The major disorders that wreck havoc to our everyday life like stress disorders, anxiety disorders and depression are discussed so far. There are more to this genre like psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia etc) etc Most of them need psychiatric intervention. The earlier the better.
The field of neuroscience is trying to help the medical community with a different lens to look at the mental disorders. Typically these mental disorders are treated like behavioural disorders whereas the brain science is giving a lens which shows that they can be brain disorders and not behavioural ones.
Below is a brain scan of someone with schizophrenia over a period of 5 years. You can see the grey matter loss over a period and the behaviours start going out of hand at 20 years and not at 5.
It does take a long time to cross the threshold but an early detection and early intervention helps.
Here is a list of symptoms from https://www.psychiatry.org/ you must watch for. If any of the symptoms persists for more than 2 weeks in you or loved ones, please get some help. Don’t push it on willpower for this. It could be a traffic jam in the brain circuits and nothing to do with psychology or behaviours.
Sleep or appetite changes — Dramatic sleep and appetite changes or decline in personal care
Mood changes — Rapid or dramatic shifts in emotions or depressed feelings
Withdrawal — Recent social withdrawal and loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed
Drop in functioning — An unusual drop in functioning at workplace, school or social activities, such as quitting sports, failing in school or difficulty performing familiar tasks
Problems thinking — Problems with concentration, memory or logical thought and speech that are hard to explain
Increased sensitivity — Heightened sensitivity to sights, sounds, smells or touch; avoidance of over-stimulating situations
Apathy — Loss of initiative or desire to participate in any activity
Feeling disconnected — A vague feeling of being disconnected from oneself or one’s surroundings; a sense of unreality
Illogical thinking — Unusual or exaggerated beliefs about personal powers to understand meanings or influence events; illogical or “magical” thinking typical of childhood in an adult
Nervousness — Fear or suspiciousness of others or a strong nervous feeling
Unusual behaviour – Odd, uncharacteristic, peculiar behaviour
One or two of these symptoms alone can’t predict a mental illness but may indicate a need for further evaluation. If a person is experiencing several at one time and the symptoms are causing serious problems in the ability to study, work or relate to others, he/she should be seen by a physician or mental health professional. People with suicidal thoughts or intent, or thoughts of harming others, need immediate attention.
We live in a society where talking about these issues are still a taboo. We have come a long way but still we have a long way to go. It would be stupidity to not talk about it to people who care about.
Early detection and early intervention has shown better results. The science community is working hard to find better ways to deal with these disorders.
Hang in there. It is not easy but it is simple. Get help. Do everything to prevent. Care for yourself. Everything else can wait.
In the past week, I have received a number of personal messages and DMs thanking me for sharing all this. In all honesty, I haven’t done much. I am just bringing to your notice that you matter a lot and that is all. That one shift in your perspective will brain in a sea change to your actions. Good luck ❣️ Reach out if I can be of any help.
🥂to self care!
Yo! Thanks for reading. Means a lot to me as attention is the hardest currency 🙏
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