.-), mixed and other personality disorders (F61.-), and long-term personality changes (F62.-) are deeply ingrained and long-lasting patterns of behavior that manifest themselves as inflexible responses to a wide variety of personal and social situations. Such disorders represent extreme or significant deviations from the way in which the average person at a given level of culture perceives, thinks, feels, and especially communicates with others. These behaviors tend to be persistent and span many areas of behavior and psychological functioning. These disorders are often, but not always, associated with subjective experiences of varying degrees and problems of a social nature.

More details

Neurotic disorders

Neuroses include:

1. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Characterized by obsessive thoughts and behavioral acts.
2. Anxiety disorders group. They are characterized by constant internal discomfort and tension, anxiety, and a feeling of impending disaster or failure.
3. Phobias. This includes irrational fears that do not objectively threaten a person’s physical health.
4. Stress-related disorders: post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorders. They are characterized by the inability to adapt to changes, autonomic disorders, lack of sleep, and avoidance of conflict situations.
5. Dissociative disorders. Manifested by neurological disorders: paralysis, paresis, anesthesia in parts of the body, dissociative stupor, amnesia, fugue.
6. Somatoform pathologies. These are mental disorders that translate into physical symptoms. Most often - psychosomatic diseases and migrating pain throughout the body.
7. Neurasthenia. It manifests itself as exhaustion, fatigue, irritability, and sleep disturbance.