The 16 most common mental disorders

What are the most common psychological disorders in adults?

Mental disorders are commonly diagnosed nowadays, and everyone knows to a greater or lesser extent what depression, anxiety disorder, bulimia, bulimia, etc. mean. everyone knows to a greater or lesser extent what depression, anxiety disorder, bulimia, etc. mean.and so on. However, some are more frequent than others, which makes those that are more widespread deserve an extra degree of attention.

Psychopathologies affect a large number of people. In fact, experts say that one in three people suffer or will suffer some kind of mental disorder during their lifetime.

The mental disorders that affect the most people

But what are the most common disorders? What are the disorders that affect the greatest number of people?

Here is a brief explanation of a brief explanation of the most common mental disorders.

1. Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a normal reaction of people to situations of stress and uncertainty. However, an anxiety disorder is diagnosed when several anxious symptoms cause distress or some degree of functional impairment in the sufferer's life. in the life of the individual who suffers from it.

A person with an anxiety disorder may find it difficult to function in different areas of his or her life: social and family relationships, work, school, etc. There are different types of anxiety disorders:

1.1. Panic attack

A panic attack is the sudden, intense onset of fear or terror, often associated with feelings of impending death. Symptoms include shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain and discomfort.

1.2. Phobic disorders

Many people admit to being afraid of snakes or spiders, but can tolerate this fear. Individuals suffering from a phobia, on the other hand, are not able to tolerate this fear. They experience an irrational fear when confronted with the phobic stimulus, be it an object, an animal or a situation, and this usually results in avoidance behavior.

There are different phobic stimuli that trigger this irrational fearThere are different phobic stimuli that trigger this irrational fear: flying in an airplane, driving a car, elevators, clowns, dentists, blood, storms, etc. Some of the most common are:

1.2.1. Social Phobia

Social phobia is a very common anxiety disorder, and should not be confused with shyness. It is a strong irrational fear of social interaction situations, as the person suffering from this disorder feels extreme anxiety about being judged by others, being the center of attention, the idea of being criticized or humiliated by other individuals, and even talking on the phone with other people.

Therefore, he/she is unable to make presentations in public, eat in restaurants or in front of someone, go to social events, meet new people....

1.2.2. Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is usually defined as an irrational fear of open spaces, such as large avenues, parks or natural environments. But this definition is not entirely true.

The phobic stimulus is not parks or large avenues, but the situation of having an anxiety attack in these places, where it may be difficult or embarrassing to escape, or where it is not possible to receive help.

1.3. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder manifests itself when the person has been exposed to a traumatic situation that has caused the individual a stressful psychological experience, which can be disabling.which can be disabling. Symptoms include: nightmares, feelings of anger, irritability or emotional fatigue, detachment from others, etc., when the person relives the traumatic event.

Frequently, the person will try to avoid situations or activities that bring back memories of the event that provoked the trauma.

1.4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition in which the individual experiences intrusive thoughts, ideas or images.. It is an anxiety disorder, and therefore is characterized by being associated with feelings of fear, anxiety and continued stress in such a way that it is a problem for the day to day and has a negative impact on the quality of life of the person.

The thoughts that cause discomfort (obsessions), cause the person to perform certain rituals or actions (compulsions) to reduce anxiety and feel better.

Obsessions include: fear of contamination, feelings of doubt (e.g., will I have turned off the gas? Have I turned off the gas?), thoughts of hurting someone, thoughts that go against the person's religious beliefs, among others. Compulsions include: checking, counting, washing, repeatedly organizing things, etcetera.

1.5. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Worrying from time to time is a normal behavior, but when worrying and feeling anxious on an when worrying and feeling anxious on an ongoing basis affects and interferes with the normality of an individual's life it is possible that this person suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Thus, the disorder is characterized by chronic worry and anxiety. It is as if there is always something to worry about: problems in studies, work, or relationship, having an accident when leaving home, and so on. Some of the symptoms are: nausea, fatigue, Muscle tension, concentration problems, sleep problems, and more.

2. Mood Disorders

There are different types of mood disorders o affective disorders and, as their name indicates, their main underlying characteristic would be an alteration of the individual's mood. The most common are the following:

Bipolar Disorder 2.1.

Bipolar disorder can affect how a person feels, thinks and acts. It is characterized by exaggerated mood swings, ranging from mania to major depression..

Therefore, it goes beyond simple mood swings, i.e. emotional instability: in fact, it affects many areas of life, and in addition to being one of the most common disorders, it often occurs along with obesity. The cycles of bipolar disorder last for days, weeks or months, and seriously impair the sufferer's work and social relationships.

Bipolar disorder can rarely be treated without medication, as it is necessary to stabilize the patient's mood. During manic episodes, the person may even quit his or her job, increase his or her debts, and feel full of energy despite sleeping only two hours a day. During depressive episodes, the same person may not even get out of bed. There are different types of bipolar disorder, and there is also a mild version of this disorder, called cyclothymia.

