Psychological Disorders

1. Psychological Disorders

2. What is a Psychological Disorder?

3. Psychological Disorders are “harmful dysfunctions” in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable

4. Atypical is abnormal – being different from most other people in one’s culture

5. Disturbing means that a behavior goes against the standards of acceptable behavior, is unnerving, grotesque, or otherwise disruptive to a generally acceptable level of comfort.

6. Maladaptiveness is the key to defining a disorder – the behaviors must be distressing or disabling or put one at a greatly increased risk of suffering or death

7. Unjustifiable means irrational, or that a behavior lacks any mental clarity or reason

8. What is the nature of Psychological Disorders and their causes?

9. Biological Model (Medical Model) – Abnormal behaviors are caused by physiological malfunctions – IE. a failure of the central nervous system, an improperly working endocrine system, an abnormal flow of a specific hormone, genetic factors, brain damage

10. Psychoanalytical Model – Abnormal behaviors are symbolic expressions of unconscious, internal conflicts, often associated with early childhood – IE. A fear of open water due to almost drowning as a child, obsessions with women who remind you of the mother who abandoned you, serial violence against homosexuals based on your own internal orientation conflicts

11. Behavioral Model – Abnormal behavior is the result of learned behavior – IE. you are a psychopathic killer because you watched violent programming on tv….you obsessively clean the house because Mom obsessively cleaned the house

12. Diathesis-Stress Model (Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective) – Abnormal behavior is caused when prone individuals who otherwise may not exhibit symptoms are put into stressful situations and then exhibit symptoms

13. IE. Your repressed fear of spiders doesn’t affect you until you are lost in a cave and stumble into a huge nest of spiders…you are naturally a calm person, but then your house burns down, your ID is stolen online, and your bank accounts are emptied, thus you “snap”

14. Classifying Psychological Disorders

15. There are 17 categories of Psychological Disorders, as specified in the DSM-IV – the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”

16. Insanity • This is a LEGAL definition only, whereas a person is unable to determine between right & wrong or understand consequences due to metal illness

17. Anxiety Disorders

18. Anxiety Disorders are any disorders characterized by an intensely distressing, persistent stress, or maladaptive behaviors that reduce stress Anxiety Overview

19. Anxiety Disorders are… • Irrational (exaggerated or non existent threats, response is out of proportion) • Uncontrollable (can not be “turned off, even if the person wants to) • Disruptive (interferes with life)

20. Generalized Anxiety Disorder – a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic system arousal

21. Dizziness • Sweaty Palms • Heart Palpitations • Ringing in the Ears • Edgy and Shaky • Unfocused and Out-of-Control Negative Feelings • Worried constantly about bad things that may happen • Twitchiness and/or trembling

22. Panic Disorder sufferers have acute episodes of intense anxiety without any apparent provocation

23. Obsessive-Control Disorder is characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) or actions (compulsions) • Checking to see if a door is locked is normal. Doing it 30 times or “I will die” is not. Washing your hands is normal. Washing them until your hands are raw so that “all of the germs are gone” is not.

24. Living with an Anxiety Disorder

25. Phobias are marked by persistent, irrational fears and avoidance of a specific object or situation • Some phobias are so intense that they are incapacitating

26. 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percentage of people surveyed Snakes Being in high, exposed places Mice Flying on an airplane Being closed in, in a small place Spiders and insects Thunder and lightning Being alone In a house at night Dogs Driving a car Being In a crowd of people Cats Afraid of it Bothers slightly Not at all afraid of it Common and Uncommon Fears

27. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder usually involves flashbacks or nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely troubling event, such as a war or a natural disaster

28. Dissociative Disorders

29. Dissociative disorders involve disturbances in a person’s consciousness, memories, identity, and perception of the environment

30. Dissociative Identity Disorder, in which a person has two or more distinct personalities that alternate in their control of the person’s behavior

31. Amnesia, loss or impairment of memory. Amnesia is usually associated with some form of brain damage, but it may also be caused by severe psychological trauma. Amnesia with a physical cause is called organic amnesia, whereas amnesia of psychological origin is called functional amnesia

32. Three Faces of Eve - Dissociative Identity Disorder • Dissociative Identity Disorder

33. Eating Disorders

34. Eating disorders are conditions in which an individual experiences severe disturbances in eating behaviors

35. Anorexia nervosa is essentially a form of self-starvation in order to lose weight, while bulimics don’t necessarily lose as much of their body weight due to their binge-and-purge behaviors.

36. Anorexia • Bulimia

37. Impulse-Control Disorders

38. Impulse control disorders involve the loss or lack of control in certain specific situations. The hallmark of these disorders is the individual's inability to stop impulses that may cause harm to themselves or others. Affected individuals often feel anxiety or tension in considering these behaviors. This anxiety or tension is relieved or diminished once the action is performed.

39. Kleptomania – compulsive stealing • Pyromania – setting fires • Trichotillomania – compulsive hair pulling • Dermatillomania – compulsive skin picking • Intermittent Explosive Disorder – aggressive outbursts

40. Trichotillomania

41. Mood Disorders Mood Disorders

42. Mood disorders, also called affective disorders, create disturbances in a person’s emotional life

43. Symptoms of majordepression may include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, as well as complaints of physical pain and changes in appetite, sleep patterns, and energy level. The length of time of the depression is a key also. What is Depression?

44. In mania, an individual has an abnormally elevated mood, often marked by exaggerated self-importance, irritability, agitation, and decreased sleep

45. Bipolar Overview • In bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, a person’s mood alternates between extremes of mania and depression

46. Personality Disorders

47. Personality disorders are well-established, maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect a person’s ability to function in society. • An “enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who exhibits it". These patterns are inflexible and pervasive across many situations

48. People with narcissistic personality disorder have a grandiose sense of self-importance. They seek excessive admiration from others and fantasize about unlimited success or power. They believe they are special, unique, or superior to others.

49. Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by irrational suspicions and mistrust of others. • Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by social inhibitions, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and exaggerated emotions.

50. People with antisocial personality disorder act in a way that disregards the feelings and rights of other people. Antisocial personalities often break the law, and they may use or exploit other people for their own gain. They may lie repeatedly, act impulsively, and get into physical fights. They may even kill other people. People with this disorder are also sometimes called sociopaths or psychopaths. Manson Interview