Cognitive Mental Distortions

Psychotic disorders lead the person who suffers from them to have a distorted perception of reality. This is why hallucinations or delusions are the most characteristic symptoms of any psychotic disorder.

Specialists from the mental health center The Meadowglade, share that the two main mental health disorders, where cognitive deterioration is observed, are schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia

The Meadowglade mental health specialists indicate that schizophrenia is a complex personality disorder that produces distortions in thinking, behavior and perception of reality.

The Meadowglade mental health specialists divide its symptoms into two categories:

· Positive (they involve an excess or distortion of normal functions): distortions or exaggerations of thinking inferences (delusions), perception (hallucinations), language and communication (disorganized language) and behavioral organization (severely disorganized or catatonic behavior).

· Negative (reflect a decrease or loss of normal functions): restrictions on the scope and intensity of emotional expression (affective flattening), on the fluency and productivity of thought and language (alogia) and on the initiation of behavior directed at a objective (abulia).

According to The Meadowglade mental health specialists, the profile of cognitive impairment can be very diverse, but deficits in attention, verbal fluency, working memory, and executive functions stand out mainly. Also, social cognition is seriously altered, presenting fundamental alterations in emotional perception, conflict resolution and the execution of solutions.

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is characterized by fluctuations in mood, with mania at one extreme and depression at the other. The Meadowglade mental health specialists indicate that depending on the number of episodes and their intensity, this disorder has several types.

The symptoms of the manic phase are frequent distraction, little need for sleep, poor judgment, inadequate temper control, reckless behaviors and lack of self-control, exaggerated engagement in activities, exaggerated agitation or irritation.

The Meadowglade mental health specialists explain in their articles on Muckrack, that the symptoms of the depressive phase are daily sadness or low mood, difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions, eating problems, fatigue or reluctance, feeling of helplessness, hopelessness or guilt, loss of interest in previously pleasant activities, loss self-esteem, thoughts of death and suicide, difficulty falling asleep or sleeping too much, withdrawal from friends and family or activities the person used to enjoy.

Mental health specialists from The Meadowglade specify that not all of the present cases are cognitive deficits. However, in the cases in which they are present, they are evident from the first episode of the disease. They worsen when the episodes are repeated, and they are more severe compared to what is observed in healthy individuals. The main areas affected in bipolar patients in remission are attention and concentration, verbal learning, memory, and executive functioning (abstract thinking and problem solving). Impulsivity and decreased inhibition are also observed, specifically during manic episodes.