Different Forms of Mental Disorders
Mental disorders can be defined as the disorders that cause mild to severe disturbances in behavior as well as thought process of individuals. This illness results the individuals to suffer from inability to cope with different ordinary demands and routines of daily life and the different situations that arise in life. Researchers had noted more than 200 different classified forms of mental health illness (Hayes et al. 2015). These disorders tend to affect the quality of life of individuals all over the nation. Therefore, it becomes important for such individuals to take support form healthcare professionals and follow their interventions to come back to normal lives. This assignment will depict one such disorder like bipolar affective depression and will discuss its symptoms and risk factors. It will also show the different interventions that could be used by the nursing professionals to help patients overcome the disorders and lead normal lives.
Bipolar affective (maniac) disorder can be identified by prolonged, deep as well as profound depressive periods. Such periods alternate with excessively elevated and irritable moods that are termed as mania by researchers. Researchers have also stated that manic episodes continue in affected individuals for at least one week of continuous mood disturbance. This disorder is also characterized by expansiveness, elation as well as irritability (Upthegrove et al. 2015). Different symptoms are often noted in individuals like grandiosity ad clear evidence of distractibility. Other symptoms mainly comprise of diminished need for sleep as well as pressured speech and excessive talking. Flight of ideas as well as racing thoughts is also noticed in such individuals. Such individuals are also seen to exhibit enhanced level of different types of goal-focused activities at home as well as work. Loss of energy, fatigue, significant weight loss, decreased concentration, preoccupation with death or suicide and others are symptoms shown by such individuals. The family members get depressed and anxious about the condition of their patient who suffers from this disorder. Their caregiver feels a restricted life, as they have to care for their patient and feels physically and emotionally strained. Therefore, more effective the treatment of the patient, the family members can also have better quality lives.
Researchers are of the opinion that the most significant risk factor for the disorder is a family history of either BPAD or depression. About two thirds of the patients with BPAD have been found to have some forms of family history of mental illness. Researchers are still been conducted to find or more information about how genetics as well as family history is contributing to the occurrence of the disorder (Glanz 2014). Doctors who conduct diagnosis mainly look for certain symptoms for confirmation. These are inappropriate spending, less need for sleep, poor judgment, increase in goal directed activities and others (Scubert, Focking and Cotter 2015). When patients come with depression, doctors diagnose them who look for loss of pleasure, social withdrawal, low mood, decreased libido, weight loss and poor sleep. In order to rule out chances of other disorders, healthcare professionals conduct differential diagnosis. They conduct thyroid tests, tests for HIV or syphilis infection, calcium levels, electrocephalogram (to rule out epilepsy), CT scan (to rule of brain injury) and many others. All these help the healthcare professionals to diagnose and confirm the disorders (Mehta et al. 2014).
Symptoms of Bipolar Affective Depression
The nursing professionals follow the health belief model to help the patients overcome the symptoms of the disorders. With the help of this model, the professional can help patients to be motivated to carry out preventive health behaviors in response to a perceived threat (Green and Murphy 2015). Two important aspects need to be kept in mind. One of them is the psychological state of readiness to work upon specific actions (Adams 2007). The other one is the extent to which particular course of action is believed to be significant in reducing the threat. The demographic variable mainly comprise of perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers and cues to action. When the patients with the help of the professionals will handle these variables properly, these would lead to successful recovery of the patients (Lee et al. 2018). The nursing professionals should first conduct the health need assessment of the patients with the disorders. Then they should convey the consequences of the health issues associated with the disorders. Then the nurses would help the patients to identify the barriers and assist them in overcoming the barriers (Skinner et al. 2015). The nurse should then demonstrate the skill development activities providing support to the patient. This would help the patient to enhance self-efficacy and likelihood of the stressful behaviors.
The patient and the family members should be educated along with a strong therapeutic alliance, educational effort increase patient compliance as well as knowledge of the diseases thereby increasing the quality of their lives. When the patients are explained about the biology of the disease, it decreases feelings of guilt among the patients and helps in promoting medication compliance. Also proper information should be provided which would promote medication compliance. The patients should be also taught on how to monitor the illness in ways of appreciation of the early warning signs, reemergence and symptoms. Researchers are of the opinion that identifications of changes can thereby serve as various powerful preventive steps (Bauer et al. 2015). Education will also help in encompassing the dangers of stressors. When the patient is helped with identification and working with stressors, it would help the patient and family members to large extent. Patients should also be educated about relapses with total context of the disorders. Therefore, proper patient education would be one of the interventions of nursing professionals that will follow tee alt belief model (Golightly 2006). The patient could be advised to take admissions in hospitals if risks of harms are high. Within this period, effective patient education can be given and patients’ compliance with the treatment can also be monitored (Hoyle, Eliott and Comer 2015)
Risk Factors for Bipolar Affective Depression
Another effective intervention that the nursing professionals should also apply is the lithium treatment. It helps in reducing the severity as well as frequency of mania. Researchers are of the opinion that lithium is successful in reducing the risks of suicides. This medication is seen to act on the central nervous stem of patients. Researchers are not completely aware of how lithium helps in stabilizing a person mood but it helps in strengthening the nerve cell connections in the different region of the brain that are involved in regulating mood, behavior as well as thinking of patients (Reveley 2006). One important thing that the nurse should keep in mind is that she should have periodic checks of lithium levels in blood as lithium as the capability of affecting kidney and thyroid function. Lithium should be maintained at a cost level in the blood for its best activity (Frank et al. 2015). The patient should take steady amount of fluid as irregular amount of lithium can affect the individual’s physiological systems. Risperidone can also be used in this condition.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it becomes clear that bipolar affective disorder is one form of mental health condition that can affect the quality of lives of the people. Therefore, healthcare professionals should diagnose the disorder by proper observations and differential diagnosis. Once confirmed, they can follow the health belief model to cure the patient. Effective patient education and lithium treatment helps the patients to overcome symptoms. Risperidone can also be used.
References:
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