Psychological Disorders

What are Psychological Disorders?

Behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious suffering or interfere with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life.

Usually exaggerations of normal behavior

Criteria for Symptoms:

Typicality: How normal is the behavior compared to others?

Maladaptivity: Does the behavior impair functioning in everyday life?

Emotional Discomfort: Does it cause the individual emotional discomfort?

Socially Unacceptable: Does the behavior violate that society’s norms? Culture-Bound syndromes:

Classifying Psych. Disorders

DSM IV-TR: Published by APA Classified by SYMPTOMS Flexible (ex. PTSD) 6 Classifications: Anxiety,

Dissociative, Somatoform, Mood, Schizophrenia, Personality

Anxiety Disorders

General state of dread or uneasiness that occurs in response to vague or imagined danger.

Symptoms: Trembling,

sweating, increased heart rate and breathing

Overactive what?

Types

Phobic Disorder

Simple Phobia: Most common. Persistent, excessive, irrational fear of a particular object / situation.

Social Phobia: Persistent fear of social situations in which one may be exposed to scrutiny by others and be embarrassed or humiliated

Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia

Panic disorder: Have recurring and unexpected panic attacks.

Panic attacks: Relatively short periods of intense fear/discomfort. Includes shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heart beat, shaking, choking, sweating, nausea

Agoraphobia: Fear of being in places / situations in which escape could be difficult or impossible.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Excessive / unrealistic worry about life

circumstances that lasts at least 6 months.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessions: Unwanted thoughts,

ideas, mental images that occur over and over. Subjects try to ignore or suppress.

Realize thoughts are irrational – Not delusions

Compulsions: Repetitive ritual behaviors, often involving checking or cleaning something.

Stress Disorders

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder): Intense, persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused by a traumatic experience.- Symptoms: Flashbacks, nightmares, numbness,

Acute Stress Disorder: Short-term.

Explaining Anxiety Disorders

Psychoanalytic: Anxiety is a result of forbidden childhood urges that have been repressed.

Learning: Learned in childhood by experience or modeling

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociation: Separation of certain personality components / mental processes from conscious thought.

Types:

Dissociative Amnesia Sudden loss of memory, usually following

a particularly stressful / traumatic event Usually events around the stressful event NOT biological

Dissociative Fugue Forgetting personal info and past events.

Then, suddenly relocating and taking on a new identity

When it comes to an end, subjects don’t remember the fugue state

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Existence of 2/more personalities that may or may not be aware of one another. At least 2 take turns controlling

Personalities may be different in various ways

Depersonalization

Feelings of detachment from one’s mental processes and body. Outside of body; observing at a distance.

Explaining Dissociative Disorders

Psychoanalytic: Repression of unacceptable childhood urges

Learning: Learn not to think about discomforting events

No cognitive or biological explanation at this time

Somatoform

Somatization: Expressing psychological distress through physical symptoms.

Types:

Conversion A change in or loss physical

functioning of the body for which there is no medical explanation.

Lack of concern

Hypochondriasis

Unrealistic preoccupation with thoughts that he/she has a serious disease.

Mood Disorders

Experience of mood changes that are inappropriate or inconsistent with the situation.

Types:

Depression

Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, guilt, great sadness

Major Depression: At least 5 of nine symptoms (pg. 423), Depressed mood most of the day, Present for at least 2 weeks, Occurs nearly everyday.

Bipolar A cycle of mood changes from

depression to wild elation and back again. Mania: Extreme excitement

(hyperactivity, irritability, chaotic behavior). A mood that is persistently and abnormally elevated.

Depression

Schizophrenia

A loss of contact with reality Most severe Young adulthood 1% of population

Symptoms:

Hallucinations: Most common = auditory

Delusions: Grandeur (Superior to others), Persecution (Being pursued)

Thought disorders: Problems in organization of content of mental processes. Topic to topic in illogical way.

Decreased ability to function: Withdrawal, loss of social skills, loss of emotional responsiveness Catatonic stupor: Immobile, expressionless,

coma like state

Types:

Paranoid Have delusions / hallucinations

relating to the same theme Often agitated, confused, afraid

Disorganized

Incoherent in thought and speech and disorganized in behavior.

Delusions and hallucinations are present, but they are fragmentary and unconnected.

Emotionless or inappropriate emotions May Neglect appearance and hygiene,

lose control of bladder / bowels

Catatonic

Disturbance of movement. Activity may slow to a stupor and them switch suddenly to agitation

Undifferentiated Symptoms do not fit into the above

types

Explaining Schizophrenia

Prenatal virus Genetics Enlarged ventricles Small frontal lobe

Personality Disorders

Patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and/or distress the affected individual.

How is this different?

Personality disorders are a part of the personality

Types:

Paranoid Distrustful and

suspicious of others

Tend to be argumentative, cold, isolated

Schizoid No interest in relationships with others Lack normal emotional responsiveness,

No tender feelings, no attachment

Antisocial

Persistent behavior pattern of disregard for and violation of others’ rights.

No guilt, remorse Childhood signs: Lying, stealing,

hurting animals Adulthood: Aggressive, reckless

Avoidant

Desire for relationships with others but can’t form them b/c of fear of disapproval

Others:

Borderline - unstable Histrionic - Excessive emotionality,

need for attention Narcissistic - Need for admiration Dependent - Submissive and

clinging Obsessive-Compulsive - Orderly and

Controlling

Explaining Personality Disorders Psychoanalytic: Problem in

development of the superego Learning: Children are not reinforced

for good behavior and get attention only when bad.

Cognitive: They interpret others’ actions as threatening when not

Biological: Genetic factors are involved.