2.2. Depressive Disorder

Many people feel depressed at some point in their lives. Feelings of discouragement, frustration and even despair are normal in the face of disappointment and may last for several days before gradually disappearing. For some people, however, these feelings can last for months and years, causing serious problems in their daily lives, these feelings can last for months and years, causing serious problems in their day-to-day lives..

The depression is a serious and debilitating psychopathology, and affects how an individual feels, thinks and acts. It can cause both physical and psychological symptoms. For example: problems with eating, sleep problems, malaise, fatigue, etc.

To learn more about the types of depression you can visit our article:

• "Are there various types of depression?"

Eating Behavior Disorders 3.

There are different types of eating disorders. The most common are the following:

3.1. Anorexia Nervosa.

Anorexia is characterized by an obsession with controlling the amount of food consumed.. One of its most characteristic symptoms is the distortion of body image.

People suffering from anorexia restrict their food intake by dieting, fasting and even excessive physical exercise. They hardly eat at all, and the little they do eat causes them an intense feeling of discomfort.

3.2. Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by abnormal eating patterns, with episodes of massive food intake followed by maneuvers aimed at eliminating these calories (inducing vomiting, using laxatives, etc.). After these episodes, the subject usually feels sad, in a bad mood and has feelings of self-pity.

Bulimia nervosa, besides being one of the most common disorders, is associated with alterations in the brain.. Among them is the degradation of the white matter (which is where the thick bundles of neuronal axons pass through) in the corona radiata, which is related, among other things, to the processing of flavors.

3.3. Binge Eating Disorder

Binge-eating disorder is a severe disorder in which the sufferer frequently consumes large amounts of food and feels that he/she has lost control during the and feels that he/she has lost control during the binge. After overeating, severe distress or preoccupation with weight usually follows.

4. Psychotic disorders

The psychotic disorders are severe psychopathologies in which people lose contact with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are false beliefs, such as the idea that someone is following. Hallucinations are false perceptions, such as hearing, seeing or feeling something that does not exist.

Unlike delusions, which are erroneous beliefs of reality about an existing fact or object, i.e., a distortion of an external stimulus, hallucinations are totally invented by the mind and are not the product of a distortion of any present object, hallucinations are totally invented by the mind and are not the product of the distortion of any present object, something is perceived regardless of external stimuli.In other words, something is perceived without taking into account external stimuli. For example, hearing voices coming out of a plug. The most common psychotic disorders are:

Delusional disorder 4.1.

The delusional disorder o paranoia is a psychotic disorder characterized by one or more delusional ideas. That is to say, that these people are totally convinced of things that are not true. For example, that someone is persecuting them in order to harm them.

4.2. Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is another psychotic disorder, but, in this case, the person suffers from hallucinations and delusions,the person suffers from hallucinations and disturbing thoughts that isolate him/her from social activity.. Schizophrenia is a very serious pathology, and although there is no cure, there are effective treatments so that patients with this disorder can enjoy their lives.

5. Personality disorders

A personality disorder is a rigid and permanent pattern in a person's behavior that causes discomfort or difficulties in their relationships and environment.. Personality disorders have their onset in adolescence or early adulthood. The most frequent are:

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) 5.1.

Borderline personality disorder or borderline is characterized by the fact that people who suffer from it have a weak and changeable personality, and doubt everything.. Moments of calm can instantly and without warning turn into moments of anger, anxiety or despair. These individuals live their emotions to the fullest, and love relationships are intense, as they tend to idolize the other person to the extreme.

Some of their symptoms are: intense anger and inability to control it, frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, real or imagined, alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation in interpersonal relationships, markedly unstable self-image, and chronic feelings of emptiness.

5.2. Antisocial disorder (ASD)

The individual who suffers from this disorder (mislabeled as psychopathy or sociopathy) is characterized by a tendency not to relate in society, a tendency to tendency not to interact in society, avoiding any interaction with others.. The different symptoms and behaviors that characterize TASP include: theft, aggressiveness, tendency to loneliness, violence, lying....

In addition, people affected by TASP tend to be shy, depressed and have social anxiety. Este último punto se debe a su temor a ser rechazadas. A pesar de ello, la terapia psicológica es muy efectiva a la hora de manejar los inconvenientes del trastorno antisocial.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Metter, L. (2013). White matter integrity is reduced in bulimia nervosa. The international journal of eating disorders, 46(3), pp. 264 -273.
• Veale, D. (2014). Obsessive-compulsive disorder.British Medical Journal, 348, 348:g2183.
• Weeks, J. (2013). Gaze avoidance in social anxiety disorder. Depression and anxiety, 30(8), pp. 749 -756.
• Zhao, Z. (2016). The potential association between obesity and bipolar disorder: A meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 202, pp. 120 -123.