Psychiatric Clinic Alliance KRK

From time to time, the media publishes chilling stories about people who suddenly went crazy and committed terrible crimes or committed suicide. And almost every person over 30 years old can remember a similar story heard from one of his acquaintances or something that happened directly to one of his friends or relatives. And watching another story on TV about a man who attacked passers-by on the street, or a woman who harmed her own child, every viewer involuntarily wonders why people go crazy and how to maintain their sanity so that one terrible day they do not become the hero of such news?

Forms of madness

In modern language, insanity is the loss of the ability to adequately assess the world around us and behave within the framework of accepted social norms. However, this definition is incomplete as there are a number of mental disorders that come in different forms and present with a variety of symptoms. Based on the nature of the course, modern psychiatrists distinguish the following three main forms of insanity:

Depression is a state of apathy, melancholy and loss of interest in life that is common to many mental disorders.
Mania is an obsession with any material or immaterial object, accompanied by physical activity, hyperexcitability, inappropriate emotional reactions and sudden mood swings from apathy to euphoria.
Hysteria is a mental disorder characterized by severe excitability, aggression and complete control of the patient over himself.

Depending on the frequency and severity of attacks, all mental disorders are divided into three groups according to severity: mild, severe and acute. Mild mental disorders, as a rule, are not too obvious to others and are often explained by the characteristics of a person’s character, but severe and acute insanity can cause real tragedy.

According to statistics, the most common mental disorders in the modern world are depression, schizophrenia, phobias, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, bipolar disorder and neurasthenia. Therefore, with a probability of more than 95%, people who are considered insane by others actually suffer from one of the above-mentioned diseases.

Genius

Why do smart people go crazy? Is there really a thin line separating madness from genius? For example, you can remember Vincent Van Gogh. This famous 19th century artist suffered from bipolar disorder. He cut off part of his left ear and ultimately committed suicide. Unfortunately, there are many such examples.

Signs of madness

Mental insanity is the worst thing that can happen to a person. During the period of exacerbation of a mental disorder, the patient is not aware of his actions. Insanity can cause the patient to harm himself and others.

Signs of madness:

crazy ideas;
auditory, visual hallucinations;
unjustified aggression;
neurosis-like complaints;
loss of self-control;
lack of self-criticism;
megalomania;
sudden change of mood.

At different ages, the disease can progress differently. Some patients who are diagnosed appear to act like normal, healthy people at first glance. But it is enough for a specialist to ask a couple of questions for the situation to become clearer.

In general, the signs of madness can be divided into two groups: a negative manifestation of the disease and a productive one. In the first case, symptoms manifest themselves in the form of apathy, autism, and ambivalence. We include hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, and aggression as productive symptoms.

Bad dream

A hundred years ago, people averaged nine hours of sleep every night. Currently, according to research, the duration has been reduced to 7 hours. This trend leads to a decrease in the overall level of psychological health. In order for the human brain and body to fully rest and recover, a person needs to sleep from 8 to 10 hours. Otherwise, mental disorders and, subsequently, insanity cannot be avoided.

Why do people go crazy

Mental illness can be congenital or acquired. We should talk about a congenital disease when the diagnosis is made at an early age and the child inherited the disease from one of the parents. As a rule, the tendency to schizophrenia and epilepsy, and sometimes to alcohol and drug addiction, is transmitted at the genetic level. However, more often people go crazy not because of the characteristics of their DNA, but under the influence of external factors and life circumstances. And all the causes of madness can be divided into two groups: physiological and psychological.

