The causes of mental disorders are often unclear. Theories may incorporate findings from a range of fields. Mental disorders are usually defined by a combination of how a person behaves, feels, sees, or thinks. This may be associated with particular regions or functions of the brain, often in a social context. A mental disorder is one aspect of mental health. Cultural and religious convictions, as well as social standards, ought to be taken into account when making a diagnosis. Treatments are given by various mental health professionals. Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options.
Other treatments include lifestyle changes, social interventions, peer backing, and self improvement. In a minority of cases there may be involuntary detention or treatment. Prevention programs have been appeared to lessen depression. A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or happen as a single episode. Many disorders have been depicted, with signs and side effects that vary generally between explicit disorders. Such disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional. Most international clinical reports utilize the term mental "disorder", while "ailment" is also common. It has been noted that using the expression "mental" is not necessarily meant to infer separateness from brain or body.
Services are based in psychiatric hospitals or in the network, and assessments are carried out by mental health professionals, for example, psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social specialists, using various strategies, for example, psychometric tests yet often relying on observation and questioning. Common mental disorders include depression, which affects about 300 million, bipolar disorder, which affects about 60 million, dementia, which affects about 50 million, and schizophrenia and other psychoses, which affects about 23 million people globally. Stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering and disability associated with mental disorders, leading to various social developments attempting to increase understanding and challenge social exclusion.