Mental Health

 Psychological well-being is basically termed as the mental health and it relates to the emotional factor of a body. It relates to the positive nature of a human being and the capability to fight stressful conditions. It is also the ability to balance your mental and physical state of life in any situation. Mental illness is a serious problem and should be given equal importance as it is given to any physical sickness.

 Mental health problems many a times are a result of inherited genes followed from generation to generation. However, other factors responsible for mental sickness might be related to neurological disorder, serious losses at an early stage of life or going through some traumatic situations.

 Mental Disorder

 Neurological and mental health disorders affect millions of people across the globe each year. It is quite unfortunate that very few people know about mental disorders. Lack of awareness most of the times leads to serious problems, whereas timely detection and proper medication has helped number of patients to lead a normal life. Proper management and care is required for patients going through neurological disorder.

 The statistics reveal that out of every 4 people above the age of 18 in United States, one of them suffer from diagnosable mental health problems which amounts up to 26% of the total population. People are reluctant to discuss their problems with the doctors and therefore they end up coping up with their disorders.

 There are several types of mental disorder like anxiety disorder, eating disorder, mood disorder, personality disorder etc. Tourettes and other tic disorders are also mental health problems which generally last for less than one year. However, in severe and chronic cases it might exceed than one year and requires proper medication with extra care from parents and dear ones.

 Tourettes and Other Tic Disorders:

 What is Tourette’s Disorder?  

It is a neurological disorder characterized by vocal and motor tics. Tics are repetitive and abrupt movements or vocalizations which are always noticed first in childhood. This disorder is also termed as Tourette syndrome. In this case there are multiple tic disorders involving various parts of the body.

 Symptoms

 Symptoms of Tourette’s disorder usually begin with simple and mild tics but it keeps on increasing with time. Few of the symptoms include: - 

• Blinking
• Squinting
• Grimacing
• Head jerking
• Sniffing
• Hissing
• Touching the ground
• Tensing the abdomen
• Foot taping
• Pinching
• Kissing
• Moaning sounds
• Tongue licking
• Hooting
• Throat clearing
• Whistling
• Spitting

 Symptoms may vary from person to person depending upon the frequency and complexity. People confuse them with other mental health problems and often delay consulting a doctor. A pediatrician or a child psychiatrist can easily diagnose this disorder. However, detailed information about psychological, social, educational status and behavioral aspect of the child is gathered and evaluated to diagnose the exact problem.

 Tourettes face problems in school participation and hence require special care. There are therapies and medicines to reduce the symptoms of tics.

 Other Tic Disorders

 Other tic disorders which are very common amongst children are: - 

• Transient tic disorder
• Chronic tics
• Simple and Complex Phonic tics
• Coprolalia tics

 Transient tic disorder is the most common amongst all and it lasts for no longer than 12 months. Involuntary movement, obsession, depression are few of the major symptoms of this disorder.

Chronic tics last for more than a year and only 1 percent of the children suffer from this problem. Problems like blinking or facial contortions do not go for years in chronic cases.

 Simple phonic tic is a disorder in which the patient makes meaningless sounds like coughing or clearing throat, barking or hissing etc. In complex phonic tic the patient uses abnormal and repetitive words, phrases and statements.

Coprolalia tic is a disorder in which the patient repetitively uses obscene or aggressive words. Only 10% of the people suffer from this disorder.

 Good mental health will always help you to grow in life. Timely diagnosis and consultation with the psychiatrist can help to overcome these neurological disorders.

Facts about Tourettes and Other Tic Disorders is a post from: Mental Health