Psychological peculiarities of mental patient with the comorbid somatic pathology

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive psychodiagnostic study of the psychological characteristics of psychotic patients with schizophrenia with somatic disorders. Based on the results of the study, the features of the representation of mental and somatic illness in the minds of schizophrenic patients with somatic disorders were identified. It has been proven that an important role in the pathogenesis of the formation of psychiatric comorbidity in schizophrenia is played by the categories of self-esteem, awareness, perception and attitude to mental and somatic illness. It was revealed that patients with schizophrenia with cardiovascular disease (CVD), with low assessments of all health parameters, assessed themselves as mentally sicker than physically, and patients with schizophrenia with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM 2) and obesity, with low assessments of all health parameters, assessed themselves as physically sicker than mentally. In addition, patients with CVD and obesity were more aware of the need for treatment of mental illness, while patients with DM 2 were more aware that their environment would consider it necessary to treat a mental disorder. It was also found that patients with schizophrenia with somatic diseases have significantly higher indicators of the level of threat of mental disorder than patients without somatic burden. The results of the study of attitudes towards somatic illness revealed that patients with schizophrenia were characterized by a predominance of maladaptive forms of attitudes toward the disease: anxious, hypochondriac and melancholic (in schizophrenia with CVD), anosognosic and dysphoric (in schizophrenia with diabetes mellitus and obesity), as well as apathetic (in schizophrenia with obesity). It is advisable to use the obtained results as specific targets of psycho-education and psychotherapeutic work and to take into account when developing complex programs for the treatment of schizophrenic patients with comorbid somatic disorders.