List of 10 Worst Psychological Disorders

People use the term mental illness a lot lately. It can make people think the worst mental illnesses are the same. But there are various kinds of mental illnesses, and some are more prevalent than others.

Mental illnesses are the patterns of psychological symptoms that may affect more than one part of an individual’s life. The person with mental health issues conditions feels bad because of the symptoms.

Mental illness is a wide term for a broad range of ailments that affect your mood, the way you think, and how you act.

Millions of people around the world face a mental illness, which may cause severe pain and make it hard to carry on daily life. Although there has been progress in diagnosing and treating psychological illnesses, some are still hard to treat and can have terrible effects on the person and those closest to them.

This article provides a list of 10 worst psychological disorders, which cause major problems in a person’s life and pose a major danger to their mental health and well-being.

 

Top 10 Worst Psychological Disorders

 Following are the scariest mental disorders:

 

Eating disorders

These disorders are behavioral conditions characterized by extreme and abnormal eating behaviors, such as restricted or excessive eating. These disorders are also associated with distressing emotions and thoughts. They can be severe conditions that can affect psychological, physical and social function.

Eating disorders are complex mental disorders that require treatment from psychological experts. These disorders might start with an obsession with body weight, food, and body shape.

Common symptoms of eating disorders may include purging behaviors or food binges like over-exercising or vomiting, severe restriction of food. The most well-known eating disorders include:

• Anorexia Nervosa

• Bulimia Nervosa

• Binge Eating Disorder

 

Schizophrenia

It is among the worst psychological disorders that make you lose touch with the real world around you. People with schizophrenia can hear sounds that other people don’t hear, or they even think that other people can control their thoughts, read their minds, or plan to hurt them.

Schizophrenia can result in extremely disordered behavior and thinking, and a combination of delusions and hallucinations that can disturb daily functioning, and sometimes leads to disabling.

 

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder marked by the problems with communication and social interaction that last for a long time and by recurrent and limited patterns of behavior.

Since people with ASD lie on a spectrum, they can show deficiencies in some areas of their lives but excel in others.

Mania

Mania is a condition in which you have a high, agitated, or expansive, mood along with a lot of energy and activity. During manic episodes, people sometimes feel irritable, distracted, and overly sure of themselves.

As this disorder gets worse, psychotic signs such as delusions and grandiose hallucinations may start to show up.

 

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

This is a scariest mental disorder in which people do not care about the rights of other people and don’t feel respect for them. People with ASPD may lie, break the law, deceive others to get what they want or act instinctively.

Antisocial personality disorder is not fully understood, but it commonly is caused by a combination of genetics, environmental, and psychological factors.

 

Major depressive disorder

Depression is characterized by hopelessness, sadness, and a lack of enjoyment or interest in daily activities. It can primarily affect the functioning and quality of relationships. These are the most noticeable symptoms, but not the only ones.

 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This condition usually develops by experiencing or exposure to traumatic events. It is characterized by symptoms like severe anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, and avoidance of trauma-related stimuli.

Due to these dramatic symptoms, it is considered among the worst psychological disorders.

 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

People having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) generally experience compulsions and obsessions. In other words, they go through constant, stressful feelings and thoughts and a powerful compulsion to perform repetitive acts, like hand-washing.

 

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

BPD is considered one of the worst psychological illnesses and is characterized by a pattern of unstable emotions, relationships, self-image, and behavior.

People with borderline personality disorder may experience an extreme dread of struggle, abandonment, to regulate their emotions and engage in self-destructive and impulsive behavior.

 

Substance Use Disorders

Substance use disorders are commonly characterized by compulsive alcohol or drug consumption despite adverse effects. These may particularly impair multiple aspects of life, including employment, relationships, and physical health.

 

Summary

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, or DSM IV, contains almost 297 disorders. These disorders vary in severity, so that some people experience some symptoms that require professional intervention, others may easily manage their symptoms on their own.

Ultimately, the worst psychological disorder is the one that goes untreated. Rather than basing the intensity of a disorder based on its classification, it is necessary to consider each case individually depending on symptoms as well as economic and social factors, quality of life, and medical history.