Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder known for distortions in perception and thinking consist of positive and negative symptoms for over six months. Expressed emotion (EE) is an attitude towards a patient with a mental disorder from the individuals surrounding him. EE was predicted as a key element in the relapsing of schizophrenia through criticism, emotional over-involvement, and/or intrusiveness. High-EE environment has always been a known risk factor for relapsing into schizophrenia comparing to low-EE environment. However, in our case, that risk has increased the level of suicidality, as few articles have linked EE as a risk factor to increase suicidality in other mental disorders. We present a case of a young male from eastern reigon of Saudi Arabia with a high level of expressed emotion from the family in the form of emotional over-involvement, better highlighting the importance of family therapy through psychoeducational interventions in managing a schizophrenic patient.

Objectives: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) do not exhibit usual mood swings and emotional reactions to difficulties in life. Patients with MDD experience specific symptoms such as decreased mood, loss of interest, and suicidal thoughts, particularly those with moderate, severe, or recurrent MDD. Depression can become a severe health condition, and MDD can lead to significant morbidity and mortality, and functional impairment. A total of 260 million people are diagnosed as having MDD worldwide, with a global prevalence of 3627 per 100,000 individuals. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 2894 patients who were interviewed at a psychiatric clinic and were diagnosed as having MDD from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020, at Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. From the hospital’s health information system, we extracted the following data using the patient arrival report for psychiatric clinics. Results: The mean age of MDD onset was 43 years in Saudi Arabia with a peak age between 35 and 40 years and an average age between 43 and 46 years. Conclusion: The mean and peak ages of MDD onset in Saudi Arabia differ from those in other countries. Our findings can help set a screening age for depression in the Saudi population in primary healthcare centers.

Objectives: Mental disorders manifest as social, occupational, or emotional dysfunctions. Many countries struggle to recognize mental disorders and their effects on communities. Mental health awareness in Saudi Arabia has improved in recent years as psychiatric treatment has become more acceptable in Saudi society. The aim of this study was to determine the percentages of mental disorders among a hospital population at Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, using the diagnostic criteria of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. We aimed to determine sex differences and to identify the five most common disorders. Material and Methods: We identified clusters of mental disorders seen at Hera General Hospital psychiatric clinic using the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV and ICD-10 and it was a cross-sectional study of patients at a psychiatric outpatient department from July 2009 to June 2019 in Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Results: The most common mental disorders in patients attending the psychiatric clinic of Hera General Hospital were found to be major depressive disorder (41.3%), followed by anxiety disorders (22.1%), substance-induced psychotic disorder (11.4%), schizophrenia (8.9%), and Mental retardation (7.0%). Females were observed to have a higher risk for mood and anxiety disorders, whereas males had a higher risk for substance-induced psychotic disorder and schizophrenia. Conclusion: Major depressive disorder was the most prevalent mental disorder at Hera General Hospital. Most patients with depressive disorder were female.

Introduction: The most prevalent mental disorders which affect up to 33.7% of the population include generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety mixed with depression, panic attack, panic disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, and agoraphobia, all of which fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorder. Its prevalence has increased due to social, environmental, and political changes, and such patients are mostly treated as outpatients. Its incidence rate from 1990 to 2019 slightly increased among the people aged 20–39 and over 75 years, but its prevalence rate over the past 60 years has gradually decreased. Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study initially enrolled 2288 patients with anxiety disorders from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020, at Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Data was extracted from the hospital’s health information system. Results: Anxiety disorders developed at an average age of 41.6 years, peak age of 39.5 years, and most frequent age of 38 years, with significant changes in the median age of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conclusion: Anxiety disorders are the second most dysfunctional mental disorder in Saudi Arabia, with incident rate of approximately 135 cases per year with an average onset at around 41 years old at our institution.