Physiological reasons

Brain diseases. Physiological causes of insanity include all factors that can cause brain damage, as a result of which the functionality of the central nervous system will be impaired and the human psyche will suffer. As a rule, the following reasons can lead to serious consequences for the psyche:

Head injury. After an injury, parts of the brain may be affected and nerve activity may be impaired. The consequences of a head injury in different cases manifest themselves differently and depend on what part of the brain is affected: some have impaired coordination of movements, hearing and vision deteriorate, others have decreased memory, others develop schizophrenia, panic, attacks of aggression occur, and addiction appears. to hysterics, etc.
Effects of chemicals on the brain. The use of alcohol, drugs, and certain medications can cause damage to neural circuits and impair brain function. Depending on which functions are impaired and the severity of the brain damage, a person may develop mild or severe depression, paranoia, mania, neurasthenia, or another mental disorder.
Age. In old age, few people can boast of a healthy heart and blood vessels, and vascular diseases are the main cause of senile dementia. With atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases, the required amount of oxygen does not reach the brain, and nerve cells die, as a result of which the brain ceases to cope with all functions. Similar changes in the brain occur in Alzheimer's disease, commonly called senile dementia.

Psychological reasons

Depression due to unhappy love. According to psychologists and psychiatrists, up to 30% of residents of large cities are constantly in a state of chronic stress, which is also considered an extreme mental state. But there is no serious illness yet. Borderline mental states are dangerous because, if they are present, even the most insignificant irritant can become the “last straw” and provoke mental illness. But the reasons why a person is on the “threshold” of insanity are often the following:

Burnout at work (workaholism);
Psychological trauma caused by an event that significantly affected a person’s life (violence, divorce, betrayal of a loved one, etc.);
Loss of what a person considered the meaning of his life (business bankruptcy due to the financial crisis, death of a child, dismissal from work, etc.);
Social isolation (loneliness and boredom);
Dependent love.

Whatever the causes of stress, the mechanism of development of mental disorders is similar in all cases. First, negative emotions accumulate, then at some point sensitization develops (increased sensitivity to stimuli), and after a relatively short period of time the human psyche loses stability and flexibility. If a person does not turn to a psychologist in time or does not restore his psyche on his own, then sooner or later he will have a nervous breakdown, manifested by constant outbursts, increased aggression and mania (in angry and sanguine people), or melancholy and depression (in phlegmatic and melancholic people) .

How not to go crazy?

No one is immune from nervous shock, stress and psychological trauma, but every person has the power to make sure that the risk of going crazy becomes minimal. But for this it is not enough to avoid conflict and stressful situations, because there are many factors that can cause madness. Therefore, psychotherapists argue that the best prevention of mental disorders is to take care of the health and functionality of your nervous system. And in their opinion, the following will help maintain a stable, healthy psyche for many years:

Proper nutrition.
Food is a source of macro- and microelements necessary for the functioning of all body systems, including the brain. With a lack of certain substances, malfunctions in the functioning of organs occur: for example, with a lack of B vitamins, a person becomes irritable, absent-minded and quickly gets tired, and a deficiency of any macroelements leads to loss of strength, loss of performance and the development of harmful processes in all organ systems, including including in the brain. Therefore, food rich in vitamins and minerals will ensure that the brain receives all the substances necessary for stable functioning.
Rejection of bad habits. Nicotine, alcohol and drugs are brain poisons that kill nerve cells and destroy neural connections. Therefore, those who want to remain sane and sober for a long time need to give up bad habits and not poison their body with their own hands.
Taking care of your health. Diseases suffered “on the feet” can cause complications on the nervous system, as a result of which brain functions will be impaired. It is especially important not to postpone a visit to the doctor if dizziness and migraines regularly occur, constant drowsiness and loss of strength are felt, coordination of movements and speech are impaired - as a rule, this is how the first signs of a pathological process in the brain appear.
Optimistic outlook on life.
Optimists are much less likely to go crazy than pessimists, since they know how to find positive aspects in almost any event and tend to believe in the best even when the situation is far from being the best. Pessimists live in constant stress and anxiety, so they risk sooner or later developing depression, phobia or other mental disorders.
Expanding your circle of friends. Humans are social creatures, and even introverts need people with whom they can at least occasionally communicate. But friends are necessary not only for communication, but also as support and support, because the very knowledge that in case of trouble there will be someone to turn to for help can give strength to survive a traumatic situation.
Constant self-development. Learning new information, searching for interesting activities and hobbies, self-improvement and mastering new useful skills - all this not only gives a feeling of happiness and fulfillment in life, but also allows you to train the brain and significantly slow down the age-related deterioration of the central nervous system.
Self confidence. A person who is confident in his own abilities and has adequate self-esteem copes with difficulties and experiences stress much easier than people with low self-esteem. The reason for this is simple: those who believe in themselves know that they can ultimately find a way out of any situation and survive temporary difficulties, therefore, in difficult periods of life, self-confident people mobilize and make every effort to solve the problem constructively. “Whiners,” on the contrary, experience severe stress at the slightest difficulty and fall into melancholy and depression.

