Mental Illness: Causes and Treatment

Causes of Mental illness:

(i) Nervous System:

Any damage to the nervous system can cause mental illness.

(a) Tumor of the fore brain.

(b) Injury (or trauma) in an accident.

(c) Infection of measles during early childhood.

(d) Long time deficiency of oxygen to the brain (or cerebral arteriosclerosis).

(e) Deficiency of vitamins and minerals.

(f) Diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy etc.

(g) Consumption of drugs and alcohol.

(h) Consumption of toxic substances like mercury, lead, manganese’s etc.

(i) Radiation during early neural development.

(ii) Hereditary factors:

Tendency of development of mental disorder is hereditary. The chances of developing mental disorder of child from a psychic couple are 40 times more than a normal couple.

(iii) Social and Environmental factors:

The social and environmental factors associated with mental illness comprise of worries, anxieties, emotional stress, tension, frustration, unhappy marriages, broken homes, poverty, industralisation, urbanisation, changing family status and structure, insecurity (both social and economic), population mobility, negligence, cruelty etc.

Other environmental factors are:

(i) Toxic substances — Lead compounds, mercury, manganese, carbon disulphide, tin etc.

(ii) Minerals — Deficiency of iodine, iron etc.

Treatment of Mental Illness:

The mental illness is curable, but early diagnosis is important.

Some of the treatments are:

1. Shock treatment (or Electro Convulsion Therapy ECT):

It is used in severe depression cases to bring dramatic improvement.

2. Psychotherapy:

It is psychological treatment given by professional doctors in mild cases.

3. Chemotherapy:

It is the medicinal treatment in which, the action of nerve stimulating chemical such as dopamine, is blocked by drugs (such as phenothazine. Lithium etc.).

4. Social therapy:

It is the attention and affection given by relations, friends, co-workers which act as a therapy to the patients.