Psychological Disorders

It’s Enough to Make One go Crazy… Just Kidding.

What?

A psychological disorder is a behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious personal suffering.

They may also interfere with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life.

Almost one-third of adults in the United States have experienced some type of psychological disorder.

23% of American people admit to having experienced some sort of psychological disorder in their lifetime.

Are You Okay?

What is normal? What is abnormal? Tough to decide, sometimes. People with psychological disorders seem

rather “normal”, but may demonstrate an exaggeration of behaviors.

It is important to remember that it is difficult to asses whether or not another person has a psychological disorder.

Psychologists usually use several criteria to determine the presence of a disorder.

Symptoms Typicality: Is the behavior or mental process

average, or typical? This problem with this – of course – is that

sometimes people are simply “not typical”! Geniuses like Marie Curie, Picasso, and

Einstein were certainly not “typical”. They were also not subject to psychological

disorders! Examples of a behavior that would fall under

this criterion?

Maladaptive: the behavior impair an individual’s ability to function adequately in everyday life.

Alcohol abuse is one behavior that is maladaptive.

It can destroy the alcoholic’s health, work, family life, etc.

Maladaptive behavior can also cause harm to others.

Remember, however, violent criminals are usually fine, mentally.

They know what they are doing and so not psychological disorders.

Other examples of a behavior that would fall under this criterion?

Emotional Discomfort: severe emotional discomfort may be a sign of a psychological disorder.

People who experience depression feel helpless, hopeless, and extreme sadness.

These feelings can be so stressful that it could lead a person to suicide.

Other examples of a behavior that would fall under this criterion?

Socially Unacceptable Behavior: behavior that violates a society’s accepted norms may indicate a disorder.

Remember, however, some behaviors are culture-bound and seem wrong to one culture, but not another.

examples of a behavior that would fall under this criterion?

ANXIETY!!!!!

Anxiety refers to a general state of dread or uneasiness that occurs in response to a vague or imagined danger.

Everyone has experienced anxiety, BUT if the anxiety is out of proportion with the situation that causes the anxiety, then, we begin to consider it a disorder…

A phobia - a word which derives from the Greek root phobos (meaning fear) – is the most common anxiety DISORDER.

DISORDER is nice and big because everyone has anxiety…. It’s the disorder part that makes these phobias special.

Examples Zoophobia: fear of animals Claustrophobia: fear of enclosed places Acrophobia: fear of heights Arachnophobia: fear of spiders Hematophobia: fear of blood Aviaphobia: fear of flying Again – many people have these fears, but it

becomes a DISORDER when it hinders life. When a person turns down a great job offer

because they may have to fly on a plane…. That’s a disorder.

A Social Phobia is characterized by persistent fear of social situations.

People with social phobias often have panic attacks, or short, intense periods of fear or discomfort that feels a lot like a heart attack…

Some people have such abrasive fears of social situation that they become closed off to the world.

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in places or situations in which escape may be difficult or impossible.

People with agoraphobia sometimes never leave their homes.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

This disorder is characterized by excessive or unrealistic worry about life circumstances

In order for this disorder to be diagnosed, the excessive worry should persist for at least 6 months

One of the most common psychological disorders, but few people seek treatment

OCD An obsession is an unwanted thought, idea, or mental image

that occurs over and over again. Sometimes they are completely senseless, sometimes

repulsive. A compulsion is a repetitive ritual behavior. When the obsession and the compulsions merge together to

hinder one’s life it becomes a ….? DISORDER. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder could manifest in many way. The person who obsesses about people breaking in to their

home will get up 25 times in the night to lock and re-lock the door.

The person who obsesses about getting sick will wash his or her hands 25 times a day in order to get rid of the germs.

People with severe cases of OCD have specific routines they must follow in order for their lives to remain livable.

PTSD Post-traumatic Stress Disorder refers to intense,

persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused by something SO traumatic that it makes life difficult.

