GenPsy_L13_Disorders (small).pdf

General Psychology DISORDERS Defining Abnormality u Behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives such as: u Deviation from the average u Deviation from the ideal u Sense of personal discomfort u Inability to function effectively u Legal c...

General Psychology DISORDERS Defining Abnormality u Behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives such as: u Deviation from the average u Deviation from the ideal u Sense of personal discomfort u Inability to function effectively u Legal concept Perspectives on Psychological Disorders The Diathesis-Stress Model & Systems Theory § § § § Major theories useful in explaining the causes of certain types of disorders. Recent developments emphasize the integration of the various theoretical models to discover specific causes and treatments for different mental disorders. The diathesis-stress model suggests that a biological predisposition, called a diathesis, must combine with a stressful circumstance before the predisposition to a mental disorder is manifested. The systems approach, also known as the biopsychosocial model, examines how biological risks, psychological stresses, and social pressures and expectations combine to produce psychological disorders. The Diathesis-Stress Model & Systems Theory DSM-V u Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) u System devised by the American Psychiatric Association u Used by most professionals to diagnose and classify abnormal behavior DSM-V u Benefits u Provides a descriptive system u Allows communication between mental health professionals and theoretical approaches u Enables researchers to explore the causes of a problem u Provides a shorthand through which professionals can describe the behaviors that tend to occur together in an individual DSM-V u Conning the classifiers: The shortcomings of DSM u u u David Rosenhan (1970s) u Sought admission to mental hospitals based on statement that he or she was hearing voices u Pseudo-patients acted in a normal way after that and the hospitals still diagnosed them as severely abnormal After an initial diagnosis, mental health professionals overlook other diagnostic possibilities The stigma of labeling u Catch-22: individual may need formal diagnosis for treatment u Label of psychological disorder may stigmatize the individual in other ways Anxiety Disorders u Occurrence of anxiety without an obvious external cause that affects daily functioning u Major types u Phobic disorder u Panic disorder u Generalized anxiety disorder Anxiety Disorders u Phobic disorder or specific phobia: Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations Anxiety Disorders u Panic disorder: Takes the form of panic attacks lasting from a few seconds to several hours u Panic attacks u Anxiety suddenly rises to a peak u Recurrent, sudden onsets of intense terror that often occur without warning u One feels a sense of impending and unavoidable doom Anxiety Disorders u Generalized anxiety disorder: Experience of long-term, persistent anxiety and worry (at least 6 months) u Free-floating anxiety u Often accompanied by physiological symptoms Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) u u Characterized by obsessions or compulsions u Obsession: Persistent unwanted thought or idea that keeps recurring u Compulsion: Irresistible urge to repeatedly carry out some act that seems strange and unreasonable Symptoms: persistent anxiety-provoking thoughts and/or urges to perform repetitive, ritualistic behaviors to prevent or produce a situation Anxiety and OCD u Causes u Genetic factors u Overactive autonomic nervous system u Biological causes u Environmental factors u u Learned response to stress Cognitive perspective u Inappropriate and inaccurate thoughts and beliefs about circumstances in a person’s world Somatic Symptom Disorders u Psychological difficulties that take on a physical (somatic) form, but for which there is no medical cause u Conversion disorder: Actual physical disturbance, such as the inability to use a sensory organ, or the complete or partial inability to move limbs u Cause is purely psychological Dissociative Disorders u Psychological dysfunction characterized by the separation of different facets of a person’s personality that are normally integrated u Dissociative identity disorder (DID): Person displays characteristics of two or more distinct personalities u Each personality has unique memories, behaviors, and relationships u Only one personality is dominant at a time u Formerly called multiple personality disorder u Controversial diagnosis Dissociative Disorders u u Dissociative amnesia: Significant, selective memory loss occurs u Forgotten material is still present in memory but is repressed u Repressed memories Dissociative fugue: Individual leaves home suddenly and assumes a new identity u Form of amnesia u After a period of time, they suddenly realize and forget the time spent wandering Mood Disorders u Disturbances in emotional experience that is strong enough to intrude on everyday living u Major depressive disorder: Severe form of depression that interferes with concentration, decision making, and sociability u Clinical depression is marked by a depressed mood most of the day, particularly in the morning, and a loss of interest in normal activities and relationships -- symptoms that are present every day for at least 2 weeks. u Women more likely to experience major depression than men Mood Disorders u Symptoms of Depression u Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day u Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day u Impaired concentration, indecisiveness u Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day u Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others) u Restlessness or feeling slowed down u Recurring thoughts of death or suicide u Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month) Mood Disorders u Mania and bipolar disorder u Mania: Extended state of intense, wild elation u Symptoms u Argumentative u over-excited u Silly u poor judgment u giving away expensive things u Abrasive u Oversexed u can’t sit still u rapid speech. Mood Disorders u Bipolar disorder: Person alternates between periods of euphoric feelings of mania and periods of depression u Formerly known as manic-depressive disorder u Serious shifts in mood, energy, thinking, and behavior u The cycles of bipolar disorder last for days, weeks, or months. And unlike ordinary mood swings, the mood changes of bipolar disorder are so intense that they interfere with your ability to function u Periods of depression are usually longer than manic periods Mood Disorders u During a manic episode, a person might impulsively quit a job, charge up huge amounts on credit cards, or feel rested after sleeping two hours. u During a depressive episode, the same person might be too tired to get out of bed, and full of self-loathing and hopelessness over being unemployed and in debt. u Bipolar patients’ depressive episodes differ from the depressive episodes in major depression in that they tend to be more severe, are accompanied by higher suicide risks, and have a distinct