The human mind is such an intricate and intriguing topic of discussion. To gain a full understanding and grasp the entirety of how it works, is without a doubt difficult. Back when we were little kids, until now being mature adults, we experience all sorts of encounters with other people throughout our daily lives without even acknowledging what they might be enduring. Some are more noticeable and severe, while some are mild. Psychological disorders are a range of disorders that affect an individual's thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. You could have an interaction with someone that has trouble maintaining eye contact when conversing or being tense. At the moment, most people don’t take into account the mannerisms or actions the person with a psychological disorder does. Personally, my brother has suffered from social anxiety. Whether it's a big social gathering or just a meetup for a group project, my brother would avoid eye contact and get overwhelmed or even stutter. Talking with my brother before he passed about his struggles had given me a better perspective on the importance of empathy and patience when dealing with someone that has a psychological disorder. The world around us and other factors take a major role into how individuals deal with these disorders. For example, eating disorders can stem from the environment around you. Finding a positive and healthy environment for yourself is so important for your mental health. However, there are many that have not yet obtained this knowledge and valid understanding on disorders. Psychological disorders, ranging from social anxiety, to eating disorders, and to depression, do significantly impact people's lives, but an extensive understanding of these conditions is vital for effective and everlasting treatment and support.
A disorder messes with normal physical and mental functions. It can be an illness or condition, but they both disrupt the health of an individual. As soon as many hear “disorder” they instantly think about the difficulties and limitations the term brings to the table. They have a perception that having a disorder will stop them from having a happy and fulfilling life. What they do not understand is that it is a mental illness spectrum, ranging from mild to severe. A disorder is often classified as either a psychosis or a neurosis. It manifests either in symptoms of distress or in abnormal behavior. The mental health professionals gather information, narrow down the options, and formulate a diagnostic impression. A disorder is characterized by a significant disturbance in a person's behavior, emotional maintenance, and cognition. For psychological disorders in particular the deviance, dysfunction, distress, and danger are all characteristics. You can think of a psychological disorder like a computer with a virus. The virus disrupts the normal functioning of the computer. It can slow down processes, cause errors, and behave unpredictably. This is just like a psychological disorder since it interferes with your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. An example that acts as a great solution to fix the virus is to address your disorder and take action. Lets say a woman has a distorted view of her body image and has unhealthy attitudes towards food and eating in general. This leads her to unhealthy behaviors like excessive dieting and binge eating, this ruins the body's normal functioning. She decides to look for appropriate treatment, such as therapy and counseling. It is like running a software on the computer to get rid of the virus and restore the computer to the healthy operation it was once at. An inspiration named John Green shares a special quote about psychological disorder recovery stating, “There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't.” Understanding this quote is encouraging since it serves as an inspiration to those that are going through psychological recovery and those that are learning about the experiences.
Psychological does not necessarily always mean a negative effect. It refers to anything related to the mind, whether its emotions, mind, and behaviors. It can include positive aspects such as psychological well-being, resilience, and mental growth. For example, everyone has felt at least a little bit anxious before giving a big presentation. That anxiousness is a psychological response because its your mind reacting to a situation. This term consists of cognitive processes, mental health, behavioral patterns, and personality traits. An example is cognitive processes, which are thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. An individual with depression would have negative patterns of thinking and perception. They often have persistent negative thoughts about themselves, their future, and society. Some are even existentialists that have feelings of worthlessness. Using the same idea as before, your mind is like a computer. It processes information, stores data, and manages emotions. When the computer is functioning nicely, everything runs smoothly. However, if there is a virus it can slow down overall performance. This term helps share individuals stories by providing a framework to understand and describe their experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It allows people to communicate about their mental health, personal struggles, and similar experiences. Through psychological concepts, people can use this network to find support and common grounds with others with similar experiences. Whether it's friends, family, or a random person online, offering emotional support is the first step. It's often difficult to let someone know exactly your thoughts and feelings, but that is one step closer. American television superstar, Fred Rogers, has stated, “When we can talk about our feelings they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary”. This quote indulges into the insight of the process and understanding of human emotion. Sharing your emotions with someone helps with emotional validation, perspective and advice from another person, stress reduction, and emotional regulation. You never want to hide away your emotions because you are afraid of someone's opinion or you're embarrassed. We are only human and we shall never be ashamed of ourselves.
What comes with psychological disorders is the change of behavior. Whether it's the way you act, speak, or do things, it is altered. For some people the adjustment of your behavior won’t happen until your young adulthood, but for those who have a medical condition it sometimes develops later in life. Anxiety which is a great example captures just how different it is in terms of the way it manifests. It can depend on individual factors like genetics, environment, and just life experiences. This disorder may cause avoidance behavior since they believe they will come across something in an activity or task that will trigger their anxiety. What I mean by anxiety is that it emits feelings of worry and nervousness, but when it's severe it becomes excessive and persistent that can affect an individuals physical, mental, and emotional health. An anxiety disorder actually encompasses a variety of specific conditions itself. Those conditions include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and PTSD, so this disorder is rather a broad term. My older brother did have an anxiety disorder that fit more under the social anxiety disorder and the phobias. Though many get confused and think, “Oh, if this person has social anxiety they must hate interacting with others.” This is not true, my brother had befriended so many people and went out of his comfort zone at times. The only reason why he falls under this category is because he had trouble speaking growing up. He would stutter and have difficulty speaking, but I noticed overtime he had overcome this and got better at talking with others since he had so much experience once he got hired at a sales-based firm and started attending church. Famous singer and songwriter, Lady Gaga, has a past with overcoming depression and anxiety. A news outlet phrases her words from her emotional mental health essay stating, “We can no longer afford to be silenced by stigma or stymied by misguided ideas that portray these conditions as a matter of weakness or moral failing.” (Reilly, 2018) This quote from her shows how crucial it is to break the silence and misconceptions about mental health. Speaking openly and educating others for them to gain solid understanding of these health issues will help reduce stigma and support those who are affected like my brother. As shown above, not only do psychological disorders vary, they make every person's experience unique even with the same diagnosis.
Gaining a better understanding is not only beneificial for yourself, but it helps people with psychological disorders in the way that they are seen and recognized for the entirety of their situation. My brother, Christian Lemus, is one of the individuals out of the millions of people that would greatly appreciate someone that would greatly appreciate the support, empathy, and help. Christian's case and many others showcase just how every disorder differentiates and can vary in severity or just on the individual. Next time you stumble upon a friend, loved one, or stranger with a psychological disorder you should always respect their boundaries, be a helping hand, and ensure them of your love for them. Even someone without a disorder it is human decency to always look out for one another. Humans need humans, we need social interaction and involvement. No one likes to feel alone, so one helping hand goes a long way. Validate peoples emotions, listen carefully, and educate yourself because there is so much we have yet to discover.
Works Cited
Reilly, Nick. "We can no longer afford to be silenced": Lady Gaga pens emotional mental health essay, 10th October, 2018. https://www.nme.com/news/music/2388451-2388451Links to an external site.
Cleveland Clinic. "Mood Disorders" Last Reviewed on 08 August, 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17843-mood-disordersLinks to an external site.
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