The suffering I routinely encounter in my professional practice takes various forms today, affecting not only individuals but also couples and families.
Generally, distress has recognizable and definable manifestations, such as:
- Mood disorders – excessively sad mood , excessively elevated mood, or unstable mood;
- Anxiety disorders – specific fears and phobias related to the external environment, or sudden and intense feelings of anxiety;
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders – thoughts and actions that feel compelling, foreign, yet impossible to control or shake off;
- Disorders related to traumatic events;
- Specific disorders – such as, for example:
eating disorders
substance use and alcohol use disorders
sleep disorders
sexual disorders
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Certain issues become recognizable due to their marked persistence and pervasiveness, affecting various aspects of a person’s life from early adolescence onward and undermining relationships with acquaintances, partners, or family members.
These conditions are currently known as personality disorders —classified differently depending on the manifestation of various characteristic patterns— such as extreme suspicion, jealousy, but also rigidity, fear, and aggression.
Each of these forms of distress can manifest itself in various contexts, ranging from personal and family relationships to work, school, and leisure activities.
These factors, as listed above, are thoroughly analyzed in a clinical context as part of the psychologist’s specific work, beginning with the initial interactions with the patient—in an approach that is not “one-size-fits-all” but rather tailored to the individual, with the aim of identifying the specific nature of the patient’s distress and determining the most appropriate interventions.