Treatment of madness

Today, in modern clinics, treatment of insanity can be carried out with medication and psychotherapy. In the vast majority of cases, treatment is complex.

The nature of the treatment regimen may be influenced by:

Patient's age.
General psychophysical well-being.
Presence of other mental illnesses.
The nature of the disease.

Depending on the severity, the proportion of each type of treatment may vary. During the treatment process, doctors will closely monitor the patient’s condition, adjusting the treatment plan for the disease.

Madness has no effect on life expectancy. The patient's condition can be controlled with antipsychotics and sedatives. During an exacerbation, it is advisable to undergo treatment in a hospital setting. At this point, it is extremely important to isolate the patient from society. And it’s not just a matter of changing the environment, but the fact that a person can harm himself and his loved ones. Remember that this condition is extremely dangerous.

Nervous shocks

Can a person go crazy, for example, from losing the meaning of life? This usually happens when he loses someone close, such as a child or parents. In this case, the feelings from the tragedy that have occurred can be so strong that a person cannot feel anything else except pain, grief and devastation. At such moments, many close down, do not pay attention to anything, worry and often try to drown out the pain with alcohol. If this condition drags on, depression and psychological breakdowns may occur. In addition, when a person cannot cope with emotions and does not receive psychological help or the support of close friends or relatives, he may develop suicidal thoughts.

Expert advice

It is important to do things that force the brain to pay attention to the body and process the signals coming from it.
Anything that distracts a person from his thoughts: lie in the bathroom, go outside to get some air, get a radical haircut, go for a massage. In general, physical things are very important. It is necessary to make it clear to the separating consciousness that, in general, it does not exist on its own, but here, below, life still continues, and no one has canceled it.
Break out of isolation, but avoid toxic interactions. When the mind is separated from the body, the worst thing you can do is to provide it with comfortable conditions for this: to keep it within four walls, to satisfy its desire for complete isolation from the environment and from its life.
Find people around you who are not judgmental and who can simply accept you in this state. Spend time with them. Sometimes a simple quiet hug is enough to stop the madness. Talk about what's going on with someone else.
By default, consider your loved one's suicidal ideation to be a real threat, extremely dangerous, even if the person has never spoken about the illness before and you can't imagine your loved one being capable of it. Suicidal thoughts are a cry for help, don't try to ignore it.
Turn off your brain. A person who is going crazy is like an overheated computer. If your computer overheats, you turn it off so it stops working and wait for it to cool down, same with humans. To do this, you can walk, do something that can quickly make you physically tired (but not exhausted). Your task in the evening is to bring the body to regular discharge so that the brain cools down and restarts during sleep. Therefore, it is important to restore or create a sleep routine. Under no circumstances should you resort to alcohol or any mind-altering drugs (if you have friends or relatives who are prone to this, limit their influence).
Watch your diet. A person who is struggling with his conscience may not be able to take care of his body at the same time, and this is a big problem because he does not have the strength to fight the disease. It is important for relatives to monitor whether the sick person is eating and drinking enough.
Avoid unnecessary innervation. For example, it is not at all necessary to watch films where the hero goes crazy, absurd plays, read Shakespeare or plunge into further surreal situations.
See a psychotherapist/psychiatrist immediately. Not a fortune teller, a priest, sick colleagues, a forum of armchair experts, a personal development coach, the gym or work. When your leg is broken, you don’t go to a cosmetologist, but go straight to a surgeon.

