Kinds of mental illness

There are six main categories of adult psychiatric disease: 1) organic disorders; 2) alcohol and drug-related disorders; 3) psychotic disorders other than those in the organic or affective groups, 4) affective disorders, 5) anxiety and related disorders, and 6) disorders of vegetative functions. Two further groups of adult disorders are: personality disorders and stress-induced disorders. Psychiatrists sometimes also use the terms neurosis and psychosis to describe the severity of various mental illnesses. A neurosis is a mild disorder that causes distress but does not interfere greatly with a person’s everyday activities. Most anxiety disorders and personality disorders are considered neuroses. Organic disorders are mental illnesses known to result from a physical cause, such as a birth defect, a disease, or an injury. The most common organic disorders are delirium and dementia.

Delirium is a disorder in which a person loses awareness of his or her surroundings. People with delirium are easily distracted and confused, and they act and speak in a disorganized manner. They may have illusions (distorted visions) or hallucinations (sensations with no real basis) Some delirious people become excited and irritable, but others appear listless and withdrawn. Causes of delirium include liver or kidney disease, fever, head injuries, and intoxication.

 

14. Moon. Many peoples who did not think of the moon as sacred believed that it influenced life. Early philosophers and priests taught that the moon was related to birth, growth, and death because it waxed and waned. Some people feared eclipses as signs of famine, war, or other disasters. According to one superstition, sleeping in moonlight could cause insanity. The word lunatic, which means moonstruck, comes from luna, a Latin word meaning moon. Even today, many people believe the moon affects the weather. Other think seeds grow especially well when planted during a waxing moon. The moon is important in astrology, a popular pseudo (false) science.

Legends of various lands told how the “man in the moon” had been imprisoned there for stealing or for breaking the Sabbath. Some people saw other figures in the moon’s markings. These figures include Jack and Jill, a beautiful woman, a cat, a frog, and a rabbit.

Many people once believed that some of life existed on the moon. The ancient Greek writer Plutarch told of moon demons that lived in caves, Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer of the 1600’s, wrote that luna craters were built by moon creatures. In 1822, F.P. Gruithuisen, another German astronomer, told of discovering a “lunar city”. In the 1920’s, the American astronomer W. H. Pickering declared that insects might live on the moon. Many scientists hoped that certain chemicals might be found on the moon to give clues as to how life began on the earth.

 

15. Necromancy is a term taken from two Greek words meaning corpse and divination. It is the belief that the future can be discovered by communication with the spirits of the dead. Necromancy was a common belief in early times.

 

16. Occultism is a term that refers to a wide range of beliefs and practices involving magic or forces outside the natural world. Occultism includes astrology, fortunetelling, magic and spiritualism – the belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living. People who believe in occultism consider it to be based on hidden knowledge that ordinary individuals do not have.

Many scientists reject all occult practices. Others believe in mind reading and certain other occult powers, which they call paranormal (outside normal awareness). Opinion regarding some practices has changed through the years. Until the late 1800’s, for example, most scientists considered hypnotism an occult practice. However, many scientists accept hypnotism today and use it in medicine and psychology.

Belief in occultism is most common in isolated, non-industrial societies. But since the mid-1900’s, there has been a widespread revival of occultism in the Western world.

 

17. Omen is supposedly a sign of future good or bad luck. A good omen foretells a desirable event, and a bad omen forecasts disaster. For example, a person may regard a dream about gold as an omen of success in business. Or the person may believe that the death of a relative will follow a dream about losing a tooth. Sometimes omens come from a deliberate attempt to look into the future, such as a fortuneteller’s “reading” cards.

Many ancient societies believed that lightning, thunder, or the behaviour of animals foretold events. The Mesopotamians thought fire would destroy the king’s palace if a dog were seen lying on the throne. In folklore, many heroes die after disregarding such signs.

 

18. Ouija board is a device used to supposedly ask questions of the spirits of the dead and receive answers from them. People who believe seriously in the Ouija board use it at gatherings called séances. Others use the Ouija board for fun as a game.