Symptoms of PTSD: Flashbacks Nightmares Numbness of feelings Avoidance of situations that remind people of the incident. Increased tension, anger, poor concentration…

Causes: war, victim of crime, accidents, etc.

Explain! Psychological explanations:

Psychoanalytic: anxiety is a psychic reaction to danger surrounding the reactivation of a fearful situation from childhood OCD: when repressed events re-surface, they come back as

obsessions Learning: phobias are learned in childhood, either from a traumatic

event or from a parent’s fears Avoiding situations re-enforces anxiety because avoidance reduces

anxiety Cognitive: people make themselves anxious by telling themselves

that they are helpless in certain situations, which causes anxiety Biological explanations:

The tendency to be tense is often inherited A combination of many genes cause anxiety Tendency to panic seems to run in families

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociation is the separation of certain parts of personality or mental processes from conscious thought.

For example – sometimes a person can be so engrossed in a book or a T.V. show that they do not hear their name being called from the next room.

Daydreaming is the most common form of dissociation.

This is NORMAL!

When it’s not Normal…

When dissociation occurs as a result of a stressful event or certain feelings, it can be a sign of a disorder.

Dissociative Amnesia: Sudden loss of memory Usually follows a stressful event Cannot remember events surrounding traumatic

event Is not caused biologically (like from a blow to the

head), and can last from a few hours to years

Dissociative Fugue: Forgetting personal information and past

events Suddenly relocates and takes on a new

identity Caused by stressful or traumatic event When it is over, the person does not

remember period of fugue

Dissociative Identity Disorder: Involves existence of two or more

personalities within a single individual Other personalities do not know of the

other’s existence Two personalities control behavior Person suffering usually severely abused in

childhood

Depersonalization Disorder: People feel as though they are outside of

their body, watching themselves from a distance.

Preceded by a traumatic event Can accompany depression or anxiety Can stand alone as a disorder

EXPLAIN! Psychoanalytic Theorists believe these

disorders are caused by undesirable urges and repressed anger about the past.

Learning Theorists believe these individuals have learned NOT to think about stressful traumas in order to avoid pain.

They dissociate themselves from the event by selectively forgetting the event ever happened.

Cognitive and biological theorists have no decent explanation.

Somatoform Disorders

Somatoform Disorders

Somatization refers to the expression of psychological distress through physical symptoms.

People with these disorders HAVE psychological disorders (like depression), but EXPERIENCE inexplicable physical symptoms like paralysis.

Conversion Disorder Experience a change in

or loss of physical functioning in a major part of the body

No medical explanation Blindness, paralysis Characterized by

person’s lack of caring about his or her symptoms

Hypochondriacs Have unhealthy fear of

having serious illness Is not physically ill Has confusion about his

or her normal bodily functions

“Is my stomach supposed to gurgle like that? I must have cancer!”

EXPLAIN!

Explanations are mainly psychological in nature Psychoanalytic theory- people repress emotions that

relate to certain urges, and those emotions are expressed with physical symptoms Physical symptoms are a combination of the unconscious’s

need to express these feelings and the fear of expressing the feeling

Behavioral- somatoform symptoms reinforce an escape from anxiety

Other psychologists claim that patients literally “convert” mental stress to medical problems

Mood Disorders

Mood Disorders

Many people have mood changes. IT’S NORMAL! If the mood changes are inappropriate, long-

lasting, or if the person’s mood is unresponsive to stimulus, there could be a deeper problem.

There are two major categories of mood disorders: depression and bipolar disorder.

Depression: Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, great sadness. Persistent depressed mood all day Loss of interest in seeking any kind of pleasure Sleeping more or less than usual Fatigue or loss of energy Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide Symptoms must be present for more than two

weeks 15% of severely depressed people kill themselves.

Bipolar Disorder

Dramatic ups and downs Periods of mania, or extreme excitement

followed by deep depression During times of mania:

Inflated self-esteem Inability to sit still or sleep Pressure to keep talking and switching topics Racing thoughts

EXPLAIN!

Psychoanalytic theorists believe some are prone to depression because they suffered a real or imagined loss of a loves object, or person in childhood.