Take your pills as directed

Under no circumstances should you take a friend’s pills, medications that someone else wrote about somewhere, take pills without weekly supervision from a specialist, or break the regimen. Deciding to take medication is often difficult because it seems to “legitimize” madness. There are many opinions that it is for life, you can gain weight, it is a conspiracy of the pharmaceutical companies, and in general you are not so weak that you cannot do without medication. Listen only to your doctor and follow his instructions.

Symptoms

Why do people go crazy? What signs can be used to determine this condition? Most often, crazy people may experience various combinations of symptoms, for example:

Deviant behavior is deviating from socially accepted norms.
Hallucinations are a psychological condition in which a person hears, sees and, in some cases, touches, smells or tastes something that is not there.
Misconceptions Characterized by strong beliefs that are not shared by others.
Delusional thinking.
Anxious thoughts.
Obsessions.
Mania or insanity.
Lack of understanding and self-awareness.
Rapid and unintelligible speech.
Violation of the sequence of speech, for example, the patient may switch from one topic to another in the middle of a sentence.
Sudden loss of thought, resulting in an abrupt pause in conversation or activity.
Inexplicable aggression.

Advice for relatives

With the exception of depression and mild anxiety disorders (the severity is assessed by a doctor!), mental disorders are treated exclusively with medications. Neither acupuncture, nor regimes, nor homeopathy, nor “lectures” cure mental disorders! And, of course, compliance with the doctor’s instructions is the main condition for the success of treatment, the formation of stable remission and the main method of secondary prevention.
If a psychologist works with a patient, he must be a clinical (medical) psychologist. Many clients have a question about how to take a patient to a psychotherapist if the patient himself is categorically against it. The answer is: there is no point in therapy against a person’s will; a specialist can only help a patient who is inclined to cooperate (with the exception of a forced visit to a psychotherapist by court decision). But only a person who poses a threat to himself (suicidal intentions) or others is subject to mandatory treatment by a psychiatrist. It is best to entrust the assessment of the potential danger and the patient’s condition to a specialist. Everything else is individual, depending on state legislation, chosen schemes, beliefs, compromises, agreements. In our clinic, sessions of motivation for treatment have already become the norm.
Contact a psychologist to take care of yourself. Self-care also includes regular eating, exercise, socializing outside the family, rest, distraction, and sharing responsibilities among family members. If you're tired of something, it's okay. Sometimes saying no is okay and necessary.
Sometimes you need to set boundaries (“We’ll talk when you calm down,” “If you hit me, I’ll call an ambulance for mental health help”). In the case of aggression, it is important to respect boundaries. If aggression is directed at you personally, be as calm as possible. Discuss this point later and agree on the limits of what is permitted.
Do not allow flat comforting statements or banal encouragements (“Everything will be fine”, “There is nothing to be afraid of”). The phrases “Pull yourself together”, “Don’t make things up” should be avoided. It is worth taking the patient’s feelings seriously, realizing that the condition of a loved one is truly painful, this is not a whim.
You need to listen to your loved one carefully, without judging, without being surprised, without judging, without showing any attitude other than acceptance. This helps to maintain contact with the sick person, understand what is happening to him, and see changes in his condition. You might say something like, “I can’t imagine it, but I can see how much it hurts you.” And you need to speak simply (literally in short sentences), clearly, calmly and confidently.
Remember to say simple words like “I love you”, “I am here for you”, “I will help you” - these can be very important for your loved one.
You can suggest going for a walk or try to distract yourself from thoughts and worries. The same goes for the advice to “turn off your brain.” Walking, distraction, and sleep are helpful. Physical activity and fatigue are very individual.
It's also important to take your time. The recovery process may take a long time. You need to rest more, make sure your basic needs are met (sleep, food). Solve problems step by step. Make changes gradually. Compare the patient’s condition not with what it was before the illness, but with the results of the current and previous months (weeks / years).

Scientists have proven that a loved one who supports a sick person mitigates the course of the disease and its consequences. In addition, the burden of the disease and its impact on the patient and his family can be reduced if:

the disease is recognized as such;
all interested parties received the necessary information about the disease and its treatment;
drug therapy is carried out sequentially;
medical examination is carried out regularly;
the family managed to avoid isolation.

