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Lesson 5
Mental Disorder/Illness
As an individual matures and passes from one stage of growth to another, he encounters
frustrations with which he cannot cope. He tries many things until hits upon a course of
action which relieves him of stress. Whenever he encounters threatening situations, he
utilizes these stress relieving devices and so they become habit patterns. However, the
pattern of adjustment and mental health will always vary with the developmental level
that the individual has achieved.
Maladjustments
The modern setup of living makes it impossible for us to go through life without
meeting serious conflicts and frustrations of all kinds, financial, educational, family and
occupational. The tensions created by these factors drive the individual in search of
possible adjustments. Often, one finds relief and satisfaction in the different adjustment
mechanism as most of the person’s needs are fulfilled. At times, the various defense
reactions are inadequate, and the person fails to secure the proper satisfaction for his
subjective needs. As a result, one feels dissatisfied in his dealings with society and he
terrific strains under which he is subjected to affect his attitude, reaction and total
conduct. At the end, his constant feelings of failures and inability to make proper
adjustment to his everyday problems change his total personality, as to make his life in a
persistent of maladjustment, either mild or severe.
Psychoses
Psychoses are major or serious forms of mental illness, whose behavior are
unpredictable. The psychotic person is characterized by a wholly unrealistic
interpretation of himself and life around him. His ego has lost control over the
personality. There persons may be quiet and docile at one time by hyperactive, and even
violent in another. They are socially inept.
Psychoses may be classified as organic or somatogenic and functional or psychogenic.
1. Organic psychoses are those ailments caused by changes in the brain or central
nervous system like senile dementia which is attributable to deterioration in the
aged, psychoses due to disturbances of circulation, trauma, drugs and intoxication,
disturbances of metabolism, growth, nutrition or endocrine dysfunction,
psychoses due to new growth and psychoses due to unknown or heredity causes
but associated with organic changes.
Organic psychoses may stem from a wide variety of causes, but damage or injury
to the brain or other parts of the central nervous system is always involved.
There are 4 types of organic psychoses:
1. Psychoses associated with infectious disease, especially general paresis or
syphilis
2. Psychoses associated with toxins, especially alcoholic psychoses
3. Psychoses associated
4. Psychoses associated with old age
2. Function Psychoses are serious mental disorder involving the total personality
with no observable tissue damage. Having no organic basis, these ailments are
believed to result from years of living under emotional stress. The functional
ailments are the effective disorder and schizophrenic disorder. Schizophrenic
disorders are the simple type, catatonia, paranoia and hebephrenia; while effective
reactions are the manic-depressive type.
If emotional stress is not given proper management, it may result to abnormal
behavior such as:
a. Personality Aberrations. The behavior shown in the mild forms of maladjustment
deviates from what is normally acceptable to society. These deviations are
popularly known as personality aberrations. An aberration is actually a process of
personality disorganization, where one’s behavior sets him off as different from
other people.
Of the many forms of personality aberrations, delinquency is one type that
deserves attention. It is an act which violets acceptable moral and social standards and
brings the individual into conflict with society.
Antisocial and non-legal acts range from minor to grave offenses.
Among such antisocial behaviors are vandalism, causing damage to personal
property, truancy especially fro school work, disobedience, vagrancy, parental
defiance as well as defiance against persons of authority, gambling accompanied by
petty robbery, thrill seeking forms of gate-crashing, extortion and other sadistic acts,
and acts of lasciviousness to include crimes against chastity. Accompanying the
above delinquent acts are alcoholism and even drug addiction.
b. Psychosomatic Disorder (Psycho physiological Reactions). These are disorder
pertaining to the relationship of bodily symptom which arises on the basis of
psychological factors. There are the results of prolonged or intense emotional
stresses which disrupt the normal of some functioning of organ systems. The
specific organ system that will be affected by a psychosomatic reaction is
dependent on; 1) previous illnesses and accidents in the person’s life story; 2) the
presence of some illnesses affecting the organ system in relatives of the patient; 3)
the nature of emotional stress; and 4) symbolic meaning to the bring about
satisfactory recovery.
c.
Neurosis. Neurosis is a disorder of behavior due to emotional tension
resulting from frustration, conflict, depression or marked insecurity. The person who
develops a neurosis breaks down under the pressure of his outer and inner stresses
and displays a host of distressing symptoms, although it is not so serious that
institutionalize is required.
Neurosis is classified into three general groups based upon the most striking
symptoms displayed by the individual. These groups are anxiety reactions and
hysteria.
Anxiety reaction manifest itself principally in diffused and consciously
experienced feelings of anxiety and apprehension for which there seems to be no
specific basis in reality. The condition maybe chronic and continuous, with the patient
always tense and worried, easily upset and preoccupied with future calamities. The
common types of anxiety reactions are the neurasthenia and hypochondria.
Neurasthenia is a psychoneurotic condition involving chronic fatigability, chronic
irritability and inability to concentrate; it is also marked by a wide variety of vague
aches and pains.
Hypochondriasis is the outstanding manifestation of neurosis in all dominating
preoccupation with the bodily processes, and complaints of specific and nonspecific
aches and pains. Complaints are out of proportion to the actual physical condition of
the subject, with suffering being greatly exaggerated. For example, headache, may be
due to a brain tumor and eruption of the skin may be due to some incurable diseases.