Chemotherapy is the primary method for treating mental disorders. It is based on the use of medications called psychotropics (chemical substances that act on the brain by altering mood and consciousness perceptions).

In addition to chemotherapy, psychotherapy is used, which is an interpersonal process designed to bring about changes in feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that are troubling to the person seeking help from a trained professional. There are a multitude of psychotherapy techniques.

Socioprofessional measures are also used to enable the patient to evolve in a high-quality environment. It is evident, with daily psychiatric practice, that the progression of certain mental illnesses can be spontaneously favored within a certain period without treatment, leading to worsening of the disease.

The treatment of mental disorders or their progression depends on the type of mental illness, the timeliness of intervention, and the quality of the social environment in which the patient evolves. With medication and psychotherapeutic treatment, several patients manage to stabilize, and some even recover, depending on the type of mental disorder. However, most mental illnesses are chronic conditions that require regular, long-term, and often lifelong monitoring.

The prognosis of the patient depends on the type of illness, the onset mode, the age of onset, the presence or absence of triggering factors, the underlying personality type of the patient, the patient’s gender, family history of mental illness, therapeutic adherence (medication intake, appointment attendance), treatment sensitivity, quality of family support, marital status, socioprofessional situation, etc. Thus, there are factors indicating a good prognosis and factors indicating a poor prognosis that allow the psychiatrist to assess the patient’s condition accordingly.

The involvement of family members should be a rule and is crucial in the management of the mentally ill. This conditions therapeutic success and the stabilization of their affected relative. Social assistance is often necessary for the support of these patients.

The major risk that every psychiatrist fears for a patient with a mental disorder is the potential for hetero-aggressive behavior (physical aggression towards others), including possible homicide, and the potential for auto-aggressive behavior (self-harm) leading to suicide. The suicide of a mentally ill patient is the dread of every informed psychiatrist. This is why patients at high risk of suicide must be subject to rigorous and regular monitoring.

Reviewing the various explanatory approaches to so-called mental illnesses has revealed their complexity in understanding that they affect the whole being (mind, soul, and body). A human being can spend their entire life in a depressive state. Delirium, death, suicide are just extreme consequences…

This text is an excerpt from the book “Délivrance De La Dépression” written by Pastor Boniface Menye.

We invite you to read the following article “The Spiritual Factors Behind Mental Disorders“.