In addition to reading these materials, relatives are also encouraged to attend psychoeducational courses (group and individual) and psychological support groups for family members of people with mental problems.

As in the case of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus, heart disease or dementia, a patient diagnosed with “insanity” and his family go through a kind of “school”, where they receive the necessary information about the disease, learn to cope with the most common difficulties that arise during treatment in everyday life. life. Please note that in some cases, general recommendations are to prefer a customized recovery plan.

Teenage seizures

They frighten those who become their unwitting witnesses and plunge parents into despair. And this is not without reason - after all, attacks of insanity are always very strong, and especially among teenagers.

“Such attacks often occur in adolescents, but are rarely repeated more than once,” explains psychoanalyst Pierre Marie. “This is not a symptom of mental illness, but a sign that something is wrong with the child.” Let's take, for example, a graduate who is preparing to enter a university. He is under enormous pressure! And sometimes insanity is the only way to tell your neighbors: “Leave me alone, everyone!” It will pass without a trace after a few days of hospitalization.” The crisis will disappear as suddenly as it appeared.

Who is Sherlock Holmes - a psychopath or a highly active sociopath?

The main signs of antisocial disorder are contempt for social norms, indifference to the feelings of others, and an inability to take responsibility for one's actions. This cocktail often leads to problems with the law - people with this diagnosis make up 20% of all prisoners in prisons. On the other hand, some express themselves within the framework of the current legislation, while others go into an area where aggression is permitted and even encouraged. Some rise very high on the social ladder - despite all the “side effects” of the disorder, composure, willingness to take risks and the desire to dominate can lead to success.

Such people are often called psychopaths or sociopaths, but these are informal terms - they are not mentioned either in the International Classification of Diseases or in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Often these concepts are used as synonymous with antisocial disorder, although there are nuances and discrepancies.

“I am not a psychopath, but a highly active sociopath. Finally learn the terms,” Sherlock Holmes says indignantly in the famous TV series. It's good that the brilliant detective has no problems with self-identification, but a professional diagnostician could argue with the film's scriptwriters.

Some experts differentiate between psychopathy and sociopathy, but not in the same way as Sherlock. Sociopaths are usually called more impulsive and primitive antisocial personalities, and psychopaths are more cold-blooded and calculating, who managed to integrate into society and even succeed. There is also an opinion that psychopathy is an innate personality characteristic, and sociopathy is acquired as a result of external influences, such as a traumatic brain injury or a dysfunctional family situation.

From this point of view, Sherlock is just closer to psychopaths. But, according to one famous American psychologist, in fact Sherlock does not meet the criteria of any diagnostic reference book. Yes, he is cold and openly disregards formal rules, but he has very clear moral guidelines and, despite all the apparent callousness, he is capable of deep and sincere friendship - unlike a psychopath.

A test for the presence of psychopathy has long been circulating on the Internet, consisting of one single question. It sounds something like this: “At her mother’s funeral, a girl met a wonderful stranger and fell in love with him, but they didn’t have time to talk. A few days later she killed her sister. Why?" It is alleged that all psychopaths and serial killers (which for many ordinary people seem to be the same thing) answer this question the same way: “She killed her sister so that he would come to the funeral again.” It sounds logical - such an answer demonstrates an insensitive and cold calculation. But a psychologist at Oxford University personally asked several diagnosed psychopaths this question. They all assumed that the heroine killed her sister out of jealousy. So this method of quick diagnosis does not work.

“A pandemic is a tragedy extended over time”

Alina, 24

Depression

I was diagnosed with depression as a child. I don’t take pills, I try to cope without them. In mid-April this year, I suffered from coronavirus; I sat at home for two weeks, worked from bed, had a temperature of 37.5 and all the signs of a cold, lack of smells and tastes. I really wanted to sleep, I fell asleep while working every few hours.

Shortly after I received a negative PCR test, my anxiety increased. This period coincided with the fact that my friend was detained and put in a pre-trial detention center, and I helped organize a support campaign. I felt sick for days, couldn’t sleep from excitement, and was under a lot of stress. This was the first time, although I have been working in politics for two and a half years now and such work is routine for me. So I associate my anxiety specifically with the consequences of Covid.