pattern of brain activity during sleep. Causes of Mood Disorders u Genetic and biological factors u Psychological causes u u Environmental factors u u Result of feelings of loss or of anger directed at oneself Stresses of life produce a reduction in positive reinforcers Cognitive and emotional factors u Response to learned helplessness u Faulty cognitions – negative thoughts lead to depressive symptoms Schizophrenia u Class of disorders in which severe distortion of reality occurs u Characterized by severe impairment in thinking, including hallucinations, delusions, or loose associations u Diagnosed when symptoms persist for at least six months, are not due to some other condition, and cause significant impairment in daily functioning u Schizophrenics often cannot work, manage a home or apartment successfully, or care for their basic needs. u Symptoms can be u Positive u Negative u Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia u Positive symptoms: psychotic behaviors not seen in healthy people. People with positive symptoms often "lose touch" with reality. These symptoms can come and go. Sometimes they are severe and at other times hardly noticeable, depending on whether the individual is receiving treatment. u Hallucinations u Delusions u Thought Disorders u Movement Disorders Hallucinations u Hallucinations: Imaginary sensations, such as seeing, hearing, or smelling things that do not exist in the real world u Most common psychotic hallucination is hearing voices u Note that olfactory hallucinations sometimes occur with seizure disorder (epilepsy) Delusions u Delusions: False beliefs that psychotic individuals insist are true, regardless of overwhelming evidence against them u Common forms: u Grandios: In this case, people suffer from the delusion that they have some great, unrecognized talent, knowledge, or insight. They may also believe that they have a special relationship with an important person or with God or that they are a famous person. u Persecution: Delusions of persecution involve belief that you are being conspired against, cheated, spied on, followed, poisoned, maligned, or harassed. Delusions u Reference: Belief that objects, events, or other people have particular significance to them/ everything one perceives in the world relates to one's own destiny. u Identity: Belief that they are someone else, such as Jesus Christ u Guilt: Belief that they have committed a terrible sin u Control: Belief that their thoughts and behaviours are being controlled by external forces Thought Disorders u Unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking u Disorganized thinking - when a person has trouble organizing his or her thoughts or connecting them logically and talk in a garbled way that is hard to understand. u Thought blocking - This is when a person stops speaking abruptly in the middle of a thought. When asked why he or she stopped talking, the person may say that it felt as if the thought had been taken out of his or her head. u Neologism - person with a thought disorder might make up meaningless words - "I'm going to the park to ride the wallywhoop." u Loose association – Rapidly shifting from topic to topic with no connection between one thought and the next Movement Disorders u Agitated body movements: repeating certain motions over and over u Catatonic: does not move/ does not respond to others Symptoms of Schizophrenia u Negative symptoms are associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. These symptoms are harder to recognize as part of the disorder and can be mistaken for depression or other conditions. "Flat affect" (a person's face does not move or he or she talks in a dull or monotonous voice) u Lack of pleasure in everyday life u Lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities u Speaking little, even when forced to interact. Symptoms of Schizophrenia u Cognitive symptoms u Symptoms are subtle - Detected only when other tests are performed u Poor "executive functioning" (the ability to understand information and use it to make decisions) u Trouble focusing or paying attention u Problems with "working memory" (the ability to use information immediately after learning it). u Cognitive symptoms often make it hard to lead a normal life and earn a living. They can cause great emotional distress. Schizophrenia u Solving the puzzle of schizophrenia: biological causes u Genetic factors u Biochemical imbalance u u Dopamine hypothesis: some dopamine pathways are overactive in schizophrenia Structural abnormalities u Signs of cerebral damage u Decreased brain weight u Reduced numbers of neurons in the prefrontal cortex u Decrease in volume of the limbic regions u Abnormalities in the thalamus u Enlarged ventricles or spaces in the brain Schizophrenia u Situational causes of schizophrenia u Emotional and communication patterns of the families of people with schizophrenia u u Expressed emotion - Interaction style characterized by high levels of criticism, hostility, and emotional intrusiveness within a family Cognitive perspective u Overattention or underattention to stimuli in the environment Schizophrenia u The multiple causes of schizophrenia u Predisposition model of schizophrenia – Individuals inherit a predisposition or an inborn sensitivity to schizophrenia u If stressors are strong, and are coupled with a genetic predisposition, they result in the appearance of schizophrenia Personality Disorders u Characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior patterns that keep a person from functioning appropriately in society Personality Disorders u Antisocial personality disorder u Individuals show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others u Sometimes called a sociopathic personality u Lack guilt or anxiety about their wrongdoing u Impulsive u Lack the ability to withstand frustration u Manipulative u Deceptive u May have excellent social skills Personality Disorders u Borderline personality disorder u Characterized by problems with u Regulating emotions and thoughts u Displaying impulsive and reckless behavior u Having unstable relationships with others u Difficulty developing a secure sense of who they are u Tend to rely on relationships with others to define their identity u Emotional volatility leads to impulsive and self-destructive behavior Personality Disorders u Narcissistic personality disorder u Characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance u Expect special treatment from others u Inability to experience empathy for others Childhood Disorders u Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Marked by inattention, impulsiveness, low tolerance for frustration, and a great deal of inappropriate activity u u Believed to be produced by dysfunctions of the nervous system Autism spectrum disorder: Severe developmental disability that impairs children’s ability to communicate and relate to others Other Disorders u Psychoactive substance-use disorder u Alcohol use disorders u Eating disorders u u u Anorexia nervosa u Bulimia u Binge-eating disorder Sexual disorders u Sexual desire disorders u Sexual arousal disorders u Paraphilic disorders Neurocognitive disorders