Remember that by lovingly serving the sick, we not only alleviate his sorrows and sufferings, but we ourselves are vouchsafed mercies from the Lord. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. 5:7).

6. Question: What are the most common forms of mental disorders?

The most common are depressive disorders. About 5% of the world's population suffer from this form of mental pathology. Up to 60% of all mental disorders are depression. With all the complexity and variety of depressive disorders, a good half of them (and maybe more) are of a spiritual nature.

7. Question: What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness manifested by typical personality changes. In the clinical picture of schizophrenia, the following can be distinguished: 1) structural disorders of thinking - discontinuity, resonance, logical "slips", autistic thinking, delusions; 2) emotional disorders; 3) the phenomena of depersonalization and derealization; 4) deceptions of perception (hallucinations, etc.) and a number of other disorders. Schizophrenia is not a single disease, but a group of psychoses united under one term, which can have different strength and duration of pathological manifestations and differ in the type of course. Patients with schizophrenia require observation and treatment by a psychiatrist.

8. Question: What is manic-depressive psychosis?

Manic-depressive psychosis is a mental illness, the main clinical signs of which are manic, depressive or mixed phases, which can replace each other in different sequences. Sometimes in the clinic of manic-depressive psychosis, one phase predominates. A characteristic feature of this disease is the presence of light intervals (state of practical health). In periods of exacerbations, treatment is necessary, and in the inter-attack period, preventive measures are indicated.