Written by Judy C. (KIS'20)
Edited by Muchang B. (KIS '19)
━━ August 12th, 2018 ━━
Overview
The brain is a complex organ with numerous theories and mysteries to it. The mysteries derive from a concept of mental disorders which has the power to impact the brain severely. With more than 200 million identified mental disorders and 20% of American adults diagnosed with them, it should make one question about the underlying themes of mental disorders. According to Mayoclinic, “mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions” that affect one’s thought processes. There are conditions that people often link with this concept such as depression, anxiety and bipolarity; however, there also exists a variety of unique symptoms that are classified as a mental illness. Among those are pathological indecisiveness and caffeine induced anxiety disorder. This inevitably raises questions of how people can be suffering without sufficient knowledge of these lesser known conditions and how easy these are able to pass-off as stress-induced temporary symptoms. From the wide range of mental issues that question the complexity of the human brain, the statistics, hidden themes and meanings of these disorders are analyzed.
Brain
With each disorder one may encounter, the brain is affected. It might be an imbalance in the right and left hemispheres or a rush of hormones that are out of place. For instance, panic attacks can be related to the left side of the brain being significantly smaller and intaking less volumes of oxygen. This increased sensitivity eventually denatures binding sites of certain neurotransmitters and produces an fluctuation of chemicals that are crucial. A more common disease that targets advancing age, patients with Alzheimer’s can be seen with the decrease in neurons and synapses. The correlation is evinced through the degradation of frontal and temporal lobes. However, there are thousands of unidentified disorders that have not yet revealed the depth of its connection to the brain. Seemingly healthy individuals can suffer with cases of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, more commonly known as OCD. The most accountable drug for this is clomipramine which “inhibits the uptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin”; however, this has also shown to affect norepinephrine. The complexity of the brain makes it hard to locate a point that starts a cascade of chemical and electrical signals in the brain.
Statistics
The concept of mental disorders may be hard to grasp- especially when the people dearest to one can be associated with it. However, it is fact that in the United States of America, 20% of children between 13 and 18 are diagnosed with a mental health condition. 50% of all mental illness cases begin by the age of 14 and 75% by the age 24. Studies have proven that 70% of the people in the local juvenile systems house are officially diagnosed with mental disorders. The depth of these facts eventually lead to suicide being the 3rd leading cause of death in children between 13 and 18. Mental disorders have also caused 37% of the students diagnosed with it to drop out of school- the dominant principle among all other dropouts. While the future generation is impacted with aforementioned problems, adults are more vulnerable to their addiction habits linking with mental disorders. For instance, 10.2 million American adults have co-occurring conditions.
Causes
There are multiple instances in which mental illnesses can be triggered. However, it is crucial to understand that it is not caused by one reason. It is not one’s fault that he or she is diagnosed with a disorder but a complex mixture of “genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors” (medicinet.com). Genetics make up a big portion of who someone can be. People with heritable diseases are cautious when leaving children behind. However, the children’s health is not solely determined by this factor. Similarly, one can be more susceptible to a certain disorder; however, this does ensure that the child will get the same condition as his or her preceders. Besides genetics and biology, personal experiences can trigger mental illnesses. Psychological trauma such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse have the ability to change certain areas of the brain permanently. These changes are often associated with chemical imbalance, leading to it being a trigger.
Symptoms
The human body is never the same which is why the same condition can appear very differently in individuals. However, the signs and symptoms of mental disorders often include lowered concentration, extreme mood changes, low energy and drug abuse. Specific individuals capture different parts of the illness. These symptoms go hand in hand with the aforementioned changes in the brain. Structure, function and the networks within the brain define how it is going to work. For instance, mental disorder induced hallucinations are often associated with “lack of connectivity between brain regions that initiate an act and regions that perceive the sensory consequences of the act” (Boksa). Whether or not the auditory and sensory cues are internal or external they must catalyze the reactions between networks, forming a valid response to it. This phenomenon directly relates to the neurology behind mental disorders as the brain’s altering structure defines its function.
Treatments
The remarkability of specialized treatments reflects upon the rarity of each conditions specified toll on an individual. Some examples of treatments include psychotherapy, medications, and support groups. The major component of this topic derives from hormonal imbalance. With about 50 different hormones circulating throughout the human body, there are numerous ways that the body can be affected with the major one being mental disorders; thus, medications help balance the hormones better. Treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy develops and strengthens certain beliefs about life and applies them to make healthier choices. This type of specific therapy can rewire the brain to make connections between key brain parts that were not there before. These critical changes in brain parts such as amygdala and prefrontal cortex which are often associated with hallucinations. Thus, forcing the brain to rethink immediate responses has the ability to change the aforementioned symptoms. Neurology behind mental disorders is one to be reckoned with equal amount of complexity.
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Bibilography:
Ackerman, Sandra. “The Role of the Brain in Mental Illness.” Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1992,<www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234144/>.
Boksa, Patricia. “On the Neurobiology of Hallucinations.” Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2009, <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702442/>.
“Mental Health By The Numbers.” NAMI, NAMI, <www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers>.
“Mental Health Treatments.” Mental Health America, Mental Health America, 20 Aug. 2015, <www.mentalhealthamerica.net/types-mental-health-treatments>.
“Mental Illness: Learn the Definition, Tests and Statistics.” MedicineNet, <www.medicinenet.com/mental_illness/article.htm#how_common_is_mental_illness>.
“Mental Illness.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 13 Oct. 2015, <www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-20374968>.
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