A Ouija board is a small board with various symbols printed on its surface. These symbols include the letters of the alphabet, the numbers from 1 to 9 and 0, and the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’. A smaller, three-legged board serves as a pointer.

Two or more people hold a Ouija board on their laps and press their fingers lightly on the pointer. One of them asks the board a question. The pointer supposedly answers by indicating a word or a number or by spelling out words. According to people who believe in the Ouija board, spirits guide the pointer. Others think the fingers of the questioner influence the pointer. The Ouija board was invented about 1890 by William Fuld of Baltimore, U.S.A. Its name comes from the French word oui and the German word ja, both of which mean ‘yes.’

 

19. Vampire is a corpse that supposedly returns to life at night to suck people’s blood. According to many folk stories, a vampire must have a constant supply of fresh blood obtained by biting the neck of sleeping victims. The victims lose strength, die, and become vampires themselves.

Stories of vampirelike creatures have come from many parts of the world. But most vampire tales originated in Eastern European and Balkan countries, such as Albania, Greece, Hungary and Romania. There are many superstitions about vampires. People who commit suicide, die violently, or are condemned by their church supposedly become vampires. According to folklore, a vampire can be destroyed by driving a wooden stake through its heart. In Europe, from the late 1600’s to the early 1800’s, people dug up graves looking for vampires.

The horror novel “Dracula” (1897) by the English author Bram Stoker, is the most famous vampire story. The character of Dracula is based on Vlad Tepes, a cruel prince from Walachia (now part of Romania). Vlad was nicknamed Dracula, which in Romanian means ‘son of the devil’ or ‘son of dragon’. A number of motion pictures have been made about Dracula.

20. Voodoo is a term used for a variety of beliefs, traditions and practices that are derived largely from traditional African religions and from Christianity. The word voodoo comes from an African word that means god, spirit, or sacred object.

Various forms of voodoo are practiced in Haiti and other Caribbean countries, and in Brazil and parts of the United States. Followers of voodoo, or voodooists, believe in the existence of one supreme being and of strong and weak spirits. Each person has a protector spirit who rewards the individual with wealth and punishes with illness. Voodooists also believe that when people die, they go to a place called Nan Guinin, which means Africa but located under the sea.

Each voodoo temple is headed by a voodoo ongan (priest) or manbo (priestess) who performs occasional or yearly ceremonies for the benefit of a pitit kay (congregation). Assistants called laplas and onsi help the ongan or manbo in these ceremonies. Sometimes, voodoo temples are part of a network of military-like secret societies established to protect the congregations against abuses and exploitation from outsiders.

Voodoo developed as a series of domestic rituals among African slaves in colonial Haiti. The first slaves in Haiti did not have much contact with one another, and they practiced in private the traditions they had brought with them from different parts of Africa. But as the slaves developed extended families and communities, they began to share their beliefs and practices. Many of these traditions come from other faiths, including African religions, Roman Catholicism and Native American religions. After the Haitian revolution against French colonial rule (1791-1803), traditions were combined, and centers of worship were established.

 

21. Witchcraft – is the use of supposed magic powers, generally to harm people or to damage their property. A witch is a person believed to have received such powers from evil spirits. From earliest times, people in all parts of the world have believed in witches. According to some schools, more than half the people in the world today think witches can influence their lives.

Through the centuries, witchcraft as practiced in countries with a European culture has differed from witchcraft elsewhere. European witchcraft is anti-Christian and involves an association with the Devil. For example, a person wanting to be a witch might sell his or her soul to the devil in exchange for magic powers.

On the other hand, witchcraft in Africa and the West Indies and among the Indians of North America does not involve the Devil. Most of the time, such non-European witchcraft seeks to harm people. But it may also be used to help people. For example, a person in love may ask a witch for a love potion (drink) to give the loved one. Drinking the potion will supposedly make the loved one return the giver’s love.

The word witch comes from the Anglo-Saxon word wicca, meaning wise one or magician. Originally, a witch was either a man or a woman who supposedly had supernatural powers. Through the years, however, only women came to be considered witches. Men with similar powers were called sorcerers, warlocks, or wizards.