Psychological Disorders Diagnosis

Psychological Disorders Overview

• Distress from psychological disorders includes circular thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Diagnosis involves recognizing patterns of physical and psychological symptoms.
• Mental health disorders impact mood, thinking, behavior, and cause significant distress or impairment.
• Not all distress from common stressors, such as bereavement, qualifies as a disorder.

Assessment and Diagnosis

• Clinical diagnosis requires a thorough evaluation including behavior observation and discussions with the individual and their support network.
• Initial physical examination eliminates potential physical illnesses contributing to symptoms.
• Psychological evaluation involves clinical interviews, psychological tests, and behavioral assessments to understand the individual’s experiences and challenges.
• Psychological tests often utilize standardized questionnaires to assess personality traits and behaviors.

Depression

• Diagnosed if persistent low mood and lack of pleasure in activities lasts over two weeks.
• Symptoms can include low self-esteem, hopelessness, irritability, and impaired social interaction.
• Can lead to serious consequences, including self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
• Causes include a mix of biological, social, and environmental factors; effective treatment can be through psychotherapy and sometimes medication.

Panic Disorder

• Characterized by recurrent panic attacks, symptoms arise from exaggerated fear responses.
• Panic attacks are intense, lasting about 20 minutes, involving physical symptoms like increased heart rate and hyperventilation.
• Fear of future attacks can lead to avoidance of specific situations or environments.
• Associated with traumatic experiences and family history; environmental conditions may also contribute.

Specific Phobia

• Defined as intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation.
• Symptoms include rapid heart rate and a feeling of losing control upon exposure to the phobia trigger.
• Often developed from childhood traumatic experiences or learned behaviors from family.
• Common categories include blood-injection-injury, natural environments, situational fears, and animal-related phobias.

Agoraphobia

• Involves fear of being trapped in situations where escape is difficult; often leads to avoidance of public spaces or travel.
• Affects functioning in daily life; can develop post-panic attack, where individuals fear repeating the experience.
• Symptoms include both physical (rapid heart rate, dizziness) and cognitive (catastrophic thoughts) reactions.

Claustrophobia

• An irrational fear of confined spaces leading to anxiety and panic attacks.
• Symptoms mirror those of agoraphobia; conditioned responses from past experiences often trigger the fear.
• Individuals may plan daily activities meticulously to avoid situations involving confinement.
• Genetic predisposition or learned behavior can contribute to the development of this phobia.

Mental Properties and Personality Traits

• Mental properties regulate personality traits and are established gradually through reflection and practice.
• Personality traits are diverse, including intellectual (observation, mental flexibility), strong-willed (decisiveness, perseverance), and emotional (tenderness, sensitivity).

Hippocrates and Temperament Theory

• Hippocrates introduced temperament theory based on biological characteristics of innate personality traits.
• Four temperaments identified: sanguine (blood), choleric (bile), melancholic (bitterness), phlegmatic (phlegm).
• Each temperament has distinct reactions and behavioral tendencies:
  • Choleric: Hot-tempered, immediately excited, extroverted, unstable.
  • Sanguine: Cheerful, optimistic, excited but fleeting responses, extroverted, stable.
  • Melancholic: Sensitive, responds slowly but deeply, introverted, unstable.
  • Phlegmatic: Calm, slow to react, introverted, stable.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Temperament

• Sanguine:

  • Strengths: Enjoys life, optimistic, friendly, compassionate, extroverted.
  • Weaknesses: Restless, weak-willed, egotistical, emotionally unstable.

• Choleric:

  • Strengths: Strong-willed, practical, natural leader, optimistic, extroverted.
  • Weaknesses: Impulsive, cruel, self-sufficient, hot-tempered.

• Melancholic:

  • Strengths: Sensitive, perfectionist, loyal, self-sacrificing, introverted.
  • Weaknesses: Self-centered, pessimistic, moody.

• Phlegmatic:

  • Strengths: Easygoing, witty, dependable, practical, neat.
  • Weaknesses: Slow, lazy, stubborn, indecisive.

Responses to Situations

• Different temperaments respond distinctively when faced with similar situations:
  • Choleric: impulsively dissatisfied.
  • Phlegmatic: calm and analyzing.
  • Melancholic: sensitively expressive.
  • Sanguine: humorously addressing.

Relationship Between Temperament and Anger

• Temperaments predispose individuals to different emotional responses, with Sanguine and Choleric leaning towards anger, while Phlegmatic generally avoids it.
• Introverted individuals (Melancholic, Phlegmatic) may struggle more with fear, whereas extroverted ones (Choleric, Sanguine) may face anger.

Character Traits

• Character consists of acquired traits that can evolve and is stable throughout a person's life.
• Character is shaped by attitudes towards reality, work, and self:
  • Attitude towards others (honesty, sincerity).
  • Attitude towards work (hard work, prudence).
  • Attitude towards self (self-esteem, egocentrism).

Types of Character According to Kretschmer

• Asthenic: Thin, prone to anxiety.
• Athletic: Strongly built, confident.
• Picnic: Round, often sociable but may fall to emotional extremes.

Abilities and Skills

• Abilities: innate traits enabling successful activities; encompass mental processes and facilitate quick learning and application.
• Skills: learned behaviors developed through training or experience; easily measurable and teachable.

Summary of Key Concepts

• Temperament: Innate traits affecting behavior based on genetic heritage.
• Character: Acquired traits shaped by life experiences and upbringing.
• Personality: Combination of both inborn and acquired traits influencing overall behavior.

Explore the complex process of diagnosing psychological disorders in this quiz. Understand how symptoms, thoughts, and behaviors contribute to identifying various mental health conditions. Test your knowledge about patterns, diagnosis, and treatment approaches.