Many typical manifestations of mental and psychological disorders are emotional instability and exaggerated behavior. After treatment, patients may become quiet, not causing trouble or harm to themselves or others. Family members often believe that the illness has been cured, but in reality, this may not be the case.
Zhang Lei
– Chief of Operations
– Deputy Chief Physician
– Intermediate Psychological Therapist
[Areas of Expertise]
Sleep disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence, and other mental and psychological disorders.
Symptoms of “latent” mental issues
In relatively severe mental and psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and manic episodes in bipolar disorder, patients are more prone to excitement, impulsiveness, and irritability. While these behaviors are noticeable due to their abnormality, they are often considered as the main or only symptoms. However, the symptoms of “latent” mental issues go beyond these.
For example, in schizophrenia patients, in addition to the “positive symptoms” such as hallucinations, confused thinking, and abnormal behavior, there may also be stages where they experience poverty of thought, emotional dullness, apathy, and passive withdrawal, which are signs of impaired psychological functioning known as “negative symptoms.” Furthermore, schizophrenia patients may also experience cognitive impairments such as reduced fluency of thought, memory, attention, and executive function.
These negative symptoms and cognitive impairments are relatively subtle and may go unnoticed without professional evaluation. Therefore, if after treatment the positive symptoms decrease or disappear, it is believed that the patient has recovered, leading to the omission of further examinations or treatments, which can potentially result in new issues.
For instance, their psychological deficits may become evident in educational or occupational settings – difficulty understanding learned knowledge, inability to complete assigned tasks, frequent errors, procrastination, etc. These signs indicate that the patients’ mental symptoms have not been completely cured.
Some bipolar disorder or depression patients, especially those with a long history of the illness, may also experience a decline in cognitive function. The most common manifestations are poor memory, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, restlessness, distraction, indecision, and reduced response capability. When such signs are present, it should be acknowledged that the illness has not been completely cured.
How can we determine if someone has been cured?
How can we determine if a mental and psychological disorder has been cured? There are usually two evaluation dimensions:
1. Clinical recovery: After treatment, all mental symptoms are relieved, and the person no longer fits the medical definition of a patient.
2. Rehabilitation: The patient not only shows no symptoms, but their social functioning has also returned to normal. Social function refers to a person’s abilities in daily life, work, study, social interactions, etc. For example, a student recovering from depression may show no symptoms after treatment, but finds it challenging to return to school and struggles to adapt to the school environment, in this case, the student falls under clinical recovery rather than full rehabilitation.
Most mental and psychological disorders are chronic conditions; they are not like the flu or a fever where symptoms disappear upon stopping medication. These illnesses cover a wide range, from common sleep disorders and neuroses to depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc. Although different disorders present differently and have varying prognoses, physicians commonly agree on one point: the necessity of adhering to full-course treatment.
The full-course treatment typically includes acute, consolidation, and maintenance phases. The acute phase occurs immediately after the onset of symptoms and focuses on symptom control, aiming for clinical recovery while simultaneously promoting the patient’s social rehabilitation and enhancing their quality of life. During the consolidation phase, the original medication plan should be maintained to prevent symptom recurrence and relapses. After the consolidation phase, the maintenance phase is entered, during which the patient can gradually reduce medication dosage under a doctor’s guidance.
Therefore, patients and their families should understand that even if the patients are no longer causing disruptions, it is necessary to consolidate and maintain treatment to achieve full recovery.
Do not reject continuing medication; medications are one of the most effective means to reduce disease relapses and maintain efficacy.
Of course, medication is just the foundation; patients should also be encouraged to maintain a regular routine, engage in physical activities, manage daily life independently, sustain social interactions, consider returning to education or work, and gradually resume their original societal roles.
Persistently and stably following these steps is the true path to full recovery. Although full-course treatment may be lengthy, adhering to it consistently is the key to long-term stability.
This text is for health education purposes only, not for any commercial advertising use, and does not provide diagnostic advice, nor can it replace medical examinations and treatments at hospitals.
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About Anyi
Tianjin Hebei Anyi Hospital is a secondary specialized psychiatric hospital primarily focused on the prevention and treatment of mental and psychological disorders as well as mental health services. It integrates prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, education, and research. The hospital is also a designated hospital for medical insurance, a member of the Hebei Mental Health Center, and a designated hospital for emergency mental health treatment in the Hebei region. The hospital has outpatient and inpatient departments with a total of 240 beds.
The outpatient department offers key specialties such as psychiatry (expert clinics/general clinics), traditional Chinese psychiatry, as well as specialized clinics like psychological counseling, sleep disorder clinics, special expert clinics, child and adolescent psychological counseling centers, brain function examination and treatment centers, behavioral and art therapy centers. The inpatient department provides closed-door wards and open family wards, humanized security protection, professional medical services, intelligent facilities, systematic rehabilitation treatment to help patients return to healthy life. As one of the hospital’s key projects, mental health services target individuals, families, groups, enterprises, schools, communities, and governments, providing services including psychological assessments, consultations, therapy, employee assistance programs, group counseling activities, social psychological services, and psychological crisis interventions.
Adhering to the core values of “Patients First, Pursuing Excellence in Service,” the hospital always prioritizes the interests of patients and truly adheres to being patient-centered, wholeheartedly serving the patients.