Over the next months, sometimes I couldn’t even get out into the city center: I felt so sick and weak that I could only lie down. The anxiety continued for a few more months and went away, but it became difficult for me to concentrate on work matters and do many things at once, although I used to be a master at this. The usual task of drawing up a report or writing a text was many times more difficult than before Covid. The boss thought I was being lazy and “not working,” and I felt depressed and vulnerable like never before. I received my first vaccine injection on February 18th. All winter I cried every day for two or three hours.

AlinaPhoto: Alena Agadzhikova

By the beginning of March, the severity of the condition reached its peak; I could no longer sit quietly at my workplace and constantly cried because I couldn’t do anything. On March 10, I was given the second component of the vaccine. Since the end of March, I also went on vacation for this period, they began to let me go, plus I started taking a nootropic and an anxiolytic.

I was “lucky”: my job means that it can be done remotely, so I was able to maintain my financial situation. And thanks to chats and regular calls with friends during the period of self-isolation, we managed to maintain and even strengthen our connections, although, of course, when the quarantine was lifted, it became easier.

The pandemic has greatly affected the entire world. This is a tragedy stretched over time. People began to feel fear and uncertainty, and coronavirus restrictions became one of the new methods of pressure on civil society. This includes a ban on single pickets when a concert is being held at the same time in Luzhniki, and all that. I feel general anxiety and depression, but I try to cope and do what I can.

About slow reactions and errors

Some people are a little luckier (as a rule, these are young and middle-aged people), and the coronavirus does not reward them with a psychiatric diagnosis, but, for example, only with impaired concentration, slow reactions, deteriorated memory and absent-mindedness, increased irritability and aggression. After six months or a year, everything more or less returns to normal, but to the full extent or not, such studies have not yet been carried out. No one did a CT scan on me before and after the illness, but the fact that the coronavirus causes certain areas of the brain to work differently has been established for sure.

Everyone complains about errors in work, problems in understanding texts, and drivers complain about slow reactions while driving. The accountant, who knows the subject of her work inside and out, took and gave out the change not in five-hundred-ruble bills, but in five-thousandth ones - she “didn’t notice” the extra zero. Then the man could not explain how this happened. Another patient, passionate about online chess, for several months, even at a difficulty level reduced several times, could not play a game even to a draw.

Cognitive impairment occurs in both those who have had a severe form of the disease and those who have had a mild form of the disease. Absolutely no one is insured.

How to deal with all this? There is no specific and one hundred percent effective method, everything is just general phrases: adequate sleep, massage, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, quality nutrition. Medicines include adaptogens, nootropics, neurometabolites. Under no circumstances should you prescribe any medications for yourself, especially antidepressants. If you feel like you can’t cope with yourself, with insomnia and mood swings, go to the doctor.

Help with fears at the ROSA clinic

Experienced and sensitive specialists: psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and psychotherapists;
We advise adults, teenagers and children;
Licensed and certified in all types of assistance for mental and nervous system disorders;
We work around the clock;
Conveniently located: near the metro, free parking;
Anonymous and confidential;
If necessary, there is the possibility of placement in your own comfortable hospital.

If you or your loved ones are overcome by fears or obsessive thoughts, call us, we will help.

Character accentuations

There is such a term in psychology - accentuation. They denote bright character traits. For example, emotional confinement, a weakened connection with earthly reality, combined with a rich inner world, is called schizoid accentuation. The increased thirst for admiration, egocentricity and demonstrativeness inherent in artists is called hysterical accentuation. Increased scrupulous pedantry, irritability, emotional callousness and a tendency to tyranny are attributed to epileptoid accentuation.

I won’t go deeper into this topic. For details, contact search engines, but here I talked about these prominent character traits to emphasize one pattern. Moderate accentuation is inherent in everyone and is considered a psychological norm. Excessive accentuation is already called mental pathology.

That is, when character begins to prevail over sobriety of thinking and perception, then a person loses contact with reality, and his mind is dominated by the most pronounced hallucinations.