Psychological Disorders

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Psychological Disorders
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What are Psychological Disorders?

• Behavior patterns or mental processes that cause
  serious suffering or interfere with a persons
  ability to cope with everyday life.
• Usually exaggerations of normal behavior

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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 societys norms?
• Culture-Bound syndromes

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Classifying Psych. Disorders

• DSM IV-TR
• Published by APA
• Classified by SYMPTOMS
• Flexible (ex. PTSD)
• 6 Classifications Anxiety, Dissociative,
  Somatoform, Mood, Schizophrenia, Personality

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Anxiety Disorders

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

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Symptoms

• Trembling, sweating, increased heart rate and
  breathing
• Overactive what?

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Types
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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

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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

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

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Excessive / unrealistic worry about life
  circumstances that lasts at least 6 months.

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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.

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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.

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Explaining Anxiety Disorders

• Psychoanalytic Anxiety is a result of forbidden
  childhood urges that have been repressed.
• Learning Learned in childhood by experience or
  modeling

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Dissociative Disorders

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

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Types
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Dissociative Amnesia

• Sudden loss of memory, usually following a
  particularly stressful / traumatic event
• Usually events around the stressful event
• NOT biological

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Dissociative Fugue

• Forgetting personal info and past events. Then,
  suddenly relocating and taking on a new identity
• When it comes to an end, subjects dont remember
  the fugue state

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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

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Depersonalization

• Feelings of detachment from ones mental
  processes and body. Outside of body observing
  at a distance.

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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

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Somatoform

• Somatization Expressing
• psychological distress through physical
• symptoms.

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Types
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Conversion

• A change in or loss physical functioning of the
  body for which there is no medical explanation.
• Lack of concern

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Hypochondriasis

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

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Mood Disorders

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

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Types
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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.

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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

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Schizophrenia

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

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Symptoms

• Hallucinations Most common auditory
• Delusions Grandeur (Superior to others),
  Persecution (Being pursued)

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• 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

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Types
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Paranoid

• Have delusions / hallucinations relating to the
  same theme
• Often agitated, confused, afraid

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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

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Catatonic

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

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Undifferentiated

• Symptoms do not fit into the above types

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Explaining Schizophrenia

• Prenatal virus
• Genetics
• Enlarged ventricles
• Small frontal lobe

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Personality Disorders

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

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How is this different?

• Personality disorders are a part of the
  personality

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Types
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Paranoid

• Distrustful and suspicious of others
• Tend to be argumentative, cold, isolated

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Schizoid

• No interest in relationships with others
• Lack normal emotional responsiveness, No tender
  feelings, no attachment

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Antisocial

• Persistent behavior pattern of disregard for and
  violation of others rights.
• No guilt, remorse
• Childhood signs Lying, stealing, hurting
  animals
• Adulthood Aggressive, reckless

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Avoidant

• Desire for relationships with others but cant
  form them b/c of fear of disapproval

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Others

• Borderline - unstable
• Histrionic - Excessive emotionality, need for
  attention
• Narcissistic - Need for admiration
• Dependent - Submissive and clinging
• Obsessive-Compulsive - Orderly and Controlling

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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.