"Right now the most frequent mental disorders are affective disorders, especially depression and anxiety disorders," explained Fernando Sarráis, professor of the School of Education and Psychology of the University of Navarra. The expert has published the guide 'Psychopathology', where he analyzes the main mental illnesses. "All of them are serious because they produce a lot of suffering in the patient, his family and friends," he said.

The psychiatrist acknowledged that the new technology-related addictions have a negative impact on family, work and social life: "In particular, addiction to pornography is producing multiple sexual problems". He pointed out that thanks to anonymous surveys through the Internet, more cases can be counted and a more reliable estimate of the frequency of less visible diseases can be obtained.

On the other hand, he denied the statement made by some that 'in some way everyone is crazy', although he does consider that it is common to suffer some mental disorder at some point in life. For example, sleep disturbances (insomnia) are quite common, as well as stress, a common anxiety reactive to environmental factors, also called "the evil of the West". Thus, he estimated that in the broad spectrum of the general population the prevalence of mental illness is around 20%.

Professor Sarráis pointed out that the finding of good drugs and the improvement of psychotherapy techniques, both individual and group, have contributed to a significant improvement in the treatment of psychopathology.

The psychiatrist has captured his 25 years of experience in a psychopathology guide to help both his psychology students and anyone interested in learning about mental pathology. "In my profession I have to teach patients what happens to them, why it happens to them and how it influences their ordinary life. This praxis has helped me to understand mental illnesses and to be able to explain them better," he said.

Finally, with regard to advances in psychopathology, the professor of the University of Navarra warned that personality disorders, in which affectivity rules over will and reason, are on the rise. "This deprives people of inner freedom," he said, "and makes the main driver of behavior the fear of suffering."