Psych Disorders Part 1

Psych Disorders Part 1

• Learning outcomes include defining psychopathology/mental illness, discussing the history of diagnosing mental illnesses, characterizing mood disorders (Major Depression, Bipolar), and characterizing anxiety disorders (GAD, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, PTSD).
• One in four Americans over 18 has a diagnosable disorder in a given year.
• Nearly 50% of Americans will have some form of mental disorder at some point in their life.
• Depressive disorder, ADHD, anxiety, and substance-related or addiction-related disorders are among the most common.
• Only 7% of U.S. adults are severely mentally ill.

Psychopathology Statistics

• People often believe the mentally ill are dangerous, but people with mental illnesses are 10x more likely to be victims than perpetrators.
• Mental illnesses are often misunderstood.
• Media portrayals can promote stigmas and stereotypes.

The History of Psychological Disorders

• Early views of mental illness often linked it with demonic possession or evil spirits.
• Treatments included exorcism, bloodletting, and potions.
• In the 1700s, mental institutions (asylums) were used; however, conditions were often harsh (starvation, beatings, isolation).
• Currently, mental illness is viewed as a health problem requiring treatment.

Psychopathology

• Psychopathology is a mental illness.
• Defining mental illness criteria include: abnormality, social deviance, significant subjective distress, and impairment.

Defining Mental Illness

• Abnormality: Statistical rarity, but not all statistically rare traits are disorders (e.g., intelligence).
• Social deviance: Deviating from expected norms, but not all socially deviant behaviors are disorders (e.g., "female hysteria," Drapetomania).
• Significant, subjective distress: Distress from a condition, but not all disorders cause distress.
• Impairment: Interference with everyday functioning; a problem may not impair everyone (e.g., fear of heights versus the ocean).

Biopsychosocial Model

• Mental illnesses result from a complex interplay of biological, social, and psychological factors.
• These include genetic predisposition, health, family life, social relationships, self-esteem, and coping skills.

Diathesis-Stress Model

• Disorders often develop when an underlying biological vulnerability is combined with a stressful life circumstance.
• The more stressful a person's life is, the more likely they are to develop a psychological disorder.

Disorder Categories

• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) categorizes mental illness.
• The DSM is frequently updated, and classifying illnesses is not easy.
• Disorders involve observable symptoms. The DSM provides information including:
  • Typical age of onset.
  • Predisposing factors.
  • Course of the disorder.
  • Prevalence among the affected population.
  • Sex ratio.
  • Cultural issues impacting diagnosis.
  • Symptoms.

DSM Approaches

• Two main diagnostic approaches are categorical and dimensional.
• Categorical diagnosis either classifies a person as having a disorder or not.
• Dimensional approach views disorders on a continuum. Symptoms can be present regardless of diagnosis, with severity determining impact.

Criticisms and Support for DSM

• DSM is not without criticism; some argue it uses an outdated categorical approach, promotes overdiagnosis, has high comorbidities that might indicate inaccurate diagnoses, and may be influenced by the time period and prejudice.
• DSM supporters state it can be a reliable and useful tool for diagnosis if used correctly and empirically validated.
• Viewpoints on disorders constantly change; as these viewpoints evolve, DSM adjustments are made accordingly, including new diagnoses and updating existing diagnoses.

Disclaimer

• The DSM includes more disorders than are discussed in the course.
• These are often nuanced—not just a summary.

Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders involve long-lasting, subtle moods.
• Mood disorders appear when long-lasting and normally subtle moods are disrupted.
• Mood disorders affect about 20% of the population. Examples include Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

• Defined as chronic or recurrent Major Depressive Episodes.
• Major Depressive Episodes involve lingering depressed mood and/or diminished interest in pleasurable activities(anhedonia), and symptoms like weight changes and sleep difficulties.
• Episodes typically last 6-12 months.
• People typically experience 5-6 episodes in a lifetime.
• Affects about 16% of Americans.
• 2x more common in women.
• Most common in 30s.
• Earlier onset associated with greater recurrence.
• Complex biological, psychological, and social interplay may be involved.
• Self-sustaining cycle; activities that help with depression become difficult to perform.

Bipolar Disorder

• Defined as a mood disorder with a history of at least one manic episode—a period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood.
• Possible symptoms include: less need of sleep, inflated self-esteem, grandiose plans/ideas, and excessive involvement in pleasurable activities.
• Characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania.
• Depression usually precedes or follows manic episodes, although not always.
• Equally common in men and women.
• Bipolar disorder is significantly more difficult to treat than depression/MDD.
• Often mistaken as simple depression, and antidepressants may trigger mania, making treatment challenging and requiring careful consideration/patient management.
• Manic periods can be dramatically characterized as "Why do I need meds? I'm GREAT!" whilst depressive periods can be more subtly expressed as "Why bother?"

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety is normal, and often adaptive.
• Anxiety disorders appear when anxiety becomes excessive and harmful.
• Affects about 30% of the population. Includes GAD, Panic Disorder, Phobias, OCD, PTSD.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Continual feelings of worry, anxiety, physical tension, and irritability.
• People with GAD spend significantly more time worrying than the average person.
• Often develops after a stressful event.
• Prone to substance abuse and "self-medication."
• Often the core of other anxiety disorders.

Panic Disorder

• Repeated panic attacks along with persistent concerns about future attacks or changes in personal behavior.
• Panic attacks involve intense bouts of fear, sweating, dizziness, and racing heartbeats—potential feelings of unreality and impending death.
• Can occur alongside other disorders or even by themselves.
• Affects about 20-25% of college students.

Phobias

• Intense fear of an object or situation that is out of proportion to the actual threat.
• Can relate to animals, objects, or situations (e.g., fear of snakes, spiders, or heights).
• Often relate to specific environments such as fear of public spaces or enclosed spaces (e.g. agoraphobia).

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Recurrent and persistent distress-causing thoughts, feelings, or impulses (obsessions).
• Intrusive thoughts (e.g., about contamination, sex, violence).
• Repetitive actions (compulsions) performed to reduce stress but are often driven by obsessions.
• Common compulsions include repeatedly checking things, performing tasks in specific ways, washing repeatedly, and counting.
• Can involve a significant amount of time spent (e.g., over an hour daily) immersed in obsessions, making it a debilitating and often misunderstood condition.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Defining feature: exposure to a traumatic event with intense fear, horror, or helplessness.
• Re-experiencing trauma through distressing recollections, intrusive dreams, feelings of reliving trauma, intense distress/physiological arousal when exposed to reminders (even if not identical).
• Can occur even if reminders are not exact copies of the original stressor. PTSD has significant health implications for those affected.

Explanations for Anxiety Disorders

• Learning theories: anxiety responses are learned via conditioning, including arising from unpredictable/uncontrollable negative events, stimulus generalization, and reinforcement-leaving situations to reduce anxiety (negative reinforcement). Other learning models include observational learning (e.g., fears acquired by watching others).
• Biological influences: prepared fears are easier to acquire because they're adaptive; genetic predispositions contribute to anxiety. (e.g., twin studies show certain genetic components impact anxiety disorders, and high neuroticism is associated with higher rates of anxiety).

Explore the fundamentals of psychopathology in this quiz covering mental illness definitions, the history of diagnoses, and an overview of mood and anxiety disorders. Understand the prevalence and common misconceptions surrounding mental health in the U.S. while examining significant statistics related to psychological disorders.