Just as doctors at a local surgery have to treat a wide range of physical conditions, the exact same principle applies to psychology. The Experienced Psychologists at www.southsidepsychology.com tell us many people are under the misconception that a psychologist treats something called ‘mental illness’, but that is the same as calling muscle strains, broken bones, heart conditions, respiratory and digestive problems as simply a ‘physical illness’.
The most likely reason for it is that most people are simply not aware of the many individual types of psychological disorders that an individual can suffer from, and so we are going to outline, in no particular order, no fewer than 7 of them right now.
#1 Eating Disorders: These get a lot of publicity due to the number of celebrities who have suffered from them. They include conditions such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa which each have the sufferer consuming too much, or too little food, respectively. Other behaviours can include inducing themselves to vomit, taking laxatives, and a self-loathing of their appearance.
#2 Stress-Related Disorders: Specific conditions include adjustment, acute stress, and post-traumatic stress disorders. These are usually triggered by specific events or a series of events which have induced high levels of stress. Unlike other people, sufferers are unable to reduce their stress levels and experience the likes of flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and feelings of isolation.
#3 Anxiety Disorders: These are most commonly identified in patients who are suffering from continual feelings such as fear, anxiety, and worry, to an excessive degree. The specific types include general anxiety disorder. phobias, social anxiety, and conditions such as agoraphobia. Having panic attacks on a regular basis is another form of anxiety disorder.
#4 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: This exists when an individual shows behaviours in which they repeatedly, or impulsively carry out actions, or have thoughts. The type of action can be just about anything, but common ones include continually checking the same door is closed, pulling at their hair, and hoarding items.
#5 Depressive Disorders: This is an area of psychology that many people’s psychological condition is covered by, and although it is generally called ‘depression‘, it comes in many forms and for varying reasons. The most common symptom is a complete lack of enthusiasm for anything and a general sense of hopelessness, which often leads to a severe impairment of how an individual goes about their daily life.
The obvious concern for psychologists is to ensure that that the condition does not reach the point where the individual becomes suicidal. Often treatment can be a combination of consultation with a psychologist and medication, but only where the medication is deemed appropriate.
#6 Sleep Disorders: Whilst sleep can be affected for reasons that are not necessarily psychological conditions, those conditions do exist. Examples are narcolepsy where individuals suddenly experience a desire to sleep at all times of the day, and at the opposite end of the scale is insomnia where a person simply cannot sleep, no matter how much they wish to.
#7 Bipolar Disorders: Someone who suffers from bipolar disorder finds their moods changing significantly, often for no apparent reason, They also experience the levels of energy that they have varying dramatically too, and this means that their activity levels differ greatly.
Extremes are an issue that bipolar sufferers face, due to the fact that their mood might be elevated, and they feel fantastic, and then it moves to the other extreme where they feel really low, to the point that they feel depressed.