Abnormal Psychology (Chapter 18)

Second Lecture Outline:Dissociative DisordersDepression and Mood DisordersSuicide (Interview tape)

Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative amnesia: Memory loss for specific events or people

• Fugue: Total memory loss after stress, relocation and starting a new life

• Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD)– two or more identities that coexist– associated with child trauma such as abuse– abused children “leave their bodies” – hearing voices

Mood Disorders

• Unipolar depression• 10-20% depressed

at some point in life• multiple causes• low self-esteem,

loss of motivation, pessimism

• women > men

• Bipolar disorder• 1% of population• genetically

mediated• depressive and

manic symptoms• mania related to

high energy and shifts of attention

Symptoms of depression

Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood Loss of interest or pleasure in activities Restlessness, irritability, crying Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness Sleeping disruption, early-morning awakening Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain Decreased energy, fatigue, feeling "slowed down" Thoughts of death or suicide Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions

Causes of Depression

• Psychodynamic: Intrapsychic conflict – anger at other turned inward after loss

• Behavioral: Learned helplessness due to uncontrollable punishment. Dogs.

• Cognitive: Beck’s errors in thinking– Arbitrary inference “They hate me.”– Selective abstraction “Lawn has weeds”– Overgeneralization “I am a failure”– Magnification, minimization, personalization

Psychophysiology of Depression

• Low levels of neurotransmitters are linked to depression

• Drugs affect serotonin reuptake (SRIs) • Prozac• Mania treated with lithium carbonate:

mood-leveling drug• Epinephrine decreased during

depression -- hormonal factors

Biological basis: NMR Scans

Suicide

• Suicide rate 20 in 100,000 in the US• 10 attempts for every “success”• Men more successful because of lethal

means (e.g., guns) as opposed to pills• Suicide linked to depression, but

sometimes follows it or unrelated• Often rational, follows warnings,

intent to die is unclear, cry for help