02Jun 2017 by kingdijk No Comments

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Introduction A drug is a chemical substance that alters mood, behaviour, perception or mental functioning, or any chemical substance, which brings about a change in a person’s emotional state, body functioning or behaviour. These definitions include many substances, which might not be termed a drug. Throughout history, many cultures have found ways of altering consciousness through the ingestion of substances. These psychoactive substances exert their effects by modifying chemical or physiological processes in the brain. The rate of drug abuse or misuse has been on an increase all over the world and more particularly in Nigeria. Due to increase in unemployment and economic downturn of developing countries, more youths are getting involved in Substance abuse. As the saying goes, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The negative consequences of…

06Apr 2017 by kingdijk No Comments

SUICIDE

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Definition: World Health Organisation (WHO) defines suicide as the act of deliberately killing oneself. Suicide can also be defined as an act with a fatal outcome that is deliberately initiated and performed by the person in the knowledge or expectation of its fatal outcome. Epidemiology: Suicide is a phenomenon that is well known even prior to civilization. In many cultural or ethnic groups, it is a taboo/abomination for one to take his/her life. These cultural beliefs make it difficult for people to volunteer information about suicide cases. In developing countries like Nigeria, this and other factors makes gathering of accurate data about suicide difficult. However, it has been found that generally, Suicide rates are lower in times of war and revolution and increased during the period of both economic prosperity…

06Apr 2017 by kingdijk No Comments

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF MENTAL DISORDERS: VOLUME 2

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d. Delusion of reference; This type of delusion manifests when a person has a strong belief that people around him are always discussing about him. Most cases read meaning to people’s statements or conversations around them. They eardrop to peoples’ conversations and often accuse people of gossiping about them. e. Delusions of guilt; Here, the person believes he has committed certain unforgivable sins or crime and goes about confessing those sins even though those sins/crimes were not committed by him. In some cases the person may confess of witch craft and some of this has led to stoning of elderly people in some villages. This delusion of guilt is commonly seen in people with severe depression. f. Nihilistic delusions; This is a false belief that part of one does not…

06Apr 2017 by kingdijk No Comments

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF MENTAL DISORDERS: VOLUME 1

Health

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment... -Lao Tzu. Mental Disorders are a group of illnesses that are associated with abnormal psychological or behavioral manifestations in terms of emotions, thoughts, cognition, sensory perceptions, beliefs and behavior. These disorders have peculiar ways in which they manifest and this is medically termed as symptoms and signs. The symptoms and signs of mental disorders help in defining the particular mental disorder. Unfortunately, some or most of these symptoms are not well understood by the populace. Hence, the disorders are given different interpretations. This gives credence to the need to educate the public on the symptoms & signs of these disorders with hope that this knowledge will enable people to recognize the problem and then seek for help in appropriate medical facilities. SYMPTOMS…

26Mar 2017 by kingdijk 1 Comment

Causes of Mental Disorders

Health

Definition of Health: The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Health to be the complete physical, mental, social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. From the above definition, the mental aspect of health is important in the total wellbeing of a person. What is Mental Health? Mental health is the successful performance of mental functions in terms of; Thought, mood and behaviour that results in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with others, ability to adapt to change, ability to cope with adversity. (Sadock & Sadock, 2007) What is Mental Illness/Disorder? Mental Illness/Disorder could be defined as; 1. Illness associated with abnormal psychological or behavioural manifestations in terms of emotions, thoughts, cognition, sensory perceptions, beliefs and behaviour. 2. It could also be defined as a behavioural or psychological syndrome…