Since establishing my field of study over the ISM year, which is Psychiatry, I am choosing to research more about the actual disorders in this assignment. Thus, it made me look deeper into the different mental illnesses and how one is formed and diagnosed. With my past research for my first assessment, I knew an overall general understanding of mental illnesses but not how they can be treated. However, little did I know all the complexities that came within each mental illness. While reading through the article titled “Depression a global public health concern,” I acquired not only a knowledge of Depression itself but also Anixtity. Depression has many forms and takes on each person differently, and Mental Health, in general, is defined in so many ways, but this definition is the best, “is more than the mere lack of mental disorders. The positive dimension of mental health is stressed in WHO’s definition of health as contained in its constitution: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Hence meaning, having any overall well-being is not just meatal but also physical.
There are over 200 diagnosed mental disorders and illnesses, and out of all of them, Depression and Anxiety take the list of being one of the highest death rates even over; Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. After looking more into disorders, another caught my eye, anorexia, defined as an “eating disorder characterized by weight loss [or lack of appropriate weight gaining and growing]. I found it very interesting that even out of Depression and Anxiety, Anorexia was on the top of the list for highest death ratest: 50 to 80 percent of the risk for anorexia is genetic, which is exceptionally fascinating; as well as 33 to 50 percent have a comorbid mood disorder, such as Depression— it made me wonder if with having one mental illness, makes it easier to gain others mental disorders?
“Depression a global public health concern” and “old job outlook for becoming a psychiatrist” say two additional comments relating to my question above. One states that some disorders also come alone with different mental illnesses, such as having Depression. It is more likely to have anxiety. Furthermore, the other article states that it is more likely to be more approachable by other disorders after being diagnosed with one. All meaning that a person can have more than one mental illness at the same time. With that information, some mental illnesses can be discovered easier than others, such as Depression and Anxiety.
Out of the other 200 diagnosed disorders, Depression I find highly engaging. When it comes to this disorder, people often define it as “a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and poor concentration.” Depression often comes with symptoms of anxiety, which is as well a high death rate illness. Depression is a widespread disorder affecting around “350 million people around the world. Which leads me to my next question (does everyone have some mental disorder or illness)? To me, it would honestly make sense, even if a person does not feel like they do; I believe in a person’s life span; they had to have had some trauma or pain, which could lead to a very mild case of Depression. Just as “depression, a global public health concern” stated, everyone deals with their mental health differently, and although most symptoms are more or so the same, people handle it in all different ways.
For most people, mental disorders do not just disappear overnight. They travel and grow deep within your brain, such as having a microscopic event take place, such as a smell or sight to recall a memory. Could very-well put a person back or into a depression state. It is very compelling that such a small detail could totally rewire a person’s brain and how they now process it. Showing that the brain is indeed a fantastic living structure makes it incredible to think that such a beautiful system can be shut down and damaged easily. Therefore, for my next assessment, I will be continuing to look into more mental disorders and compare and contrast each illness to determine if each one is connected in some shape or form.