The doctor spoke about the three most common mental disorders

Bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), as well as schizophrenia, are the most common psychiatric disorders. On February 27, Viktor Nurdaev, a psychiatrist at the Sberbank Health medical company, told Izvestia about their development, diagnosis, methods of treatment and prevention.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a condition characterized by obsessive thoughts, as well as repetitive actions that a person performs to reduce anxiety, the expert explained.

"According to research, OCD occurs due to a combination of biological factors - disruption of certain areas of the brain, as well as psychological ones, which include perfectionism and increased responsibility," Nurdaev explained.

According to him, OCD treatment includes cognitive behavioral therapy and, if necessary, taking antidepressants. Prevention of this disorder largely lies in the ability to manage stress and anxiety, the doctor added.

Bipolar affective disorder is characterized by alternating periods of emotional uplift — mania or hypomania, and recessions - depression. In the first case, the patient may be overly active. Hypomania is a more balanced state, but it also differs significantly in energy levels from the patient's "normal" state of health, the expert emphasized. In the phase of depression, on the contrary, the amount of strength and energy decreases, and the ability to experience positive emotions decreases.

The disorder develops as a result of a genetic predisposition combined with exposure to external factors such as stress or the use of various psychoactive substances, Nurdaev said.

The expert emphasized that the treatment of bipolar disorder includes drug therapy, as well as psychotherapy, which helps the patient build a healthy lifestyle and better understand the triggers that provoke mood swings.

According to the doctor, schizophrenia is one of the most complex mental disorders. It can manifest itself in auditory or visual hallucinations, impaired thinking and emotional reaction, he explained.

"At the same time, severe stress, an unfavorable family situation or the use of psychoactive substances, if a person has a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, can also contribute to the activation of this disease," Nurdaev said..

The basis of schizophrenia therapy is the use of antipsychotic drugs. In addition, psychotherapy, social rehabilitation, and supportive programs are used to restore the patient and return him to an active life. The doctor noted that currently there is no way to prevent the development of schizophrenia, since this disease is largely due to heredity.

Nurdayev urged to contact specialists in a timely manner to prevent the development or progression of mental disorders.

Earlier, on February 25, Gyuzal Tabeeva, MD, Professor of the Department of Nervous Diseases at the First Moscow State Medical University named after Sechenov, President of the Russian Society for the Study of Headache, told Izvestia href="https://iz.ru/1844327/2025-02-25/professor-nazvala-rasprostranennye-priciny-vozniknovenia-demencii"> about the causes of dementia. According to her, cognitive impairment can be the result of chronic or acute disorders of the blood supply to the brain associated with cardiovascular diseases and pathological processes in the nervous tissue, the professor emphasized.