Factors That May Trigger Mental Illness
Factors that may trigger mental illness are very different, for better study we decided to divide them into three groups: biological factors, psychological factors and sociological factors, with reference to the three cases to the family and the individual.
Biological factors
Traditionally it was thought that many of the psychiatric disorders were inherited, but is now known that it is not.
Generally, the risk of mental illness is higher in the patient’s family and more if first-degree relative.
There are also twin studies in which conclusions are drawn as monozygotic twins are higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins, and therefore are more likely to suffer from the disease if the other twin suffers.
Psychological factors
Through them we can explain the process of mental illness. Find different theories:
• Theory of learning: whose fundamental idea is that mental functioning is based on the execution of behaviors. In this theory therapies are used as the technique of classical conditioning and operant conditioning technique.
• Cognitive theory: especially interested in the influence of beliefs and thought patterns in psychiatric disorders. Facing the individual therapy with the irrationality of their thinking and helps you improve your self-concept.
• Personality Theory: focuses on the relationship between different personality types and the possibility of developing various diseases.
• psychodynamic or psychoanalytic theory: through subjective concepts allows us greater understanding of mental disease process.
Sociological factors
Attempt to explain mental disorders from the point of view. In general, families with low socio-cultural level have more difficulties to prevent mental illness because they do not detect the first symptoms of the disease so easily. Likewise, people with poor social network are more likely to suffer from mental disorders.
We may find two different types of families:
- The acceptance of the disease from the outset.
- The one that ignores it is unable to provide care and affection necessary for the proper development of the personality of its members. This is what is called “entertainment violence.”
Both a type and in another, the family goes through different phases at the time of accepting the disease:
- Reaction of denial (“can not be”).
- Pilgrimage by different physicians specializing in the subject. Once the family accept the disease, she requested information but due to the fact that you are emotionally upset, is the effect of “dual phenomenon” which has resulted in the failure to understand and assimilate the information received.
- Acceptance over time.
Besides the family there are other social variables that may influence an individual suffering or mental illness, such as:
• individual’s own culture.
• Social environment in which they live.
• socio-demographic variables: age and sex combining notes:
- In men, these disorders occur more frequently in childhood, the most common psychosis.
- In women the most common disorders are the neurosis, displayed a higher incidence in adolescence and adulthood.
In terms of marital status is concluded that the risk of mental illness is higher in single, widowed, separated or divorced, also, with reference to social class, we can say that schizophrenia is higher in the lower class while predominantly upper-class neurosis.
These predisposing factors listed above should be linked to a stressful event (unemployment, emigration, loss of a loved ,…) in one’s life to trigger the disease.
Also, just as there are factors that facilitate the emergence of the disease, there are others as identification with the role of the patient to help the disease persists.