Psychological Disorders Overview

Psychological Disorders Definition

• A pattern of behavior and psychological symptoms causing significant personal distress and impacting daily functioning.

DSM-5

• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition published by the American Psychiatric Association.
• Provides detailed descriptions and diagnostic criteria for various psychological disorders.

Diagnostic Categories in DSM-5

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders:

  • Include developmental, behavioral, learning, and communication disorders diagnosed during infancy, childhood, or adolescence.
  • Symptom severity varies based on age and developmental stage.
  • Examples:
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characterized by social communication difficulties, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors.
    • Tourette's Disorder: Onset before age 18, marked by involuntary movements (motor tics) and vocalizations (vocal tics).

• Substance-related and addictive disorders:

  • Defined by a pattern of substance use or behavior causing significant problems despite negative consequences.
  • Examples:
    • Substance Use Disorder: Recurrent substance use leading to loss of control, impaired functioning, cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms.
    • Gambling Disorder: Persistent gambling despite negative impacts on personal, familial, and professional life.

• Somatic symptom and related disorders:

  • Characterized by persistent physical complaints accompanied by excessive worry and abnormal reactions to these symptoms.
  • Examples:
    • Somatic Symptom Disorder: Excessive worry and distress disproportionate to the severity of physical symptoms.
    • Illness Anxiety Disorder: Preoccupation with health and fears of illness despite the absence of serious physical symptoms.

• Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders:

  • Diverse group of disorders involving problems in self-control and behaviors that harm others or violate their rights.
  • Examples:
    • Kleptomania: Irresistible urge to steal items that aren't needed for personal use, driven by a desire for pleasure, relief of tension, or excitement.
    • Pyromania: Deliberately setting fires for gratification, pleasure, or relief of tension.

Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety: An unpleasant emotional state involving physical arousal, feelings of tension, apprehension, and worry.
• Anxiety Disorders: A category of psychological disorders where extreme anxiety is the primary feature causing significant disruptions in cognition, behavior, and interpersonal functioning.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Exhibits excessive, persistent, and global anxiety, also known as free-floating anxiety.

Panic Attack

• A sudden episode of intense and rapidly escalating anxiety.

Panic Disorder

• Characterized by frequent and unexpected panic attacks.

Agoraphobia

• Anxiety disorder involving an extreme fear of experiencing incapacitating symptoms in public situations where escape is impossible and help is unavailable.

Phobia

• A persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity.

Cultural Context

• Spanish cultures show a unique disorder linked to emotional responses associated with funerals, nervousness, and cultural practices.

Physiological Response

• The text suggests a possible increase in physiological response triggered by specific situations in certain cultures.

Specific Phobia

• Involves an excessive, intense, and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity, leading to avoidance or enduring the feared object with marked anxiety.

Social Anxiety Disorder

• An anxiety disorder marked by an extreme and irrational fear of social situations due to anxieties related to embarrassment, judgment, or scrutiny by others.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Triggered by a traumatic event, resulting in:
  • Intrusive memories of the event
  • Avoidance of event-related stimuli and situations
  • Negative changes in thoughts, moods, and emotions
  • Heightened physical arousal.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Characterized by intrusive, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that individuals feel compelled to perform.

Obsessions

• Repeated, intrusive, and uncontrollable irrational thoughts or mental images causing extreme anxiety and distress.

Compulsions

• Repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to prevent or reduce anxiety, distress, or a dreaded event or situation.

Common Obsessions and Compulsions

• Obsessions
  • Contamination: Irrational fear of contamination by dirt, germs, or toxic substances, often accompanied by excessive cleaning or washing.
  • Pathological Doubt: Feeling of uncertainty about completing simple tasks, recurring fear of unintentionally harming someone or violating a law. Often associated with checking compulsions.
  • Violent or Sexual Thoughts: Fear of harming another person or engaging in unacceptable behaviors, manifested by intrusive thoughts and impulses.
• Compulsions
  • Washing: Irresistible urge to wash oneself or clean surroundings.
  • Checking: Repeatedly checking to ensure completion of tasks, often linked to pathological doubt.
  • Counting: Need to engage in specific behaviors or count to a certain number before performing an action.
  • Symmetry and Precision: Obsession with perfect symmetry or exact ordering of objects and actions.

Disorders Involving Intense Anxiety

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Persistent, chronic and unreasonable worry and anxiety.
• Panic Disorder: Frequent and unexpected panic attacks without specific triggers.
• Phobias: Intense anxiety or panic attacks triggered by specific objects or situations, leading to persistent avoidance of feared objects or situations.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Anxiety triggered by intrusive memories of traumatic experiences, leading to recurrent thoughts and avoidance behavior.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Anxiety caused by uncontrollable, repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and urges to perform specific actions (compulsions).