The Hidden Process Behind Psychological Disorders

In this stressful and ever-changing era, mental health issues seem to be a major challenge for many. The development of mental health issues is often related to multiple factors, including stressful events (such as sudden heartbreak), emotional and cognitive patterns (such as perfectionism), social environmental influences (such as a lack of effective interpersonal support), and physiological and genetic factors (such as a family history of mental disorders). When an individual experiences a mental health issue (rather than just undiagnosed psychological distress), it signifies significant psychological distress or severe impairment in social functioning. At this point, individuals often lack the ability to manage their own mental health, and due to the combined effects of multiple factors, self-management alone is often insufficient.

Causes of Mental Disorders

The causes of mental disorders are explained differently in various disciplines (such as biology, psychology, and sociology), although current theories often offer varying insights for different patients.

Risk factors for mental disorders include genetic inheritance (such as parents with depression) or a high neuroticism tendency.

The most mainstream explanation for mental illness today is biological.

An individual with a mental illness may have different brain structures or functions, or different neurochemical responses, whether caused by genetic or environmental damage (such as fetal alcohol syndrome). For example, many patients diagnosed with schizophrenia have been shown to have enlarged ventricles and atrophied gray matter in their brains. Additionally, some believe that imbalances in neurotransmitters can also lead to mental illness. Finally, numerous genetic and twin studies have confirmed that mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are hereditary.

Due to the development of traditional medicine, biological explanations have become dominant and are currently the most popular, but psychological explanations should not be ignored. Psychologists believe that conflict, crisis, stress, and trauma can lead to mental illness, especially in vulnerable individuals. For example, a child who witnesses their parents commit murder may develop depression and anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sociologists also believe that significant events and situations can lead to mental illness. For example, people in areas experiencing social movements, war, or natural or man-made diseases have a higher chance of developing mental illness. Impoverished, unstable, and resource- and aid-deficient areas are more likely to experience mental illness than wealthy and stable areas.

Mental illness may have multiple causes.

Focus has been placed on neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Each illness may have its own specific causes. Treatment methods include medication for mental disorders, psychological counseling, lifestyle modifications, and other supportive measures, or a combination of these methods. Patients often seek treatment only when their mental symptoms become so severe that they cannot live independently, but early treatment (while symptoms are still mild) leads to better long-term outcomes. Like many physical illnesses, diagnosis remains a subjective (even with increasing evidence-based and scientific) art, involving careful and meticulous review of medical history and past and present symptoms.

How to Diagnose Mental Disorders

Currently, doctors primarily diagnose mental disorders by "listening to their words and observing their actions." Doctors observe the patient's behavior and communicate with them to understand their inner thoughts, thereby assessing their thinking, cognitive abilities, and insight, and ultimately determining the severity of their condition. In addition to these, doctors sometimes order biochemical tests, X-rays, MRI scans, and other examinations. These tests, including examining certain biochemical indicators in the patient's blood and performing brain imaging, can help in assessing the patient's condition. In schizophrenia, unintentional, purely motives and behaviors can have two, three, or even more effects.