Mental Disorder

Life expectancy gap widens between those with mental illness and general population

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Health created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Integrating mental health care into HIV care

The integration of mental health interventions into HIV prevention and treatment platforms can reduce the opportunity costs of care and improve treatment outcomes, argues a new Policy Forum article published in this week's ...

HIV & AIDS created 6 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The incidence of eating disorders is increasing in the UK

More people are being diagnosed with eating disorders every year and the most common type is not either of the two most well known—bulimia or anorexia—but eating disorders not otherwise specified (eating disorders that ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual

The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 18, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Sexual assaults in psych wards show urgent need for reform

Women admitted to psychiatry wards experience high levels of violence and sexual assaults, according to a report released this week by the Victorian Mental Illness Alliance Council.

Health created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

One in five U.S. kids has a mental health disorder, CDC reports

(HealthDay)—As many as one in five American children under the age of 17 has a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, according to a new federal report.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 16, 2013 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Posttraumatic stress disorder associated with type 2 diabetes

The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. This is the finding of scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital Gießen ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Shrinks, critics face off over psychiatric manual

(AP)—There's a new version of the world's most widely used psychiatric manual, and it's already getting lots of criticism.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Mental health and NCDs

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mental disorders each constitute a huge portion of the worldwide health care burden, and often occur together, so they should be addressed together. These are the conclusions of the third ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

EU court finds Swiss assisted-suicide laws vague (Update)

An elderly Swiss woman who would rather end her life now than decline further in health found sympathy Tuesday from the European Court of Human Rights, which called on the Swiss to clarify their laws on so-called passive ...

Other created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Flu in pregnancy may quadruple child's risk for bipolar disorder

Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Social considerations not accounted for in DSM-5

(HealthDay)—Social and population variations in mental diagnosis are not accounted for in the newly revised fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), according to ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Study finds gender, employment status and social conditions key factors in development of mental disorders

Being a woman, unemployed and living in a situation of social adversity are the three strongest trigger influences in subjects with a genetic predisposition to mental disorder. Moreover, in Andalusia, over 20% of the population ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 13, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study supports alternative model for personality disorders in upcoming DSM-5

A new "alternative model" included in the upcoming Fifth Edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM -5) lines up well with the current approach to diagnosis ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 10, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

The Lancet Series on bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder – where patients experience recurrent episodes of mood disturbance, ranging from extreme elation (mania) to severe depression – is thought to affect roughly 2% of the world's population in its most pronounced ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 09, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological pattern, potentially reflected in behavior, that is generally associated with distress or disability, and which is not considered part of normal development of a person's culture. Mental disorders are generally defined by a combination of how a person feels, acts, thinks or perceives. This may be associated with particular regions or functions of the brain or rest of the nervous system, often in a social context. The recognition and understanding of mental health conditions have changed over time and across cultures, and there are still variations in definition, assessment and classification, although standard guideline criteria are widely used. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over a third of people in most countries report problems at some time in their life which meet criteria for diagnosis of one or more of the common types of mental disorder.

The causes of mental disorders are varied and in some cases unclear, and theories may incorporate findings from a range of fields. Services are based in psychiatric hospitals or in the community, and assessments are carried out by psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and clinical social workers, using various methods but often relying on observation and questioning. Clinical treatments are provided by various mental health professionals. Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options, as are social interventions, peer support and self-help. In a minority of cases there might be involuntary detention or involuntary treatment, where legislation allows. Stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering and disability associated with mental disorders (or with being diagnosed or judged as having a mental disorder), leading to various social movements attempting to increase understanding and challenge social exclusion.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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