ETIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Many factors are responsible for the causation of mental illness. These factors may predispose an individual to mental illness, precipitate or perpetuate the mental illness.

Predisposing factors

These factors determine an individual’s susceptibility mental illness. They interact with precipitating factors resulting in mental illness.
These are:

• Genetic make up

• Physical damage to the central nervous system

• Adverse psychological influence

Precipitating factors

These are factors that occur shortly before the onset of a disorder and appear to have induced it.
These are:

• Physical stress

• Psychosocial stress

Perpetuating factors

These factors are responsible for aggravating or prolonging the disease already existing in an individual. psychological stress is an example.
Thus etiological factors of mental illness can be:

• Biological factors

• Psychological factors

• Social factors

Biological factors

Heredity. what one inherits is not the illness or its symptom, but a predisposing to the illness which is determined by genes that we inherit directly. Studies have shown three –fours of mental defectives and one third of psychotic individuals owe their condition mainly to unfavorable heredity.

Biochemical factors; biochemical abnormalities in the brain are considered to be the cause of some psychological disorders. Disturbances in neuro-transmitters in the brain is found to play an important role in etiology of certain psychiatric disorders.

Brain damage: Any damage to the structure and functioning of the brain may be due to one of the following causes.

• Infection e.g. neuro syphilis, encephalitis ,HIV infection

• Injury ;loss of brain tissue due to head injury

• Intoxication; damage to the brain tissue due to toxins such as alcohol ,barbiturate ,lead etc

• Vascular ;poor blood supply ,bleeding ,(intra-cranial hemorrhage)

• Alteration in brain function; changes in blood chemistry that interfere with the brain functioning such as disturbance in blood glucose levels, hypoxia, anoxia and fluid and electrolyte imbalance.

• Tumors; brain tumors

• Vitamin deficiency and malnutrition ,in particular deficiency of vitamin B complex

• Degenerative diseases; dementia

• Endocrine disturbances ;hypothyroidism ,thyrotoxicosis etc

• Physical defects and physical illness; acute physical illness as well as chronic illnesses with all their handicapping conditions may result in loss of mental capacities.

Physiological changes

It has been observed that mental disorders are more likely to occur at certain critical periods of life namely-puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, delivery, puerperium and climacteric.. These periods are marked not only by also by psychological issues that diminish the adaptive capacity of the individual. Thus the individual becomes more susceptible to mental illness during this period.

Psychological factors

• It’s observed that some specific personality types are more prone to develop certain psychological disorders. For example those who are unsocial and reserved (schizoid) are vulnerable to schizophrenia when they face adverse situations and psychosocial stresses.

• Psychological factors like ,strained interpersonal relationships at home, place of work ,school or college, bereavement ,loss of prestige, loss of job etc

• childhood insecurities due to parents with pathological personalities ,faulty attitude of parents (over-strictness, over-leniency), abnormal parent child relationship (over-protection, rejection, unhealthy comparisons) deprivation of child’s essential psychological and social needs etc

• Social and recreational deprivations resulting in boredom, isolation and alienationation.

• Marriage problems like ,forced bachelorhood ,disharmony due to physical ,emotional, social, educational or financial incapability , childlessness or having too many children etc

• Sexual difficulties arising out improper sex education, unhealthy attitudes towards sexual functions, guilt feelings about masturbation, pre and extra –marital sexual relations, worries about sexual perversions.

• Stress, frustration, climatic conditions and seasonal variations, seasonal variations and seasonal differences are sometimes noted in the occurrence of mental diseases.

Social factors

• Poverty, unemployment, injustice, insecurity, migration, urbanization.

• Gambling, alcoholism, prostitution ,broken home ,divorce ,very big family ,religion .traditions political up heals and other social crises.