One in four people will suffer from a psychiatric illness in their lifetime. Discover the most common pathologies of the human mind.
A psychiatric illness, mental illness or psychological disorder is a mental or behavioral pattern that causes a functional impairment in the personal fulfillment of the patient who carries it. It is estimated that globallyone in four people suffer from a psychological pathologyand, unfortunately, up to 50% of patients never receive the help they need.
We go further, since 12.5% of all global health problems are represented by pathologies of a psychological nature, which translates into more than 450 million inhabitants affected by a disorder beyond the anatomical that seriously hinders their lives. Based on these premises so sad but necessary to know, we tell you the 10 most common psychiatric diseases and their main signs.
- We recommend you read: “The 25 rarest phobias that exist”
What are the most widespread psychiatric disorders?
We do not delay with introductions and terms, because we cover a very heterogeneous group of clinical entities that must be treated individually. Don’t miss it.
1. Depression
Unfortunately, depression is the queen of mental disorders in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide, with an epidemiological pattern clearly biased towards women. Women are up to twice as likely to develop this worrying clinical picture, either due to hormonal imbalances or serious social impediments resulting from machismo. Be that as it may, this condition requires a psychiatric approach in all cases.
Unfortunately, not all patients with depression receive treatment, and about 800,000 people commit suicide each year because of this disorder. This data makes suicide the second most common cause of death in the age group between 15 and 20 years, only surpassed by traffic accidents.
If you have clinical signs such as irritable mood, tiredness and lack of energy, feelings of worthlessness, apathy, inactivity, suicidal thoughts or feelings of abandonment, see a psychiatrist promptly. Depression is addressed pharmacologically and therapeutically in the short and long term, but it has a solution.
- We recommend you read: “How to overcome depression with the help of a psychologist”
2. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
In the United States, generalized anxiety disorders affect 5.1% to 12% of all Americans. For a GAD to be considered as such, the patient must present symptoms of chronic anxiety for at least six months, among which are physiological events such as fatigue, sleep disorders, muscle aches, sweating, gastrointestinal problems and many other quantifiable signs.
The pathophysiology of GAD is still under study, but it is believed that it arises as a combination of genetic and neurological factors. About 260 million people worldwide suffer from anxiety disorders, so we are not surprised to learn that the use of benzodiazepines (anxiolytics) extends to 30 million people in the United States, that is, 12% of the total population.
- We recommend you read: “Muscle problems and anxiety: are they related?”
3. Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses, especially in young women. In some countries, an incidence rate of 0.3 per cent of the population is estimated, which translates to about 10-30 cases per 100,000 women between 10 and 34 years of age. Surely, the real number of patients is much higher, since this condition is usually carried out in secret and few people seek help.
The symptoms of anorexia nervosa are associated with physiological starvation: dizziness, loss of consciousness, thinness, insomnia, chronic fatigue, cold intolerance, low blood pressure and many other signs. Although causality is largely established at the psychosocial level, it is stipulated that there could be certain genetic changes that favor the appearance of anorexia nervosa.
4. Other eating disorders
Anxiety, stress, and depression can also cause a patient to overeat. On the other side of abusive relationships with food we haveobesity, with more than 650 million representatives worldwide. This condition favors the appearance of depression (up to twice in obese), lethal ischemic heart disease, diabetes, polycystic ovaries, some types of cancer and other life-threatening metabolic imbalances.
5. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD affects almost 6.5% of children in the world and 2.74% of adolescents , which makes this a particularly common psychiatric illness in children. ADHD does not have a specific cause and it is believed that it could have a multifactorial origin, based on the patient’s genetics, relationships with the environment and possible problems in the development of the central nervous system at critical moments.
For now, several genes have been associated with this condition: DRD4, DRD5, DAT1 and DAT5, all of them related to the reception and transport of dopamine. It seems that 70% of ADHD cases have genetic origins, although the fact that they are encoded by more than one gene (oligogenic pathology) makes it difficult to establish direct causality.
6. Bipolar disorder
The prevalence of bipolar disorder is between 0.4 and 1.6% of the general population, a not insignificant figure if we take into account how little accepted this pathology is at a social level. There are several types of bipolar disorder and we are facing a series of psychological entities that are quite complex to describe, so we are not going to spend too much time on them.
The episodes of a person with bipolar disorder can be manic, depressive or mixed , each of them being different depending on the nature of the patient and the intensity of the symptoms. Like all the pathologies mentioned so far, having relatives affected by this disorder favors its appearance in the offspring.
7. Schizophrenia
According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia affects more than 21 million people worldwide atany given time. It is more frequent in men than in women and the prevalence depends on the place consulted, but in general, it is less common than other psychological pathologies.
It is striking to know that a person with schizophrenia is twice as likely to die young compared to the rest of the population. This is because this mental disorder has serious physiological implications, especially at the cardiovascular level, physical injuries and even promotes the proclivity to suffer infectious events.
8. Phobias
The prevalence of phobias (conceived as a clinical entity, not as a superficial fear) is not more than 2.8% nor less than 2.1% in the general population. According to the samples consulted, phobic anxiety disorders are higher in women than in men, especially if we talk about agoraphobia (3.6 women for every man).
This intense, disproportionate and irrational fear arises from exposure to specific events or entities, whether they have these lives (such as entomophobia) or not. It is not a simple fear, since there is an important vegetative activation, escape behaviors and thoughts of harm.
9. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
In the United States, almost 7% of the population suffers from PTSD (also known as PTSD in Spanish), again, with a clear gender bias. While 3.6% of men develop these disorders, almost 10% of women suffer from them. Unfortunately, finding a cause is quite easy: it is no coincidence that sources estimate that, for example, 20% of women have experienced at least one attempted rape in their lifetime.
The PTSD linked to sexist violence is an undeniable reality, and explains much of this bias towards women. Rape attempts, intimate partner aggressions, harassment by acquaintances and/or strangers and objectification of the female body are clear triggers of this type of pathological inheritance. At this point, the needs for social restructuring and the deconstruction of masculinity are justified on their own.
10. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 2-3%, meaning that up to three out of every 100 inhabitants of the world will develop it at some point. This pathology is characterized by a marked repetition ofthoughts (obsession) and repetition of specific patterns (rituals).
These types of behaviors interfere with the productivity and socialization of the patient, but he cannot control them. Again, genetics, childhood trauma, and brain structuring seem to play an important role in its development.
Summary
As you have seen, we have shown you some of the most common psychiatric diseases with data and statistics, because it is necessary to go to epidemiological sampling in all cases to affirm that a pathology is widespread. Anxiety and depression take the cake when it comes to expansion, but other pathologies such as schizophrenia have a much worse prognosis.
In short, these data come to show that a patient is never alone. Whatever the pathology suffered, there will always be thousands of people who have passed through its path and who, fortunately, have put an end to their pathology or learned to control it. In the face of any emotional change, a visit to the psychiatrist is a must.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
