Understanding Mental Disorders

Mental Disorders

• Definition: A persistent disturbance in behavior, thoughts, or emotions causing distress or impairment.
• Medical Model: Abnormal psychological experiences are illnesses with biological and environmental causes, defined symptoms, and possible cures.
• Diagnosis involves assessing signs (objective indicators) and symptoms (subjective experiences). Examples include high blood pressure (sign), feeling lightheaded (symptom).
• Example: Robin Williams showed symptoms of depressive disorder and substance use disorder.

Differentiating Terminology

• Disorder: A common set of signs and symptoms.
• Disease: A pathological process affecting the body.
• Diagnosis: Determining if a disorder or disease is present.
• Prognosis: The likely course of a disease or ailment.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

• Classification system for mental disorders.
• Describes symptoms for each disorder.
• Distinguishes disorders from similar problems.
• DSM-5-TR: Contains 22 major categories and over 200 disorders.
• Comorbidity: Over 80% of individuals with mental disorders report two or more disorders.

Epidemiology

• Study of the distribution and causes of health and disease.
• The U.S. has the highest rate of mental disorders among countries.

Cultural Context and Mental Disorders

• Culture influences experiences, descriptions, assessment, and treatment.
• The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) helps understand cultural influences on a client's experience.
• The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used globally, similar to the DSM in its structure.

Prognosis of Mental Disorders

• Typically has a predictable course, with potential for treatment and cure.
• The medical model can be oversimplified, focusing on a single internal cause and/or cure.

Biopsychosocial Perspective on Mental Disorders

• Interactions of biological, psychological, and social factors influence mental health.
• Diathesis-stress model: Vulnerability (diathesis) + stressor = mental illness.

DSM and the Evolution of Mental Disorder Classification

• DSM is more of a guide or dictionary than a fixed rulebook.
• The Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC) shifts focus from surface symptoms to underlying processes.
• Example using cocaine addiction: Focuses on abnormalities in "responsiveness to reward."

Research on Addiction and Mental Disorders

• Variations in the DRD2 gene are linked to abnormalities in brain connectivity related to reward.

Stigma and Mental Health Treatment

• Stigma associated with mental disorders reduces treatment-seeking behavior..

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety is the predominant feature; often experience more than one type.
• Comorbidity with depression.
• Phobic disorder: Persistent fear and avoidance of specific objects or situations.
• Specific phobia examples: animals, natural environments, situations, blood/injections/injury, other.
• Panic disorder: Characterized by sudden occurrences of terror. Agoraphobia (fear of public places) is sometimes associated.
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Chronic, excessive worry.

Panic Disorder

• Characterized by sudden, multiple psychological and physiological symptoms (extreme terror).
• Agoraphobia is a fear of public spaces often caused by panic attacks.
• Hereditary component: 30-40% of the risk of developing panic disorder is genetic.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Characterized by chronic, excessive worry, and irrational fears.
• Symptoms: restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension, sleep issues.
• Biological and psychological factors contribute, including a hereditary component.
• Treatments might include benzodiazepines, and antidepressants.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Classified separately from anxiety.
• OCD related obsessions and compulsions (checking, ordering, moral concerns, contamination).
• Brain-imaging studies show differences in brain activity in OCD individuals.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Characterized by chronic physiological arousal, intrusive thoughts/images, and avoidance of trauma reminders.

Mood Disorders

• Mental disorders primarily characterized by disturbances in mood. Examples: depression and bipolar disorder.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

• Characterized by a severely depressed mood and inability to experience pleasure for at least two weeks.
• Symptoms: Feelings of worthlessness, lethargy, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite.
• Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD): Similar to MDD but less severe symptoms lasting longer.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Seasonal pattern of depression, usually in winter.
• Gender differences: More common in women.

Bipolar Disorder

• Extreme shifts between manic (high mood) and depressive (low mood) episodes.
• Bipolar I: At least one manic episode, one depressive episode.
• Bipolar II: At least one depressive episode, one hypomanic episode (less intense form of mania),
• Cyclothymic disorder: Chronic, less severe form of bipolar disorder.
• Symptoms of mania: Elevated/expansive/irritable mood, decrease in need for sleep, grandiosity.
• Psychotic features are possible.

Bipolar Disorder Vulnerability

• Shared genetic vulnerability with schizophrenia.
• Possible epigenetic changes influence the development of bipolar disorder

Stress and Environmental Factors in Bipolar Disorder

• Negative life events can precede manic or depressive episodes.
• Expressed emotion in families (criticism, hostility, overinvolvement) linked to higher relapse rates.

Schizophrenia

• Psychotic disorder of thought, emotional disturbance, and disruptions in behavior.
• Two or more symptoms (positive, negative, and disorganized), for at least one month with signs lasting at least six months.
• Genetic component plays a moderate to strong role.
• Brain abnormalities (e.g., enlarged ventricles).

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Characterized by persistent communication deficits and restricted repetitive behaviors.
• Boys are diagnosed more frequently.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that significantly impacts functioning.
• Three types: Predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive/impulsive, and combined.
• Genetic factors and brain abnormalities play significant roles.

Conduct Disorder

• Characterized by persistent pattern of deviant behavior (aggression, property damage, theft, deceit). Also often co-occurs with other disorders like ADHD.

Personality Disorders

• Enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating to others that deviate from cultural expectations, causing distress or impaired functioning.
• Often begins in adolescence or early adulthood, and are relatively stable.
• 10 different personality disorders and 3 clusters.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)

• Pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others, starting in childhood/teens.
• Diagnostic criteria include at least 3 of 7 signs, such as illegal behavior, deception, impulsivity.

Suicide and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., 2nd among those aged 15-24. About 80% of suicides are committed by men.
• Risk factors include mental disorders, negative life events, medical problems.
• NSSI: Deliberate destruction of body tissue; often used to manage emotional pain and distress.

Treatment Considerations and Effectiveness

• Placebo effect: Improvement from believing in treatment.
• Natural improvement: Recovery without intervention.
• Research methods (RCTs/double-blind studies).

Ethical and Practical Considerations in Treatment

• Iatrogenic illness: Illness from treatment.
• Ethical standards: Benefits, no harm, honesty, avoiding bias.
• Empirically supported treatments: Therapies based on research.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Other Neurological Treatments

• ECT: Using electrical shocks to induce seizures for treating severe depression and some types of bipolar disorder.
• TMS: Using pulsed magnets to stimulate specific brain areas for reducing depression related symptoms.
• DBS: Implanting a device to stimulate specific brain areas.
• Psychosurgery: Surgically destroying specific brain areas (lobotomies).

Alternative Treatments for Mental Health

• Natural supplements (e.g., Omega-3s) have mixed evidence.
• Phototherapy can treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

This quiz explores the definition, classification, and differentiation of mental disorders and diseases. It covers essential concepts from the DSM and examples of real-life cases. Test your knowledge on how diagnosis and prognosis play a role in mental health.