Psychological Disorders PDF

Psychological Disorders  Psychopathology Psychopathology – Patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior that are maladaptive, disruptive, or uncomfortable, either for the person affected or others.  Defining Psychological Disorders What is abnormal? – Statisti...

Psychological Disorders  Psychopathology Psychopathology – Patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior that are maladaptive, disruptive, or uncomfortable, either for the person affected or others.  Defining Psychological Disorders What is abnormal? – Statistically infrequent, deviating from what most people do or from what the average person does. – That which breaks current social rules or cultural norms-sociocultural standards of how we should or should not behave.  Anxiety Disorders Anxiety involves increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, dry mouth, and a sense of dread. – Continuous symptomatology can result in diagnosis of anxiety disorder. Type of diagnosis depends upon symptoms, duration, intensity, and focus of anxiety.  Anxiety Disorders Phobias – Strong, irrational fear of an object or situation that is not likely to be dangerous. Specific phobias involve fear of specific situations or things. Social phobias involve chronic anxiety over other’s negative evaluations or acting in a way that is embarrassing or humiliating. Agoraphobia is a strong fear of being separated from a safe place, person, or of being in situations that are difficult to leave or where help may not be available.  Anxiety Disorders Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Characterized by excessive and long lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. Unidentifiable feelings of dread. Constant worry without definitive cause. Overall sense of impending doom.  Anxiety Disorders Panic Disorder – Consists of recurrent panic attacks. Unpredictable attacks of heart palpitations, dizziness, chest-pain, sweating, faintness, and a feeling of impending death.  Anxiety Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Consists of persistent, often upsetting thoughts (obsessions) that may produce strong urges to perform repetitive, ritualistic behaviors (compulsions). Obsessions and compulsions are constant intrusions and may severely impair activities of daily living. Examples include: checking, washing, hoarding, etc.  Mood Disorders Mood disorders (also called affective disorders) involve extremes of mood, particularly if these moods are inconsistent with the events around a person.  Mood Disorders Major depressive Symptoms include: disorder. – Loss of interest in all – Feelings of sadness and activities, including hopelessness/helplessn activities previously ess for extended coveted by the periods of time. individual – Guilt – Inadequacy – Worthlessness – Changes in body weight. – Changes in sleeping patterns.  Mood Disorders Dysthymic disorder – Less severe pattern of depression. – Symptoms include Sad mood Lack of interest Loss of pleasure (to milder degree than depressive disorder). Duration of at least two continuous years.  Mood Disorders Bi-polar disorder – The alternating of two emotional extremes (poles). – One extreme is depression – The second extreme is mania. Symptom of mania include: – Total optimism – Boundless energy – A belief of having extraordinary powers – Wild, impulsive ideas – Hypersexual behavior – Substance abuse  Personality Disorders Long standing, inflexible ways of behaving that are not disorders as much as dysfunctional ways of living. Categorized into three clusters – Odd-centric cluster – Anxious-fearful cluster – Dramatic-erratic cluster  Personality Disorders Antisocial personality disorder – Long-term pattern of irresponsible, impulsive, unscrupulous behavior beginning early in life. – Most serious personality disorder from the perspective of public safety. – Hallmark of antisocial personality disorder is the lack of anxiety, remorse, or guilt.  Schizophrenia A persistent, chronic, and usually serious mental disorder affecting a variety of aspects of thought, behavior, and emotion.  Schizophrenia Occurs in 1 to 2 percent of the population of the United States. Occurs equally among men and women. Tends to strike in adolescence or early adulthood.  Schizophrenia Individuals with schizophrenia that experience delusions and hallucinations are described as psychotic. – Psychosis A loss of contact with reality  Schizophrenia Delusions – A, fixed, false belief. – Examples Delusions of persecution Delusions of reference Delusions of grandeur Thought broadcasting Thought insertion  Schizophrenia Hallucinations – False perceptions in the absence of sensations. – Examples Auditory hallucinations Visual hallucinations Tactile hallucinations Olfactory hallucinations  Schizophrenia Positive and Negative symptoms – Positive symptoms: additions of abnormality to the individual’s usual repertoire of thoughts and behaviors. Delusions Hallucinations Thought disorder – Disturbance of thought content or form. Aberrant behaviors  Schizophrenia Positive and Negative symptoms – Negative symptoms: The absence of normality in thoughts and behaviors. Flat affect – Exhibition of little or no emotion. Alogia – Poverty of thinking evidenced by poverty of speech or poverty of content of speech. Avolition – Absence of initiative or motivation to begin and maintain behavior in pursuit of a goal. Categories of Schizophrenia Paranoid type – Delusions of persecution or grandeur accompanied by: Anxiety Anger Superiority Argumentativeness Jealousy. – Onset is often sudden, later in life, and initial signs of impairment may be subtle. Categories of Schizophrenia Disorganized type – Incoherent speech. – Inappropriate affect. – Neglected personal hygiene. – Disjointed delusions and hallucinations. Categories of Schizophrenia Catatonic type – Involves disorder of movement/communication. Waxy flexibility (assume virtually any position imposed on them). Will not initiate movement on their own. Can be non-responsive to prompting. Categories of Schizophrenia Undiffereniated type – Person exhibits abnormal behavior, thought, and emotion not easily placed in other subtypes. – Catch-all subtype.