More and more factors are being discovered that contribute to the pathogenesis of mental illness. The studies conducted so far show that the causes of mental illnesses can be divided into events experienced during intrauterine life and those that occur during individual life. Among the causes of mental illness, there are biological, psychological and environmental factors.

Diseases and mental disorders - despite many studies that have already been devoted to them - are still not fully known and understood. Scientists, however, are not idle and more and more aspects of the functioning of the human psyche, which so far were a puzzle, are gaining clarity.

There is no doubt that the works on the factors involved in their formation are as important as discovering ways to treat mental illness. Theories aboutcauses of mental illnesshave changed with the publication of more research on the human psyche. Today, about the states that in the past were recognized, inter alia, for the effect of casting a spell or for demon possession, we already know a lot more.

The general division of the causes of mental illnesses involved in the pathogenesis distinguishes between biological, psychological and environmental factors.

Causes of mental illness: genetic factors

The color of our hair, eyes and blood type depend on the inherited genes. With the genetic material passed on by parents, it is also possible to develop a predisposition to various diseases - including mental ones. Suspicions about the role of genes in the pathogenesis of mental illness were made on the basis of observations in which there was a tendency towards a familial occurrence of mind-plaguing conditions (e.g., mood or anxiety disorders).

It turns out that if a parent suffers from a mental illness, his offspring are at increased risk of developing the same and other mental illnesses. However, this does not mean that the disease will definitely appear - genes determine rather increased susceptibility to the disease. This means that a patient with inherited tendencies, with the influence of other factors involved in the development of mental illnesses (discussed below), has a higher risk of developing the disease than a person not burdened with the occurrence of mental illnesses.mental he alth problems in the family.

The risk of developing a mental illness varies from person to person. Bipolar disorder is believed to be the problem where genetic factors are most pronounced. In studies on monozygotic twins (monozygotic twins, i.e. having exactly the same genetic material), it turned out that when one of them suffered from the above-mentioned disease, the risk of its occurrence and in the other twin was as high as 80%.

Causes of mental illness: neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are molecules responsible for transmitting signals between cells in the nervous system. Examples of neurotransmitters include norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. Disturbances in the amount of these substances in the brain are considered to be one of the causes of mental illnesses.

The problem may be both their deficiency (such as serotonin deficiency in patients with depression) and excess (too much serotonin is sometimes associated with manic episodes, while excessive dopamine levels, affecting some brain structures, can cause psychotic episodes).

Almost 8 million Poles aged 18-64 struggle with more or less mental disorders

Mental he alth problems, at one stage of life, are experienced by a quarter of people, and mental illness accounts for 20 percent. all diseases in Europe. Data from the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology show that nearly 8 million Poles aged 18 to 64 struggle with more or less mental disorders

Source: Biznes.newseria.pl

Causes of mental illnesses: disorders of the structure of the nervous system

Mental illness may be a consequence of the trauma experienced by the patient. Another source of mental he alth problems are proliferative processes within the central nervous system. An episode of, for example, a psychosis in a person who has been completely he althy so far, should be an indication for a comprehensive diagnosis, not only psychiatric - such deviations from the normal mental state may be the first symptom of a brain tumor.

One of the most common groups of mental illnesses in the elderly is dementia. The most common of these, Alzheimer's disease, is associated with the deposition of abnormal forms of proteins in the brain. Ultimately, the phenomenon leads to the generation of neuronal damage and the onset of mental illness in the form of the dementia syndrome.

Causes of mental illness: events experienced inin utero

The fact that a patient develops a psychiatric illness may be determined by factors influencing his or her body still in the period of intrauterine life. Mental illness can be caused by episodes of cerebral hypoxia in a developing baby in the womb. The mother's inappropriate behavior may also increase the child's susceptibility to the above-mentioned diseases - this effect may be exerted by some medications, but also the use of psychoactive substances, e.g. alcohol or drugs.

Causes of mental illness: exogenous substances

In excess, basically everything can be toxic, but there are substances that are sometimes particularly involved in the development of mental disorders. Examples include:

  • alcohol (especially excessive and chronic alcohol consumption),
  • drugs,
  • boosters.

The use of the aforementioned psychoactive substances may be a trigger factor for the occurrence of a mental illness. The risk is associated with both the use of such agents and their discontinuation - if a patient has developed tolerance of a given substance, discontinuation of its use may cause, for example, a depressive episode.

Episodes of mental disorders are also associated with the medications taken by the patient. As an example, corticosteroids can be mentioned, the side effects of which can be both a depressed mood and an episode of psychosis. In the case of drugs, it is also worth mentioning hormonal contraceptives, the use of which may be associated with increased irritability in the patient or lower her mood (it happens that such an episode is of an intensity equal to that of depression).

Causes of mental illness: infections

More or less, but infections and contagions affect practically everyone. Some of them may affect the functioning of the psyche. It turns out that in children, some cases of obsession and compulsion spectrum disorders, associated with behaviors typical of ADHD, may be a complication of a streptococcal infection (then we are talking about the so-called PANDAS syndrome - pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatrics disorders associated with streptococcal infections).

Causes of mental illnesses: difficult life events

Certain events that can significantly burden the patient's psyche can be a stimulus that triggers the onset of a mental illness. Examples include:

  • death of a loved one (spouse, other family member or devoted personfriend),
  • job loss,
  • change of residence,
  • divorce,
  • pregnancy loss,
  • experiencing a traumatic event (it can be both a car accident and a rape),
  • experiencing severe chronic stress (at home, at work, or in any other environment).

Psychological factors play a significant role in the emergence of mental illnesses, especially in people who are predisposed to them (eg due to genetic burden). The experience of severe life events, however, may also cause the disease in those people who do not have any burdens - as an example, we can mention the death of a loved one, when very strong feeling of sadness (considered normal, associated with grief) may turn into an episode of even severe depression.

Causes of mental illness: environmental factors

It happens that the environment in which the patient functions also plays a role in the pathogenesis of mental illness. Adolescents who experience harassment and harassment from their peers can develop both depression and anxiety disorders of various kinds. People with excess body weight - if they are constantly ridiculed for it - may become so concerned about the opinion of their environment that they will develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.

The conditions in which the patient functions on a daily basis are extremely important for the proper development of the psyche. If you live in a family where the relationship patterns between its members are abnormal, there is a greater risk of developing mental illness.

There may also be a situation where the patient somehow "becomes infected" with a mental illness. An entity that could be portrayed as potentially contagious is the so-called insanity inflicted. In the course of the disease, the delusional syndrome first appears in one person. Later in another person, usually closely related and staying with the original patient in some isolation, a similar system of false, delusional beliefs and judgments develops.

Causes of mental illnesses: can there be one specific factor?

The etiopathogenesis of psychiatric diseases is most often multifactorial. This means that the innate susceptibility to these diseases is also influenced by other factors, such as the severe life events described above, experienced head injuries or the use of psychoactive substances. Although medicine knows more and more about the causes of mental illness, some aspects remain a mystery. Issues related to the etiology of theseHowever, diseases still arouse the interest of scientists. One of the potential sources of information is the performance of more and more detailed analyzes of genes. In fact, psychiatry may yet be known - it will turn out over time.

Category:

Psychiatry