Organic Psychiatric Disorders

Now that the reader is familiar with some common psychiatric illnesses, it will be useful to understand organic disorders in psychiatry. These are different disorders similar to the ones described already for e.g. depression, anxiety disorders and mania. The only difference is that they are caused by some physical illness in the body (hence the name organic). It is not just emotional reaction to a serious medical illness, but psychiatric symptoms are caused by the medical problem. For e.g. Hyperthyroidism, which is a disorder of the thyroid gland in the neck, can cause symptoms of anxiety disorder, like restlessness.

The list of these physical illnesses is long. Here are few examples: Depression can occur in various hormonal and neurological illnesses. Some prescription medicines and drugs of abuse can also cause it. Drugs like cocaine or marijuana (charas) sometimes make people psychotic (schizophrenia like symptoms) for days or even weeks after use. Less commonly psychosis occurs after taking steroids (prescribed to treat different medical illnesses)

It is important to correctly diagnose organic psychiatric disorders, so that they can be treated accordingly. For e.g. anxiety caused by hyperthyroidism is not treated with anti anxiety medicines and psychotherapy, instead hyperthyroidism is treated. In some instances, medical treatment is given simultaneously with psychiatric treatment.