What is a disorder? Definition, characteristics and examples

What is a disorder?

A disorder is a psychological and mental alteration or alienation that radically changes people's behavior. It can also refer to the drastic change in the operational functioning of an object or a process.

Generally, when a disorder is mentioned, reference is made to psychological imbalances, these are based on mental disorders that some subjects of the world population may suffer. These have psychotherapy treatments and are very helpful for patients.

These can be congenital, developed by brain-type anomalies, by entities external to people, or simply for biological reasons. It is also possible to talk about physical disorders, which are closely related to psychological ones, because they drive the physical ones to originate.

At this point, it is not difficult at all to determine what a disorder is, but it is necessary to take into account the different characteristics that surround it, its types and the risks that these can cause in the daily life of people who suffer from them.

Characteristics of the disorders

Every disease, object and even processes have a series of characteristics that individualize them and in the case of disorders, it is exactly the same. The first elemental characteristic is concern at the corporal level, cardiac alterations and excessive sweating are present, this is motivated by the suspicion that something is not right in the organism.

The second characteristic is denial or fear of knowing that you have a disorder (regardless of its type). Here two aspects can be presented, both totally valid and variable according to the person.

The first is the absolute refusal to visit doctors and specialists, in this way, they avoid confirming that they have a disease.
The second is the repetitive medical consultation to rule out not one, but several diseases or irregularities, or simply look for different options to be totally sure that there is some alteration.

Finally, there is the conviction that one has a disorder even when there are no symptoms to verify this. This can generate other psychological disorders that are difficult to treat. It will always be advisable to visit a doctor to improve the quality of life.

Examples of disorders

Below are some types of disorders that exist to exemplify or to expand the information of the concept.

Mental disorders

These have a psychological genesis. Currently, it is one of the most common diseases worldwide, in fact, it is said that 8 out of 10 people may be suffering from mental disorders.

In this aspect is depression, anxiety and stress. It is normal to feel the need to know how to identify an imbalance of this type, well, symptoms such as:

Emotional (sadness, apathy, fear).
Cognitive (There is total or partial difficulty concentrating, memory loss, beliefs out of context).
Behavioral (aggressiveness and chemical abuse).
Severe disturbances in perception (visual and auditory hallucinations).

Another important point in how to identify an imbalance like this is that it usually generates a chain reaction of other alterations, for example, when suffering from one of the 3 most serious mental disorders mentioned above, you can also suffer from other alterations.

Eating disorders

These are diseases that directly affect stomach behavior, and can reduce at least 60% of daily appetite. People with nutritional imbalances lose weight in a short period of time, in addition to creating a pattern of eating, vomiting, eating.

These disorders include anorexia and bulimia. If you want to know how to identify this condition, you should keep in mind that the fear of gaining weight is an essential characteristic, as well as irritability, body weakness and feelings that range from guilt to shame.

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Another important aspect to add to the list of ways to identify a disorder is the person's behavior and environment.

Communication disorders

These are language and speech problems that hinder or limit communication or oral function. These are generally known for problems transmitting feelings and thoughts, therefore, Autism, stuttering, oppressive language and expressive and receptive language can be perfectly named here.

These disorders can be treated from an early age, but not all of them have a cure.

Developmental disorders

These are more severe problems than the previous ones, since they involve physical illnesses that impede, to a certain extent, the motor functions of an individual. These can last for long periods of time, some can be cured by surgical interventions but a fairly strict follow-up must be done. Some of these alterations are visual diseases (blindness), learning problems and, in extreme (and incurable) cases, Down syndrome.

Sleep disorder

Here we talk about abnormal behaviors before, during and after sleeping. Sleep disorders are associated with problems resting, falling asleep at inappropriate times, sleeping too much or going without sleep for long periods of time.

Examples of imbalances of this nature are insomnia (lack of sleep), idiopathic hypersomnia (sleep all night and 4 hours during the day) and recurrent hypersomnia (sleep for 3 days uninterrupted).

Endocrine disorders

These physical imbalances affect a considerable number of glands in the human body. Endocrine disorders affect the thyroid, adrenal, pituitary gland, and pancreas.

The condition in one or all of these glands generate drastic changes in the body and in the mind of patients, so, once again, one disorder can cause another. These alterations can be treated, but the symptoms tend to vary a lot, so it is advisable to see a doctor.

Post-traumatic stress disorders

This type of disorder is caused by a truly terrifying situation, which may be traffic accidents or physical or psychological violence. In these, it does not matter if the person has experienced the trauma or has simply witnessed it, the consequences are practically immediate and the symptoms tend to vary between nightmares, hallucinations, irrevocable fear of certain places, elements or people and recurrent thoughts about the event that caused the trauma.

There are situations that generate short-term post-traumatic stress traumas, but there are also other more complicated and delicate ones. In this sense, it is imperative to go to a doctor to prevent the patient from experiencing other types of mental problems and their consequences.

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Disclaimer: This article is purely informative, I have no authority to make a diagnosis or recommend treatment. I invite you to visit a psychologist to treat your particular case.

Disorder

In this article, we will talk about disorders. What is a disorder? Its characteristics and some examples of disorders.

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