Repressed fears, emotions, etc lead to great sadness.

Biological theorists believe it is genetic and passed down through generations

Scientists believe that two neurotransmitters, serotonin and noradrenaline, contribute to these disorders

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is characterized by the loss of contact with reality.

Schizophrenia can be extremely disabling It typically appears in young adulthood, but

can emerge later in some cases If untreated, it will worsen over time

Paranoid Schizophrenia

Have delusions Have auditory hallucinations (hear voices) Have delusions of grandeur (“the CIA

recruited me to do a secret mission!”) May hallucinate people, places, and events Can become agitated, confused, and afraid

when confronted

Disorganized Schizophrenia Are incoherent in their thought and speech Disorganized in their behavior Have hallucinations, but they are fragmented and

unconnected Emotionless May giggle and speak nonsense for no apparent

reason Do not care about personal hygiene and may lose

control of bladder and bowels Can become irrationally angry for no reason and

become a danger to self and others

Catatonic Schizophrenia

Immobile, expressionless, coma-like state May hold unusual, uncomfortable body

positions for long periods of time. Arms and legs may swell due to lack of

movement May become suddenly agitated Not able to communicate verbally No recognition of outside activity

EXPLAIN!

Psychoanalytic theorists believe it is the result of the overwhelming of the ego by urges from the id.

The intense inner conflict REGRESSES the individual back to a child-like stage.

Fantasies get confused with reality leading to hallucinations and delusions.

The family with frequently critical attitudes towards a child could put the child at risk or cause someone to relapse.

The Biological theorists believe it is a brain disorder Schizophrenics have smaller brains than other people They have smaller frontal regions These difficulties may result in a lack of synapses Causes? Heredity, complications during pregnancy/birth,

maternal starvation, being born during the winter, too much dopamine *the neurotransmitter)

Personality disorders

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life and cause stress for the individual.

Personality disorders are different from psychological disorders:

Psychological disorder traits can be distinguished from the individual’s typical personality

Personality disorders are enduring traits that are major components of the individual's personality.

In other words, this is just WHO THIS PERSON IS and the traits have been there for a long time.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Distrustful of others Interpret other’s motives as harmful or evil difficult to get along with Argumentative Cold and aloof Do not see how their suspicions could be

incorrect

Schizoid Personality Disorder

No interest in social relationships with others Lack emotional responsiveness Do not become attached to other people Tend to be loners, have few friends Similar to symptoms of schizophrenia –

without the hallucinations and delusions They stay in touch with reality

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Consistent disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others

Do not feel guilt or remorse for their antisocial disorder

In childhood, may run away from home, hurt or kill animals, lie and steal

As adults, could become aggressive, have a hard time keeping a job, fail to pay bills and may break the law.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Desire relationships with other people, but have great fear of rejection

Avoids social situations due to this fear Acts shy Always afraid to do something foolish or

embarrassing More severe than SOCIAL PHOBIAS and not

easy to overcome Phobias are fixable

More….

Narcissistic Personality Disorder = feelings of grandeur, need for admiration, lack of empathy for the feelings of others

Borderline Personality Disorder = instability in interpersonal relationships, poor or deluded self-image

Dependent PD = extremely submissive to anyone offering attention, extremely clingy

Obsessive-Compulsive PD = Obsession with control, perfectionist, must have order, spends life attempting to control everything in life.

EXPLAIN!!!! Psychoanalytic theorists, like Freud, believe that a

lack of guilt is the basis for many of these disorders (life antisocial PD).

The superego never fully develops Research finds that children who are rejected and

harshly punished by adults lack a sense of guilt The child who is nurtured and disciplined with

affection will develop guilt and will not suffer PDs. Learning theorists believe that childhood “teaches”

children how to relate to other people. If a child only gets attention for behaving badly, they

will continue to behave badly. Role models are also important in childhood. Biological theorists go for genetics again! Frontal part of the brain has fewer neurons and

therefore lack problem-solving skills