Mental disease

Mental Disease

A Mental Disease or Mental Disorder is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as a single episode. Many disorders have been described, with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders.

Definition

The definition and classification of mental disorders are key issues for researchers as well as service providers and those who may be diagnosed. For a mental state to classify as a disorder, it generally needs to cause dysfunction. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a mental disorder is a psychological syndrome or pattern which is associated with distress (e.g. via a painful symptom), disability (impairment in one or more important areas of functioning), increased risk of death, or causes a significant loss of autonomy.

Types of Mental Diseases

There are many different categories of mental disorder, and many different facets of human behavior and personality that can become disordered. The state of anxiety or fear may become a mental disorder in itself—such as a specific phobia, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. Mood disorders include, but are not limited to, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.

Treatment

Treatment may be delivered on an inpatient or outpatient basis, depending on the severity of functional impairment or on other aspects of the disorder in question. Research and treatment within psychiatry as a whole are conducted on an interdisciplinary basis, e.g., with epidemiologists, mental health counselors, nurses, psychologists, public health, and radiologists.

See Also

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Mental Health
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders