Acute stress reaction

Acute stress disorder (abbreviated ASD) is the result of a traumatic event in which the person experiences or witnesses an event that causes the victim/witness to experience extreme, disturbing or unexpected fear, stress or pain, and that involves or threatens serious injury, perceived serious injury or death to themselves or someone else. Acute stress reaction is a variation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is the mind's and body's response to feelings (both perceived and real) of intense helplessness.

Symptoms of acute stress disorder

Common symptoms that sufferers of acute stress disorder experience are: numbing; detachment; muteness; derealization; depersonalization or dissociative amnesia; continued re-experiencing of the event by such ways as thoughts, dreams, and flashbacks; and avoidance of any stimulation that reminds them of the event. During this time, they must have symptoms of anxiety, and significant impairment in at least one essential area of functioning. Symptoms last for a minimum of 2 days, and a maximum of 4 weeks, and occur within 4 weeks of the event.

Treatment

Cognitive behavioral therapy which included exposure and cognitive restructuring was found to be effective in preventing PTSD in patients diagnosed with ASD with clinically significant results at 6 months follow-up. A combination of relaxation, cognitive restructuring, imaginal exposure, and in vivo exposure was superior to supportive counseling.

Alcohol dependence

Alcohol dependence is a substance related disorder in which an individual is addicted to alcohol either physically or mentally, and continues to use alcohol despite significant areas of dysfunction, evidence of physical dependence, and/or related hardship.

Definition and diagnosis

According to the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, at least three out of seven of the following criteria must be manifest during a 12 month period:

   *   Tolerance
   *   Withdrawal symptoms or clinically defined Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome
   *   Use in larger amounts or for longer periods than intended
   *   Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down on alcohol use
   *   Time is spent obtaining alcohol or recovering from effects
   *   Social, occupational and recreational pursuits are given up or reduced because of alcohol use
   *   Use is continued despite knowledge of alcohol-related harm (physical or psychological)

Treatment

Treatment for alcohol dependence often involves utilizing relapse prevention, support groups, psychotherapy, and setting short-term goals. The Twelve-Step Program is also a popular process used by those wishing to recover from alcohol dependence.

Anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by feelings of anxiety and fear, where anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a racing heart and shakiness. There are various forms of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorder, and panic disorder. While each has its own characteristics and symptoms, they all include symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety disorders are partly genetic but may also be due to drug use including alcohol and caffeine, as well as withdrawal from certain drugs. They often occur with other mental disorders, particularly major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, certain personality disorders, and eating disorders. The term anxiety covers four aspects of experiences that an individual may have: mental apprehension, physical tension, physical symptoms and dissociative anxiety. The emotions present in anxiety disorders range from simple nervousness to bouts of terror. There are other psychiatric and medical problems that may mimic the symptoms of an anxiety disorder, such as hyperthyroidism.

Epidemiology

Globally as of 2010 approximately 273 million (4.5% of the population) had an anxiety disorder. It is more common in females (5.2%) than males (2.8%).In Europe, Africa and Asia, lifetime rates of anxiety disorders are between 9 and 16%, and yearly rates are between 4 and 7%. In the United States, the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders is about 29% and between 11 and 18% of adults have the condition in a given year.

Diagnosis

Anxiety disorders are often severe chronic conditions, which can be present from an early age or begin suddenly after a triggering event. They are prone to flare up at times of high stress and are frequently accompanied by physiological symptoms such as headache, sweating, muscle spasms, tachycardia, palpitations, and hypertension, which in some cases lead to fatigue or exhaustion.

Treatment

Treatment options available include lifestyle changes, therapy, and medications. Medication is only recommended if other measures are not effective. Stopping smoking has benefits in anxiety as large as or larger than those of medications.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, similar to hyperkinetic disorder in the ICD-10) is a psychiatric disorder of the neuro developmental type in which there are significant problems of attention, hyperactivity, or acting impulsively that are not appropriate for a person's age. These symptoms must begin by age six to twelve and persist for more than six months for a diagnosis to be made. In school-aged individuals inattention symptoms often result in poor school performance.

Signs and symptoms

Inattention, hyperactivity (restlessness in adults), disruptive behavior, and impulsivity are common in ADHD. Academic difficulties are frequent as are problems with relationships. Symptoms can be difficult to define as it is hard to draw a line at where normal levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity end and significant levels requiring interventions begin.
An individual with inattention may have some or all of the following symptoms:

   *   Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
   *   Have difficulty maintaining focus on one task
   *   Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless doing something enjoyable
   *   Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
   *   Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments)
       needed to complete tasks or activities
   *   Not seem to listen when spoken to
   *   Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
   *   Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
   *   Struggle to follow instructions
   *   An individual with hyperactivity may have some or all of the following symptoms
   *   Fidget and squirm in their seats
   *   Talk nonstop
   *   Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
   *   Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, doing homework, and story time
   *   Be constantly in motion
   *   Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities
   *   These hyperactivity symptoms tend to go away with age and turn into "inner restlessness" in teens and adults with ADHD.
   *   An individual with impulsivity may have some or all of the following symptoms
   *   Be very impatient
   *   Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
   *   Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games
   *   Often interrupt conversations or others' activities

Diagnosis

ADHD is diagnosed by an assessment of a person's childhood behavioral and mental development, including ruling out the effects of drugs, medications and other medical or psychiatric problems as explanations for the symptoms. It often takes into account feedback from parents and teachers with most diagnoses begun after a teacher raises concerns. It may be viewed as the extreme end of one or more continuous human traits found in all people

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as bipolar affective disorder, manic-depressive illness, or affective psychosis, is a mental illness characterized by periods of elevated mood and periods of depression. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania depending on the severity.

Treatment

Treatment commonly includes psychotherapy and medications such as mood stabilizers or antipsychotics. Examples of mood stabilizers that are commonly used include: lithium and anticonvulsants. Electroconvulsive therapy may be helpful in those who do not respond to other treatments.

Major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) (also known as clinical depression, major depression, unipolar depression, or unipolar disorder; or as recurrent depression in the case of repeated episodes) is a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive and persistent low mood that is accompanied by low self-esteem and by a loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

Symptoms and signs

Major depression significantly affects a person's family and personal relationships, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health. Its impact on functioning and well-being has been compared to that of chronic medical conditions such as diabetes. A person having a major depressive episode usually exhibits a very low mood, which pervades all aspects of life, and an inability to experience pleasure in activities that were formerly enjoyed. Depressed people may be preoccupied with, or ruminate over, thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt or regret, helplessness, hopelessness, and self-hatred. In severe cases, depressed people may have symptoms of psychosis. These symptoms include delusions or, less commonly, hallucinations, usually unpleasant. Other symptoms of depression include poor concentration and memory (especially in those with melancholic or psychotic features), withdrawal from social situations and activities, reduced sex drive, and thoughts of death or suicide. Insomnia is common among the depressed. In the typical pattern, a person wakes very early and cannot get back to sleep.

Treatment

The three most common clinical treatments for depression are psychotherapy, medication, and electroconvulsive therapy. Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice (over medication) for people under 18. Care is usually given on an out patient basis, whereas treatment in an inpatient unit is considered if there is a significant risk to self or others. Other treatments include light therapy, sleep deprivation, physical exercise, stopping smoking, mindfulness meditation, and music therapy. Treatment options are much more limited in developing countries, where access to mental health staff, medication, and psychotherapy is often difficult. Development of mental health services is minimal in many countries; depression is viewed as a phenomenon of the developed world despite evidence to the contrary, and not as an inherently life-threatening condition. In general, the type of treatment is less important than involvement in a treatment program.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia, or developmental reading disorder, is characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal or above-average intelligence. This includes difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, processing speed, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, language skills/verbal comprehension, and/or rapid naming. Dyslexia is the most common learning difficulty and most recognized reading disorder. There are other reading difficulties that are unrelated to dyslexia

Signs and symptoms

In early childhood, early symptoms that correlate with a later diagnosis of dyslexia include delays in speech, letter reversal or mirror writing, difficulty knowing left from right and directions, and being easily distracted by background noise.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a group of long-term neurological disorders characterized by epileptic seizures. These seizures are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking. In epilepsy, seizures tend to recur, and have no immediate underlying cause while seizures that occur due to a specific cause are not deemed to represent epilepsy.
In most cases the cause is unknown, although some people develop epilepsy as the result of brain injury, stroke, brain tumor, and drug and alcohol misuse, among others

Diagnosis

Epilepsy is a disease of the brain defined by any of the following conditions:

1. At least two unprovoked (or reflex) seizures occurring greater than 24 hours apart
2. One unprovoked (or reflex) seizure and a probability of further seizures similar to the general recurrence risk (at least 60%) after two unprovoked seizures, occurring over the next 10 years
3. Diagnosis of an epilepsy syndrome

Treatment

Epilepsy is usually treated with daily medication once a second seizure has occurred, but for those at high risk, medication may be started after the first seizure. In some cases, a special diet, the implantation of a neurostimulator, or neurosurgery may be required.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry (obsessions), repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety (compulsions), or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, extreme hoarding, preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts, relationship-related obsessions, aversion to particular numbers and nervous rituals such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room. These symptoms are time-consuming, might result in loss of relationships with others, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, people with OCD generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by this realization.

Diagnosis

Formal diagnosis may be performed by a psychologist, psychiatrist, clinical social worker, or other licensed mental health professional. To be diagnosed with OCD, a person must have obsessions, compulsions, or both, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The Quick Reference to the 2000 edition of the DSM states that several features characterize clinically significant obsessions and compulsions. Such obsessions, the DSM says, are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and that cause marked anxiety or distress. These thoughts, impulses, or images are of a degree or type that lies outside the normal range of worries about conventional problems.[52] A person may attempt to ignore or suppress such obsessions, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action, and will tend to recognize the obsessions as idiosyncratic or irrational.

Treatment

Treatment for OCD includes :

Behavioral therapy

The specific technique used in BT/CBT is called exposure and ritual prevention (also known as "exposure and response prevention") or ERP; this involves gradually learning to tolerate the anxiety associated with not performing the ritual behavior.

Medication

Medications as treatment include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the tricyclic antidepressants, in particular clomipramine.

Electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been found to have effectiveness in some severe and refractory cases

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and inactivity. Diagnosis is based on observed behavior and the person's reported experiences.
Symptoms begin typically in young adulthood, and about 0.3-0.7% of people are affected during their lifetime. The disorder is thought to mainly affect the ability to think, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional conditions, including major depression and anxiety disorders.

Treatment

The first-line psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication, which can reduce the positive symptoms of psychosis in about 7-14 days.
[Source: Wikipedia (Edited)]