Psychiatry & Psychology

Care, Treatment, and Counseling for Psychological Problems

Approximately 23% of adults seeking medical help suffer from psychiatric disorders. One-third of the adolescent population has the same problem as do about a quarter of children aged between 7-12 years.

Across all age groups, people visiting doctors with unspecific physical symptoms are often found to be suffering from psychiatric disorders. Anxiety disorders are most frequent followed by symptoms arising from misuse of alcohol and drugs. Mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorders come next while cases of obsessional disorders and schizophrenia, though still rare, are rising at an alarming rate. Dementia and other cognitive disorders are also becoming a part of our life with the increasing age of survival and rising levels of stress.

Depressive Disorder

• It affects about 10 to 15% of the population in a lifetime. A depressive disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. According to the WHO, it is set to become the second leading cause of disability after heart diseases by 2020.
• Depression and medical illness co-exist and frequently complicate each other. Depression increases the morbidity and mortality associated with other physical illnesses (cardiac, neurological, and others) if not treated adequately.
• Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the US in 2004, a situation, unfortunately, likely to be replicated soon the world over, including India.