Mental illnesses and public health issues

In most industrialized and developing countries, mental diseases are serious public health issues. Such illnesses have a profound influence on the community, family, and patient. For example, research has shown that mental diseases result in financial costs that include the expense of medication as well as hospital admissions, in addition to the cost of missing out on daily activities. Psychiatric diseases are any mental illnesses that interfere with how people behave, interact with others, and function in daily life (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Intellectual disability is one of the most common types of psychiatric diseases.  It is a relatively common disorder which occurs in approximately 1 to 2 percent of people. The condition occurs three to six times more in these people as compared to the general population which explains why the assessment of these patients is critical when it comes to treating the issue.

Case study

Antony is among the many patients who have an intellectual disability. He is 24 years old and lives in the State of California. The patient was diagnosed with the disorder at the age of 17. According to his doctor, the disability can be defined as when the IQ is 75 or lower. Antony demonstrated signs of difficulty in two main areas of adaptive skills like safety and social skills. The doctor was able to point out some behavioral problems although the patient’s IQ was not necessarily related to the underlying psychiatric disorder. On top of the disorder, Antony suffers from physical and sexual abuse, neglect as well as lack of support from family members and friends due to his condition.

Some of the specific behaviors exhibited by the patient include:

Sexuality aggressive behavior

Self-injury

Excessive dependency

Property destruction

Impulsivity

Hypersensitivity

The biological and neuropsychological theory can be used to explain the above conditions. According to the theory, the human is an organism that is made up of natural functions designed by nature. An intellectual disability which is a form of mental illness is, therefore, a breakdown of such functions (López & Wood, 2015).Thus, the disorder results from the malfunctioning of neuropsychological processes. The breakdown leads to behaviors such as aggressiveness and hypersensitivity which are exhibited by the patient.

When assessing the patient, the doctor evaluated functional behaviors through conducting interviews with family members as well as the caregiver. There was also a direct observation of the behaviors exhibited by the patient followed by an assessment of the behaviors on a rating scale. The evaluation assisted the medical provider in deciding the best course of treatment (Vissers, Gilissen & Veltman, 2016).

Patient’s Current Behaviors

The current behaviors of the patient include the inability to control his emotions which leads to aggressive behaviors like property destruction as well as self-injury. Antony is also not in a position to pay attention in school, and this has negatively affected his grades. According to his doctor, the learning difficulties are not caused by any other health factor because Antony was a bright kid before the disorder became severe. Additionally, the patient has a general feeling of unhappiness which has led to depression. He also has some feelings of anxiety and fear mostly when it comes to personal and school matters. Lastly, the patient has difficulties with his interpersonal relationship which involves relationships with peers and teachers.

Treatment plan

Treatment for this condition is based on the specific needs of the patients (Vissers, Gilissen & Veltman, 2016). On top of having intellectual disability, Antony was suffering from behavioral problems, and so the doctor started by dealing with the stressors in the environment. The treatment will, therefore, involve two strategies. The stressors include

Neglect

Lack of support from friends and family members

Sexual and physical abuse

Lack of stimulation

The first approach is dealing with the environmental stressors. If not well catered for, the stressors could worsen the condition which would increase the likelihood of more behavioral problems. The doctor, therefore, recommended a psychosocial treatment, which is a multidisciplinary team approach. Antony was to become part of the family member’s treatment because the cooperation between him and the family is essential. The family members were charged with the role of offering timely access to care, with aims of minimizing psychosocial stress.

The second strategy involves medication. When treating intellectual disability, doctors prescribe medication when the presence of an identifiable diagnosis is possible. In Antony’s case, the diagnosis was possible, and so treatment would be focused on the specific behavioral problems which will be controlled with the use of medication (Vissers, Gilissen & Veltman, 2016). The strategies for medication delivery involve:

Avoiding drug changes unless where necessary

Maintaining the medication regiment as easy as possible (which could mean extended-release pills or once-a-day pill)

Starting with small amounts of medications

Theoretical explanation of the case

According to the biological and neuropsychological theory, behavioral disorders resulting from intellectual disability can result from a variety of causes. The abnormal behavior associated with this disorder can be traced back to biological, family as well as other factors related to the school and work environments (López & Wood, 2015).Some of the significant biological causes include:

Hereditary factors

Physical disability or illness

Brain damage

Malnutrition

Factors related to the patient’s home life also contributed to behaviors associated with the behavioral disorder. Some of them include:

Neglect

Sexual and physical abuse

Coercion and lack of support from friends and family members

In conclusion, it is evident from the discussion that intellectual disability leads to numerous behavioral disorders such as aggressiveness and lack of happiness. The intellectual disability mainly results from biological factors and can be accelerated by environmental stressors such as coercion from family and friends. Early diagnosis is essential as it helps in curbing the disorder from becoming severe.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.

López, A. J., & Wood, M. A. (2015). Role of nucleosome remodeling in neurodevelopmental and intellectual disability disorders. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 9.

Vissers, L. E., Gilissen, C., & Veltman, J. A. (2016). Genetic studies in intellectual disability and related disorders. Nature Reviews Genetics, 17(1), 9-18.