All of the Disorder Notes

Psychological Disorder

Psychological Disorder- Harmful dysfunction; behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, unjustifiable

What is atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, unjustifiable depends on:

• Culture
• The Period
• Environmental Conditions
• Individual Person

Philippe Pinel- French doctor who decided it was wrong

Perspectives

• Medical Perspectives: psychological disorders are sicknesses and can be diagnosed, treated, and cured
• Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective: Biological, Psychological, Sociocultural factors combine to interact causing psychological disorders (used to be called Diathesis-stress model; diathesis- predisposition stress meaning environment)

Classifying Disorders

• DSM-IV: Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- book of disorders
• Two Types of Disorders:
• Neurotic Disorders- distressing but one can still function in society and act rationally.
• Psychotic Disorders; Person loses contact with reality, experiences distorted perceptions.

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety Disorders-

• fearful of something or dreading an event
• in a state of intense apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or fear
• Fears something awful will happen to them
• Primary symptoms are anxiety

Phobias-

• Person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread
• Must be an irrational fear

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-

• Person in continuously tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
• Patient is constantly tense and worried, feels inadequate, oversensitive, can’t concentrate, suffer from insomnia

Panic Disorder-

• Anxiety disorder marked by minute long episode of intense dread; person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking and other frightening sensations.

Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD)-

• Persistent unintended thoughts (obsessions) cause someone to feel the need (compulsion) to engage in particular action
• Obsession about dirt and germs may lead to compulsive hand washing

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Flashbacks/ Nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely stressful event
• Memories of the event cause anxiety

Somatoform Disorder

Somatoform Disorders-

• Occur when person manifests psychological problem through physiological symptom
• Two Types:
• Hypochondriasis: frequent physical complaints for which medical doctors are unable to locate the cause. Think its a small illness when it could be something serious.
• Conversion Disorder: report existence of severe physical problems with no biological reason (blindness/paralysis)

Dissociative Disorder

Dissociative Disorders-

• Involve a disruption in the conscious process
• Three Types:
• Psychogenic Amnesia- Person cannot remember things with no physiological basis for the disruption in memory
• Retrograde Amnesia- short-term memory loss
• Dissociative Fugue- people find themselves in an unfamiliar environment
• Dissociative Identity Disorder-
• Was Multiple Personality Disorder
• Person has several rather than one integrated personality
• People with DID usually have history of childhood abuse/trauma

Mood Disorder

Mood Disorders- Experience extreme or inappropriate emotions

• Major Depression-
• Unhappy for at least two weeks with no apparent cause
• Depression is common cold os psychological disorders
• Seasonal Affective Disorder-
• Express depression during winter months
• Based on amount of sunlight
• Treated with light therapy
• Bipolar Disorder-
• Formerly manic depression
• Involves periods of depression and manic episodes
• Manic episodes involve feelings of higher energy (get confident or irritable)

Personality Disorder

Personality Disorders

• Well established maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people’s ability to function
• Dominates their personality

Antisocial Personality Disorder

• Lack of empathy
• Little regard for other’s feelings
• View the world as hostile and lookout for themselves

Dependent Personality Disorders

• Rely too much on attention and help of others

Histrionic Personality Disorder

• Needs to be the center of attention
• Acting silly or dressing provocatively

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• Love unwarranted sense of self-importance
• Think you are center of universe

Schizophrenic Disorders

Symptoms: Disorganized thinking, disturbed perceptions, inappropriate emotions and actions

1% of population

Disorganized Thinking

• Thinking of a person with schizophrenia is fragmented and bizarre and distorted with false beliefs
• Disorganized Thinking comes from a breakdown in selective thinking

Delusions (False Beliefs)

• Delusions of persecution
• Delusions of grandeur

Disturbed Perceptions

• Hallucinations- sensory experiences without sensory stimulation

Inappropriate Emotions and Actions

• Laugh at inappropriate times
• Flat Effect (Zombie)
• Senseless- Compulsive Acts
• Catatonia- Motionless

Positive Vs. Negative Symptoms

• Positive- Hallucinations, Disorganized, Deluded in Speech, Inappropriate laughter/tears/rage
• Negative- monotone voice, expressionless faces, mute, rigid bodies

Types of Schizophrenia

• Disorganized Schizophrenia- disorganized speech or behavior, flat/inappropriate emotion always negative
• Paranoid Schizophrenia- Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations; somebody always out to get them
• Catatonic schizophrenia- Flat effect, repeat anothers speech and movements
• Undifferent Schizophrenia- many and varied symptoms