Classification of Psychological Disorders

Introduction 

Physical diseases come in various forms, such as diarrhoea, malaria, vomiting, and dengue fever. The same is true for mental disorders, as physiological disorders cannot be classified into a single category. There are several physiological disorders, each with its own set of symptoms and treatment options, and like physical diseases, understanding these symptoms are essential. 

For example, frequent laughter and stress are symptoms of bipolar disorder. In contrast, constant fear is a symptom of anxiety, and proper diagnosis of mental disorders is essential, just as it is for physical diseases. So, to assist you, we will go over the classification of psychological disorders and their symptoms in depth.

What are psychological disorders? 

Psychological disorders or mental disorders are characterised by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Certain patterns of behaviour and inner experience can easily be labelled as abnormal and signify some psychological disturbance. Psychological disorders are classified into several classes. Let’s understand the classification of mental disorders, their symptoms and their chances of occurring. 

Classification of psychological disorders

Some of the classifications of mental disorders are: 

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety is a feeling of fear and uneasiness, and if this feeling affects your day to day life, then it comes under Anxiety disorders. In these psychological disorders, a person experiences unpleasant feelings, apprehension, and symptoms such as rapid heart rate, fainting, dizziness, sweating, etc.

Anxiety disorders include Generalised Anxiety Disorders, in which the feeling of anxiety is not attributed to any particular object or cause, panic disorders, which include frequent anxiety attacks, phobias, in which the feeling of anxiety arises as a result of a specific Impulse, and separation anxiety disorder.

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

In this disorder, people cannot perform their daily tasks because they are preoccupied with a specific idea or thought. Obsessive behaviour disorder is defined as the inability to stop thinking about a specific behaviour or thought. The need to repeat certain behaviours is referred to as compulsive behaviour.

Dissociative disorder 

Dissociation is a psychological disorder characterised by a sense of unreality or depersonalisation.

Dissociative Amnesia

The main feature of this disorder is extensive but selective memory loss. People fail to remember either a specific incident phase of life or cannot remember anything about their past. It is linked to a high level of stress.

Fugue Dissociative

New identity formation occurs due to unexpected travel away from the workplace and home in this psychological disorder. People suffering from Dissociative Fugue are unable to recall their previous identity.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Traumatic childhood experiences are the primary cause of this disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder. A person adopts alternate or distinct personalities, which may or may not be aware of one another.

Depression 

Depression is one of the most well-known psychological disorders affecting today’s youth. Depression is typically experienced following a breakup or failure to achieve an important goal, but it can occur for no apparent reason.

Some of the symptoms of depression include a loss of interest and enthusiasm in most of our daily activities, irregular sleep patterns, changes in body weight, irritability, withdrawal from social relationships, and so on. Depression is caused primarily by age, genetics, gender, and a bad life stage.

Bipolar and related disorder

Mania is a disorder in which people become euphoric, talkative, and easily distracted, whereas depression causes a person’s mood to remain stressed. And bipolar disorder is a combination of both mania and depression that occur alternately, with periods of normal mood in between. Patients react abnormally in these situations as they sometimes laugh in some situations and sometimes have excessive anger. 

Schizophrenia Disorders, 

In this disorder, hallucination is common, neurodevelopmental disorders such as Hyperactivity Disorder, Feeding and Eating Disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, and Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders are examples of other psychological disorders.

Conclusion 

Psychological disorders, just like physical disorders, are of several types with distinct symptoms and treatments. Majorly these mental disorders occur when we are stressed and facing problems in our lives. And for living a healthy life, taking care of your mental health, like physical health, is essential. Different disorders have different reasons for occurrence and can occur in different phases of life. And as you have understood the classification of mental disorders, like depression, bipolar disease, anxiety disorders, eating disorders etc., some symptoms can help you while dealing with them.