Contents:
- Medical Video: How Do You Know If You Have Depression?
- It is not true that mental disorders are contagious
- Mental disorders are not contagious, but can be passed on from parents
- Mental disorders are not contagious, but can be obtained
- Emotionally contagious mental disorders
- Remove the negative stigma that haunts people with mental disorders
Medical Video: How Do You Know If You Have Depression?
There is a stigma circulating in the community that mental disorders can be contagious. This assumption is also what makes most people feel reluctant to be close to people with mental disorders (ODGJ), maybe even spontaneously avoid being bumped into "crazy" people. Indeed, the symptoms of a mental disorder are not that easy to recognize - not like flu or cancer symptoms. Mental disorders can also attack anyone indiscriminately. But is it true that a mental disorder is contagious? Apparently, said mental health experts ...
It is not true that mental disorders are contagious
The notion that infectious mental disorders are old songs that you don't need to believe anymore. A disease is said to be contagious when it comes from a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection that can indeed move from one person to another through direct physical contact - whether through sexual intercourse or between skins - or indirectly, such as through the air, water particles when sneezing / coughing, or by borrowing and borrowing personal items.
Mental disorders are diseases that affect the brain so that it interferes with chemical balance. For example, people with depression are known to have low serotonin. The appearance of symptoms can be triggered by events in life that leave a large impact or trauma on a person's personality and behavior. These events can include domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, or long-term severe stress.
Mental illness can cause mild disorders to severe disorders of the way you think, feel, act and how you see yourself, others, and events in life. The manifestation of mental illness and the severity of symptoms can also differ from one person to another because each person has a different "endurance" to deal with stress.
According to the Basic Health Research (Riskedas) recorded by the Ministry of Health, there are around 14 million people in Indonesia who have mild mental disorders such as anxiety or depression, and 400,000 ODGJ such as schizophrenia - or commonly called "crazy". In the United States, 43.8 million adults live with mental disorders. Imagine if it was indeed a contagious mental disorder. These numbers should be even higher.
Mental disorders are not contagious, but can be passed on from parents
It's wrong if you still think that mental disorders are contagious. But indeed, although not a contagious disease, mental disorders can be categorized as hereditary diseases.
Mental disorders are common in people whose families also have mental disorders. Certain genes can increase your risk of developing mental disorders, and stressful situations or traumatic events in your life can trigger the gene to become active later on. That is why when consulting with a doctor, doctors will usually ask if there is a family of your blood who also has a history of mental disorders similar to yours.
That is also why if someone who has schizophrenia is married to a fellow schizophrenic, then the chances of his child growing up having schizophrenia will also increase. Although not necessarily a schizophrenic patient born to a mother's father, one of whom is schizophrenia.
However, studies of genetic factors on a person's risk of mental disorders still need to be explored further.
Mental disorders are not contagious, but can be obtained
As explained above, certain genes that you inherit from one or both of your parents can increase your risk of developing mental disorders. Stressful situations or traumatic events in your life in the past can trigger the gene to become active later on.
For example, parenting is too harsh, accepts violence or physical and / or sexual abuse during childhood, long-term severe stress, up to alcohol intake or drugs you get during the womb of mothers who drink alcohol sometimes associated with the appearance of disorders soul. Brain damage that can trigger mental disorders can also be caused by alcohol or drug abuse, severe head injury, or disability at birth.
Emotionally contagious mental disorders
The assumption that infectious mental disorders here can be interpreted as transmission through emotional. Research conducted by Golberstein and colleagues on 10,000 first-year students who lived in campus dormitories with roommates, showed that anxiety disorders can be "contagious", although the appearance of symptoms is not much. Even so is the case with depression, but it turns out this only applies to men. The study also found that depression was more contagious when people who were depressed were reluctant to share their problems with others.
Simply put, when you see, watch, or live with people with mental disorders you can unconsciously "contract" the mental illness experienced by that person. Not really infected like flu infection, but vulnerable to experiencing mental disorders due to social pressure and severe situations that must be faced and / or carried out together.
However, as long as your resistance to stress and how you handle stress is fairly good, for example, you can continue to think positively and not drag on it and your social relations with others are good, then you may be more immune from "contracting" disease soul.
Remove the negative stigma that haunts people with mental disorders
Indonesian people still consider mental disorders only a disease suffered by people in the Mental Hospital. Stigma of society makes people who experience symptoms of mental disorders reluctant to seek treatment because they do not want to be said to be "crazy".
Though mental disorder is a serious condition that makes a person cannot fully control his feelings, thoughts, and actions. Mental disorders can affect anyone, including ourselves and the closest people. People with mental disorders (ODGJ) do not "behave strangely" or "crazy" and just "dramatize their condition" only. ODGJ cannot "improve" themselves, they need support from their families, health personnel, government, and social community.
Mental disorders can be completely overcome and restored. With appropriate treatment such as psychotherapy, counseling, and medications prescribed by doctors, mental disorders can be cured. Indeed there are several types of mental disorders that cannot be completely cured, such as schizophrenia. However, you can still control symptoms and reduce their intensity. So, it is not impossible for ODGJ to live a normal life like working, family, and working.
