It is terrible to realize and observe how a loved one is losing your mind before your eyes. An unreasonable change of mood, irrational fears and obsessive thoughts completely take control of a person’s consciousness, affecting the adequacy of behavior - others around him, considering him a sick and dangerous person.
It is clear that certain reasons cannot indicate that a person is necessarily mentally ill, because among the causes of an inadequate condition there may be hormonal disturbances, stress, overwork or anxiety. But what conclusions can be drawn if all the signs are there and the behavior of the loved one begins to pose a threat? First you need to learn how to properly recognize symptoms.
Anxiety Symptoms of Mental Illness
Asthenic syndrome
The main symptoms of asthenia are:
- sharp mood swings;
- fatigue with little mental or physical exertion;
- loss of self-control, short temper, irritation;
- reduced ability to work, perseverance;
- high emotional excitability;
- bad sleep;
- sensitivity to loud sounds, light or smells.
Often the symptoms of asthenia can manifest in the form of tearfulness, manifestations of self-pity, moodiness.
Asthenic syndrome in many cases is the result of diseases such as cardiovascular pathologies, digestive system diseases, and some diseases of an infectious nature.
The absence of visible causes is the main difference between asthenia and chronic fatigue syndrome. If chronic fatigue is the result of excessive physical or mental activity, then asthenia is caused by stress, a social factor, and the influence of psychogenic stress. Under the pressure of these factors, a person is not able to independently recover for a very long time. One of the common manifestations of asthenia is neurosis.
Obsessive states
Obsessive conditions or anxiety-phobic disorders are the names of the same disease, which is a combination of various conditions that occur involuntarily. Neurosis, as a rule, manifests itself in the form of:
- obsessive negative thoughts about the past and present;
- suspiciousness, fear, anxiety;
- obsessive movements.
Neurosis makes a person afraid of far-fetched danger, to make meaningless actions to avoid it. A common situation that clearly illustrates the manifestation of a neurosis of obsessive states: it seems to a person that he did not turn off the gas or electrical appliances at home, did not shut off the water, and this makes him constantly return home. The manic desire for constant hand washing to keep them clean is also one of the manifestations of the disease. A disease forces a person to perform various useless obsessive actions, for example, biting his nails, banging his finger on his cheek, licking his lips, and straightening his clothes.
Obsessive memories are the next step in anxiety-phobic disorder. Unpleasant events from the past with a bright and clear picture emerge in the mind of a person, poisoning his life. Communication with such a person is a real test, although, of course, the patient himself is most difficult.
Sudden mood swings
Not all dramatic changes in human behavior can be symptoms of the disease. The alarming "bells" include:
- sudden manifestation of aggression;
- excessive, exhausting the patient himself, suspicion;
- unpredictability;
- inability to concentrate;
- unreasonable mood changes in a short period of time.
The danger lies not so much in the mood swings themselves, but in the consequences. In especially severe, advanced cases, the disease can lead to suicide attempts or the killing of another person.
A mood change can occur not only on the emotional side, but also physiological - often the symptom is accompanied by:
- malfunctions of the menstrual cycle;
- impaired appetite;
- change in body weight;
- difficulties with tactile sensations;
Senestopathy or discomfort
Senestopathy is an unpleasant sensation of an unusual nature in the region of internal organs or on the surface of the skin. Sensations, as a rule, have no objective reason and have no connection with the manifestations of psychosomatics. Sensations that accompany senestopathy:
- twisting;
- burning;
- squeezing;
- stirring;
- ripple;
- contraction.
There are even cases when senestopathy is accompanied by olfactory, taste, visual and auditory hallucinations. Senestopathy is one of the symptoms of many mental illnesses. It does not carry any somatic pathologies, but it can thoroughly ruin a person’s life, especially against the background of other diseases.
Often, this disease can be one of the manifestations of hypochondria - manic preoccupation with the state of one’s own health. Frequent, periodic manifestations of senestopathy are a serious reason to consult a specialist.
Illusions and hallucinations against the backdrop of mental disorders
These two concepts - illusions and hallucinations - are often confused, although the difference between them is quite noticeable. With the manifestation of an illusion, a person is inclined to perceive real objects or sounds distorted. A good example of an illusion is a person’s perception of an abstract pattern in the form of a ball of interwoven snakes.
Hallucinations force the patient to accept non-existent things or phenomena as real, often affecting some sense organs. A person complains of “voices” in his head, bite sensations, visual images. The main danger of hallucinations is that the patient himself perceives them as absolutely real. When others begin to convince the patient of the opposite, this can be regarded by him as a conspiracy, and, as a result, significantly worsen his condition. Hallucinations often end in paranoia.
Delusional states
Delusional conditions can be attributed to the main symptoms of psychosis. In a state of delirium, a person is completely obsessed with his idea, nothing can affect his opinion, even if the contradictions are obvious. Proving his innocence, he operates with erroneous judgments and complete, unconditional confidence in his own innocence. Among the variety of manifestations of delusional states, one can distinguish:
- delusions of persecution or physical threat - paranoid syndrome;
- delusions of grandeur in combination with delusions of persecution - paraphrenic syndrome;
- delirium of jealousy.